Automatic roll call, digital identifiers, a communication platform, electronic grade records and the student protection SOS button. These are the new functions of the TIMATE systems which has been adjusted to school needs. The solution designed by TIMATE and Euvic IT will help the education sector in the digital transformation and will support schools in the combat against coronavirus.
Polish schools are now entering the new reality of digital transformation. In March 2019 in Tarnów, the representatives of NASK (Research and Academic Computer Network) and SMWI (Cities Online Association) signed a declaration for digital education development in the face of the 21st-century challenges. The technological turn in education is all the more important in a situation when schools have to adapt to new teaching conditions resulting from the coronavirus pandemics.
At the beginning of the pandemic, TIMATE extended its personnel management and safety system by adding functions which support the threat prevention and containment. It soon became clear that these functions as well as the entire system can also be used in schools.
TIMATE was initially designed as a specifically industrial system. However, the market itself has recognized the much wider potential of this solution. We received an inquiry from Portugal: they asked if we could adjust our system to school needs. We could and we did, says Sebastian Młodziński, TIMATE’s CEO. Be it a company or an educational facility, the system is programmed to protect safety and this is a management priority, especially in these difficult times of COVID-19.
The solution for schools provides such functions as digital identifiers of teachers and students, school agendas, student grade records and library cards. It also protects student safety through the SOS button which can be used to call for help in the case of accidents, near-miss situations or bullying. The system also supports evacuation and detects falls and it reminds of the necessity to disinfect hands.
The return to schools after the summer vacation will be a challenge. Both teachers and students will probably have to get accustomed to totally new conditions. A sanitary regime can reasonably be expected. Our system supports adherence to such a regime. The smart card allows to measure the card holder’s temperature remotely and to monitor larger gatherings as well as to identify the people with whom an infected person has interacted, says Sebastian Młodziński.
Importantly, the card does not collect biometric data of teachers and students. Outside the school premises, the card does not display the user’s photo and name. In contrast to smartphones, the card contains no games, social media functions or other applications that would distract students, but it allows to contact them and determine their location.
Students often say they need to have their phones on them so that their parents know where they are and if they are OK. Our system can ensure that as well and more. It protects from distraction and emits several hundred times less radiation than a cellphone, adds Sebastian Młodziński, TIMATE.
To adapt the system to school needs, TIMATE collaborated with Euvic IT, a company with many years of experience in complex IT projects.
We saw the potential of the TIMATE solution right away. On a daily basis, we help our customers understand the critical importance of IT processes and improve their performance. We know what enterprises and institutions need in terms of IT, so we are able to offer tailor-made solutions based on the analysis of individual needs, says Bartłomiej Łatka, Sales Director at Euvic IT. When it comes to TIMATE, we appreciated the fact that the solution is multilingual, safe and easy to use and manage. These aspects are particularly important for customers from the sector of education.
The solution by TIMATE can be integrated with other tools already used in schools, e.g. Librus or Vulcan, and extended with new functions such as logging for early primary school grades.
The system is now available for implementations.