Case Study: Primavera Virtual Academy by Strongmind
Introduction
Primavera Online School is a wholly owned subsidiary of Strongmind – a provider of curriculum and technology solutions to a network of schools. In the ever-evolving landscape of online education, institutions like Primavera Online School are constantly seeking innovative solutions to enhance their virtual learning environments. This case study explores Primavera's journey in implementing Pencil Spaces, a modern virtual classroom solution, to revolutionize the online learning experience for its students and educators.
Background about Primavera Virtual Academy
Primavera Online School, a public charter school in Arizona, has been at the forefront of providing online education to K-12 students since its inception. With a commitment to flexibility, individualized support, and innovative coursework, Primavera offers a unique alternative to traditional schooling, catering to the diverse needs of its student body.
Problem Statement
Dedicated to excellence in online education, Primavera Online School spent the last five years investigating and trying virtual classroom solutions, including all the most well known providers. After extensive review, they found the limitations of conventional virtual classroom solutions hindered the replication of a dynamic and interactive learning environment. In their own words, Primavera “needed something more modern, that had better interactive workspace for teachers that simulated a real world classroom. Just “zoom” audio/video/whiteboard was not cutting it.”
Solution
Primavera identified Pencil Spaces as the clear leader in interactivity, addressing the challenges of their existing virtual classroom environment. Pencil Spaces offered an interactive workspace that empowered educators with key capabilities like privacy controls for student interaction and the ability to have interactive content that's “hands on”. With interactive whiteboards, multimedia support and its unique web viewer that makes the Internet collaborative, Pencil Spaces provided Primavera with the tools necessary to enhance student engagement. On top of this, Pencil Spaces provided it via API, allowing Strongmind to integrate these advanced capabilities with Strongmind Central, their LMS and scheduling solution. As a result, Primavera saw an increase in both classroom engagement and attendance.
Results Callout box
Enhanced Engagement: Teachers rave about the feature rich interactivity
Higher Attendance: Integrated scheduling “increased attendance dramatically”
Highly Scalable: Reliable tech and robust APIs make rolling out to thousands easy
Conclusion
Pencil Spaces has transformed the virtual learning experience at Primavera Online School. By leveraging innovative technology to enhance engagement and streamline student experiences Primavera saw measurable improvement in both engagement and attendance. Primavera currently uses Pencil Spaces with 8,500 students. Now, Strongmind, owner of Primavera Online School and the technology provider for a dozen others, is targeting rollout to a further 8,000 students network wide.