Explore a curated collection of insights, tips, and resources designed to empower educators and enhance teaching experiences. Dive into the Scholastro blog archives to find inspiration, best practices, and the latest updates on AI-powered tools for classrooms.
By : Dusko Preradovic
CEO and co-founder of Scholastro.
The relationship between schools and families is one of the most important factors influencing a student's educational journey. When parents and teachers work together, children benefit academically, socially, and emotionally. This partnership creates a supportive environment where students feel valued, understood, and motivated to succeed.
A strong connection between home and school can significantly improve student learning outcomes. When parents are actively involved in their child's education, students are more likely to perform better academically, have better attendance, and demonstrate greater motivation to learn. Parental involvement helps students stay on track with their studies, encouraging positive learning habits and setting them up for long-term academic success. By staying connected to the school, parents are empowered to provide their children with the support they need, both at home and in the classroom.
The regular exchange of information between parents and teachers is essential to this process. Parents who understand what their children are learning at school and how they are progressing are better equipped to support their children’s educational needs. This partnership ensures that students feel a sense of continuity between home and school, making it easier for them to engage with their learning.
Beyond academic performance, strong home-school relationships also have a profound impact on student wellbeing. When parents and teachers work together, they can address any behavioral or emotional concerns early, preventing issues from escalating. This collaborative approach ensures that students feel supported in all aspects of their education, not just academically.
Students who know their parents are engaged and invested in their learning are more likely to feel secure and confident in their educational environment. They know they are supported at home and at school, which builds their self-esteem and sense of belonging. Moreover, a positive home-school relationship fosters a healthy emotional environment for students, reducing the likelihood of feelings of isolation or anxiety.
In today’s busy world, however, many parents face challenges in staying connected with their children’s education. Work schedules, household responsibilities, and other factors can make it difficult for parents to attend school meetings or stay updated on their child’s progress. This lack of engagement can sometimes lead to misunderstandings or missed opportunities to support a child’s development.
This is where digital tools like Orion can make a significant difference.
Orion is designed to bridge the gap between schools and families, making it easier for parents to stay informed and involved in their children’s education. The tool provides detailed daily reports on students' learning habits, progress, and results. These reports give parents a clear and comprehensive view of their child’s day-to-day academic experience, allowing them to better understand their strengths and areas for improvement.
By providing real-time insights, Orion enables parents to have more meaningful conversations with their children about school. Parents can discuss the day’s lessons, offer support where needed, and celebrate successes. This level of engagement is invaluable in helping students feel supported and motivated to perform at their best.
Orion empowers parents to become active participants in their children's education, even when they cannot be physically present in the classroom. With easy access to detailed information, parents are better equipped to provide the encouragement, guidance, and support their children need to thrive academically and personally.
The relationship between home and school is crucial for student success. Strong communication and collaboration between parents and teachers create an environment where students feel supported, motivated, and prepared to achieve their goals. With tools like Orion, parents can be more informed and engaged in their children’s education than ever before. This partnership ultimately fosters better learning outcomes and improves student wellbeing, setting the foundation for a successful and fulfilling educational experience.
1/6/2025
By Reza Ahang, Co-Founder and CTO of Scholastro
The EdTech sector has been evolving rapidly, yet one critical challenge remains: how to sustain student engagement while achieving meaningful educational outcomes. Orion’s upcoming Advanced Gamification Features aim to address this challenge head-on, blending cutting-edge technology with pedagogical principles to create a learning environment that is as effective as it is engaging.
This article outlines a step-by-step reasoning behind Orion’s vision and how these features will transform K-12 education into a dynamic, student-centered experience.
Despite significant advancements in online learning tools, many platforms fall short in maintaining student interest over the long term. The repetitive nature of traditional learning systems often disengages students, especially in younger age groups. Teachers, overwhelmed by administrative tasks, struggle to create personalised and engaging learning plans.
Orion recognises these gaps and leverages gamification to not only capture attention but also to foster intrinsic motivation in learners.
Gamification isn’t just about adding points and badges; it’s about reimagining the learning journey. Orion’s approach integrates game-like elements directly into the curriculum, ensuring that learning objectives remain at the forefront while enhancing engagement.
Key elements include:
Narrative Learning Journeys: Students become characters in an educational adventure, where each lesson is a quest to “uncover knowledge” or “solve mysteries.” These narratives are designed to align with curriculum objectives, making learning both fun and purposeful.
Adaptive Challenges: Powered by AI, these challenges adjust to the learner’s skill level, ensuring that students are neither bored nor overwhelmed.
Collaborative Quests: Students can team up to tackle group challenges, promoting peer-to-peer learning and teamwork.
Orion’s Advanced Gamification Features don’t stop at traditional gamification. They incorporate cutting-edge technologies to deliver immersive experiences:
Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR): Imagine a history class where students virtually explore ancient Rome or a science lesson where they conduct experiments in a simulated lab. These immersive experiences deepen understanding and make abstract concepts tangible.
AI-Powered Feedback: Orion’s AI provides instant, personalised feedback on performance in quizzes and challenges, guiding students on their learning path.
Dynamic Leaderboards: These aren’t just about ranking; they’re designed to celebrate effort, improvement, and collaboration, fostering a positive competitive spirit.
While gamification is often student-focused, Orion’s platform is designed to empower teachers. Through advanced analytics and co-pilot features, teachers can:
Monitor student progress in real-time.
Customise quests and challenges to suit the unique needs of their class.
Receive actionable insights on how to optimise lesson plans based on engagement data.
By reducing administrative burden, Orion allows educators to focus on what they do best: teaching.
The implementation of these features has the potential to drive significant change:
Improved Engagement: Early trials with gamified systems show a marked increase in participation and retention rates.
Enhanced Learning Outcomes: Students who are engaged learn better, as they actively participate in the learning process.
Equity in Education: Adaptive challenges ensure that every student, regardless of skill level, has a personalised learning path.
The future of K-12 education lies in platforms that are both intelligent and intuitive. Orion’s gamification features are a step toward this future, where learning is no longer confined to static textbooks or one-size-fits-all teaching methods. Instead, students embark on a personalised journey that adapts to their needs, preferences, and pace.
Imagine a world where students are eager to “level up” in their education, where teachers have the tools to inspire and innovate, and where parents can witness the tangible progress of their children. That’s the world Orion aims to create.
Orion’s Advanced Gamification Features represent a paradigm shift in education. By combining gamification, AI, and immersive technologies, Orion is not just enhancing the learning experience—it’s redefining what’s possible in K-12 education. The result is a platform that doesn’t just educate but inspires, engages, and prepares students for the challenges of the future.
As these features roll out, the EdTech landscape will witness a transformation—one where education is as dynamic and exciting as the world it seeks to explain.
1/6/2025
By : Dusko Preradovic
CEO and co-founder of Scholastro.
You're sitting on your couch one evening, marking your students’ tests, when all of a sudden an email from your principal comes through. “Please come and see me before class in the morning - it's important. We’ll meet at the staff lounge”. “What could it be?” You ask yourself, half nervous and half surprised. “This is strange. I've never been asked to see my principal so urgently”, you think to yourself. You go on marking for another hour, somewhat distracted by the email.
You arrive at the staff lounge in the morning to find your colleagues also waiting to see the principal. “Why are so many of us here”, you wonder. Your principal enters the room and demands everybody's attention. “Thank you all for meeting here this morning. I've got incredible news for you all. I'm hiring a personal assistant for every teacher in the school. Your personal assistant will take care of your planning, marking, reporting, and other admin tasks. It will cost you nothing at all, but will save you countless hours every week, month, and year.”
“She's joking. Is it April fool's today?” Your colleague beside you whispers. Everybody in the room is silent. No one is sure how to respond to the principal. No one knows if this is real or a joke. Finally Mr Johnson speaks up, “is this what I lost my sleep over? I thought I was in trouble!” The principal laughs, “No one is in trouble. On the contrary, you've all gotten out of some trouble today”.
Ms Kaur, trying to suppress her apparent annoyance, proclaims “how are we going to afford an assistant for every teacher when we haven't even been able to repair the school bus for the past two months?” “When AI learns to repair buses, that will never be an issue again. We have to wait for that day. Today, though, AI can easily handle 80% of your admin tasks, so we're going to take advantage of that to free you up for your most important role - actually teaching your students”, the principal responds.
This is the reality of the advent of AI. AI has countless applications in many fields and industries. One of those industries is our industry, education. 20 years ago, having a personal assistant would have cost you at least half your salary. Today, it costs you a small subscription fee each year. In many ways, we are some of the luckiest teachers who've ever lived.
For so long teachers have complained, rightfully, about ever-expanding admin tasks and excessive workloads. AI is here to help us with that. AI, however, has to be leveraged in such a way that it doesn't increase teacher workload. If each individual teacher has to prompt AI for every learning intention, every success criteria, every activity, every quiz, every lesson summary, etc, then it becomes counterproductive and could actually increase teacher workload. That's why at Scholastro we've taken great care to deliver all the components of a lesson in one easily accessible place, Orion, where all a teacher needs to do is press ‘regenerate’ if they don't like what they see. No writing prompts, no refining prompts, no having to research how to write prompts correctly. Just accept what you see or press ‘regenerate’. This is how AI will reduce teacher workloads and free them up to teach, and this is what makes Orion the premier AI teacher assistant.
Sign up for a free trial at Orion today. Start earning back your time, and experience the joy of being one of the luckiest teachers of all time. No more weekends and weeknights spent working away on your couch. Orion will handle that work for you, at a cost far lower than half your salary.
12/16/2024
By Reza Ahang, Co-Founder and CTO of Scholastro
In a world where technology is reshaping industries at an unprecedented pace, the education sector is undergoing a transformative evolution. EdTech has emerged as a beacon of innovation, offering solutions that enhance efficiency, personalise learning, and foster stronger connections among teachers, students, and parents. The global EdTech market is on a remarkable growth trajectory, expected to soar from $423.2 billion in 2023 to over $1.2 trillion by 2030.
At Scholastro, we are proud to be at the forefront of this revolution with Orion, our flagship AI-driven platform designed to address the pressing challenges in K-12 education. Orion is not just a product—it is a vision for the future of learning, where teachers are empowered, parents are engaged, and students thrive.
The EdTech industry is being propelled by several key trends:
AI and Automation: From personalized learning plans to automated grading, AI is becoming an indispensable tool in education.
Hybrid Learning Models: The pandemic accelerated the shift to digital and hybrid learning, creating a lasting demand for flexible solutions.
Teacher Productivity Tools: Automating repetitive tasks like grading and report writing allows teachers to focus on what truly matters—instruction and student engagement.
Parental Involvement: Research highlights the pivotal role of parental engagement in student success, and EdTech is bridging the gap with innovative communication tools.
Orion addresses these trends head-on, offering an integrated suite of AI-driven features that include:
AI-Enabled Reporting: Generate detailed insights on student performance with just a few clicks, saving teachers countless hours.
Smart Lesson Planning: Effortlessly create, adapt, and manage lesson plans with AI-powered recommendations.
Student Performance Tracking: Continuously monitor metrics like attendance, engagement, and academic progress.
Enhanced Parental Engagement: Keep parents in the loop with automated updates and direct communication tools.
Orion’s ability to automate administrative tasks and provide actionable insights not only reduces teacher workloads but also enhances the educational experience for students and parents alike.
The K-12 EdTech market, valued at $150 billion in 2023, is ripe for innovation. While giants like Google Classroom and Kahoot! dominate certain segments, Orion sets itself apart by integrating automation and personalization in a single platform. Our focus on automating teacher workflows and fostering parental involvement positions us uniquely to capture a significant share of this growing market.
At Scholastro, we are committed to delivering measurable impact. Our strategy is guided by key performance metrics that include:
Teacher Time Saved: Enabling educators to reclaim valuable hours for teaching.
Parental Engagement Rates: Strengthening the partnership between schools and families.
Student Performance Improvements: Supporting better outcomes through data-driven insights.
To achieve this, we are focused on:
Expanding Orion’s AI capabilities to offer even more personalised support.
Targeting early adopters in high-tech regions like North America and Australia.
Offering flexible pricing models to make Orion accessible to schools of all sizes.
Providing robust onboarding and training to ensure seamless adoption.
As the EdTech landscape continues to evolve, Scholastro is dedicated to staying ahead of the curve. We believe that the future of education lies in empowering teachers, engaging parents, and enabling students to reach their full potential. With Orion, we are not just building a product—we are creating a movement.
We invite you to join us on this journey. Together, let’s transform education and create a brighter future for the next generation.
12/11/2024
