Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta Brochure 2019

Student-centric digital transformation

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Transforming the schooling experience at Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY

MIKE SADR

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C AT H O L I C E D U C AT I O N D I O C E S E O F PA R R A M AT TA

Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta’s Director of Data Intelligence, Raju Varanasi and Executive Director, Greg Whitby detail the digital transformation undertaken at its schools, and the resulting benefits enjoyed by students

C

atholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP) oversees 80 Catholic schools in Western Sydney, with around 43,000

students and 5,000 staff. CEDP’s Executive Director 04

is Greg Whitby AM KSG, who alongside the Director of Data Intelligence, Raju Varanasi, has overseen a large-scale digital transformation to the benefit of its schools. With so many stakeholders, efficiency is vital, as Varanasi explains: “Digital transformation has two main focus points for us. The first is transparency and the ease of releasing information and intelligence to teachers, students and staff. The second is operational excellence: saving time and costs.”

A NEW MODEL To change the model in the ways CEDP has, it was necessary to change the mindset throughout the organisation. “Greg knew that digital transformation came with a bit of risk, but a change of mindset had to happen,” says Varanasi. “I work with the principals to build their trust about why transformation has to

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The Art of the Possible Transforming educational organisations requires bold thinking to envision a future that provides better opportunities and outcomes for 21st century students. At Cinglevue, we understand the value in collaborating with forward-thinking educational organisations to develop solutions which support transformational change. Co-creation processes involving key stakeholders in the teaching and learning community in addition to education, research, and technology partners are critical in this regard as they provide the foundation necessary for true innovation.

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The role of research and cocreation in driving innovation and transformational change Cinglevue develops innovative solutions for organisations operating within the Early Years Learning to Higher Education space.

Our goal is to make learning tangible and realiseable for all students and we have developed our Virtuoso enterprise learning platform to actively support teachers and learners in this endeavour.

Virtuoso provides educational organisations with a common suite of configurable tools and processes to accommodate the entire education lifecycle. Whilst Virtuoso incorporates a full complement of administrative features for effectively managing organisational needs, its primary emphasis is on supporting teachers and students to achieve continual, measurable, and sustainable learning gains. In working towards realising our vision, Cinglevue has collaborated closely with like-minded organisations such as the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP) to provide a foundation for enacting transformational change.

Cinglevue and CEDP have a long-standing relationship founded on the implementation of Cinglevue’s existing Student Information System (Faces), which is currently deployed at all schools within the diocese. Working closely with CEDP, the Faces platform was rolled out in phases, beginning with a pilot program and utilising the experience gained and lessons learned in each phase to continuously refine the deployment process. Our ongoing collaboration is continually informing enhancements to the Faces platform, as we continue to work together to accommodate end-user needs to the benefit of all schools operating throughout the diocese.

Building upon this success, Cinglevue sought to develop a solution that would enable educational organisations to take teaching and learning to the next level. With the development of Virtuoso, Cinglevue has also extended its co-creation practices to incorporate University research partners, where research collaboration informs the development of features for enhancing educational outcomes. CEDP has played an active role in this process with schools within the diocese directly involved in research to provide unique insights from teachers and students.

Collectively, co-creative practice and active engagement with research have enabled Cinglevue to pursue a truly innovative agenda.

This approach has allowed external perspectives and expertise to be readily incorporated into Virtuoso in a way that would not otherwise be possible, providing a solid foundation for responding to real-world needs whilst also bridging the gap between research and practice. Moreover, our approach acknowledges that developing a transformational and innovative product is a continuous process, in this sense, features cannot remain static; consistently delivering a customisable, configurable experience is key within a constantly changing environment.

Our view is that technology alone cannot deliver transformation per se, rather it’s what technology enables one to achieve that delivers transformation. Our vision offers a fresh perspective that brings into sharp focus both the limitations of current education systems and the possibilities afforded by a fundamentally different, learner-centred approach. w w w.pa rra .c a t ho l i c. ed u . a u

C AT H O L I C E D U C AT I O N D I O C E S E O F PA R R A M AT TA

“ All we’re doing is shortchanging tomorrow’s generation if we continue teaching them in the same way” — Greg Whitby, ED, Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta 08

happen. Every time I present to them, I try to better understand why something might be working while another thing isn’t.” Heading a team of six directors, Whitby sees his role as further enhancing learning and teaching in schools. “My job is strategic positioning. I have to make sure that our system is fit for purpose in five years time. The question I constantly ask myself is: ‘Are we going to be relevant, around and in the market in five years’ time?’” Ensuring schools maintain a culture capable of thriving inside the constantly evolving digital realm is critical.

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN WESTERN SYDNEY’ 09 Another significant change has been

schooling puts the learner at the centre

in the way learning and teaching is

of schooling. “We’ve embarked on

delivered. Whitby identifies the rapidly

a process of transformation in our

changing marketplace for schooling,

schools,” Whitby explains. “We believe

with the increasing popularity of home-

that contemporary schooling, the way

schooling and micro-credentialing, as

it’s currently delivered in an industrial

examples of why schooling must better

model, is no longer fit for purpose in

meet the demands of today’s learners

today’s world. We’ve got to build diversity

in today’s world. “Going to school, getting

into the system because we believe

your leaving certificate, then going to

that diversity is the norm in learning.

university to get a BA and then an MA

Each person is different and they each

– for many, those days are numbered.

have different needs.”

Yet schools still operate as if they are a sausage machine feeding people

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION

through.” A contemporary model of

To achieve such a change in the model, w w w.pa rra .c a t ho l i c. ed u . a u

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CEDP PARTNERS WITH MIP

C AT H O L I C E D U C AT I O N D I O C E S E O F PA R R A M AT TA

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CEDP has introduced a broad range of

create our data sources, keeping them

technological solutions. Foundational

up-to-date and scheduling them for

is the provision and analysis of data,

refresh.” Using solutions such as Tableau

allowing informed decision-making and

and Alteryx, data has been made

identifying potential problem areas.

accessible to, and understandable for,

“We’ve opened up the data sets, which

principals and teachers. “They used to

were largely in spreadsheets and had

take 30 minutes to look at attendance

never seen the light of day in terms of

data, on a weekly or even a daily basis;

analysis or insights or intelligence,” says

now they take less than a minute.”

Varanasi. “Our data team compiles data

CEDP takes a six lens approach to

sets on several aspects of schooling –

analytics, encompassing Student

literacy, numeracy, intervention support,

Performance, Resourcing and Regula-

student attendance and so on. We then

tory, Community and Culture, Family

blend it with various other sources and

and Religion, Teacher Development

and School Performance, which it has found to be a useful framework.

With its improved content management systems and enterprise service desk, the organisation has also managed to significantly reduce the time it takes to search for data and report problems. Such innovations are beneficial to both business process improvement and the overall company strategy. “Our footprint is almost 90% in the cloud, and many of our investments have now turned from capital expenditure to operational,” says Varanasi.

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Greg Whitby Greg Whitby is a teacher, advocate, administrator and leader.

With 47 years in education, and driven by a commitment to justice and equity, his mission is to transform schooling for every young person.

Greg’s service to education was recognised through the 2018 Australia Day Honours list with the award of the Australian Medal (AM). He was also awarded a Papal Knighthood in the Order of St Gregory the Great and the Australian College of Educators’ Sir Harold Wyndham Medal for his contribution to the education of young people in NSW. w w w.pa rra .c a t ho l i c. ed u . a u

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Technologyonecorp.com

80 Catholic schools now work as one Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP) has joined over 1,300 Australian schools using TechnologyOne’s enterprise software to power their digital transformation.

Powered by TechnologyOne SaaS, 45,000 CEDP students and 5,000 staff use TechnologyOne’s software to drive productivity and focus on student success.

“ We believe that contemporary schooling, the way it’s delivered in an industrial model, is no longer fit for purpose in today’s world” — Greg Whitby, ED, Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta

CEDP has been an early adopter of machine learning technology, allowing it to better utilise the data it collects.

Bringing it to bear on student retention, the organisation wanted to discover the connections between students who left its system between primary and secondary school. “We have introduced machine learning at a system level, in consultation with our directors and leaders,” says Varanasi. “We are already seeing gains from it.” Aside from the business and cost imperatives, the technology also finds a use in helping 15

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Raju Varanasi Raju Varanasi is the Director, Data Intelligence and CIO at Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Parramatta, with responsibilities that include enterprise program office, IT systems and infrastructure, applications and security, data and information services. Raju has over 25 years of experience in the Australian education system, with experience in both government and non-government sectors in Australia. Prior to this role, Raju was the Chief Operating Officer for Education Services Australia, and General Manager of Centre for Learning Innovation, the first ever innovation centre for public schools in the NSW Department of Education. Raju has also presented at major conferences organised by UNESCO, Google, Adobe, Intel and EduTech.

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to identify students who require addition-

cally sealed,” says Whitby. “You went

al support. “Machine learning is

inside the gate in the morning, you came

predictive and proactive. Three years

out in the afternoon, and nobody else

back, all I saw was the post-mortem

came inside or went outside. You can’t

analysis of results. Our intervention

operate like that now. It’s about building

program for literacy and numeracy

connections and working with people

allows us, if the cutoff is the 90th

who can add value to your business

percentile, to actually predict those

processes.” CEDP has partnered with

between 87 and 90 so that schools

a number of technology companies.

can take action to lift their results.”

With IT provider CompNow, CEDP has

With such complex technological

partnered to provide integrated procure-

solutions, CEDP needed the expertise

ment and lifecycle management solu-

of specialists in their respective fields.

tions, and best in breed choice to the

“Schools in the old model were hermeti-

bring-your-own-device program w w w.pa rra .c a t ho l i c. ed u . a u

C AT H O L I C E D U C AT I O N D I O C E S E O F PA R R A M AT TA

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across Chromebooks, MacBooks and

cloud managed service provider Secure

iPads. Telstra helps ensure that CEDP’s

Agility to identify and remedy any

networking infrastructure meets the

issues when they arise. “One particular

demand from its 80 schools and a load

challenge that we have tackled for CEDP

of between 30 and 35 thousand devices

is visibility of network performance and

whilst remaining economical. “Cisco

efficiency, by building dashboards that

has been a long standing partner in our

assist in reducing time to resolve issues

technology journey,” says Varanasi.

and ensuring learning experiences are

“Cisco’s equipment provides the ‘connect’

optimised” says Secure Agility Director

part of our connected learning strate-

of Technology Charlie Tannous. CEDP’s

gies.” To ensure ongoing connectivity

enterprise operations are powered by

in such a large system, CEDP relies on

TechOne solutions: “their Finance,

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Content, and Asset Management

enabled us to embark on the analytics

solutions are bringing productivity and

journey with great confidence in the

consistency across all schools in our

student data we have captured.” By

system.” In data analysis, the company

collaborating with its partners, CEDP

employs the services of data specialists

can ensure the smooth operation of its

outside the organisation, as Varanasi

many high-tech schools.

explains: “When I have a complex problem, I use the senior data analysts from

THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

MIP Australia.” CEDP also uses FACES,

The most important beneficiaries of

a student management system devel-

CEDP’s digital transformation are the

oped by Cinglevue, in all of its schools.

students, and Varanasi was keen to

“It’s a robust enterprise system that has

extend his data collection efforts w w w.pa rra .c a t ho l i c. ed u . a u

towards the wellbeing of students.

“We know our student experience is improving because, for example, we perform an annual survey called ‘Tell Them From Me’ where we listen to all 43,000 of our students. The social side of learning and wellbeing has become a much bigger focus for us as a result of the data obtained from ‘Tell Them From Me’. While digital transformation needs to be shown in student performance or school performance, it must also be about

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student experience and helping optimise the learning experience for each child.”

CEDP has found the effect on its

lines school processes, it is fitting that CEDP also uses technology in the class-

students’ learning to be equally trans-

room to directly improve learning. Our

formative. This has stemmed in part

students and teachers are able to inter-

from the reduced burden on teachers

act through systems such as Google

and principals, allowing them to move

Classroom,” says Varanasi. “Technology

away from administrative tasks to spend

isn’t a substitute for the face-to-face

time on more important matters. “If

teaching, it enhances it. It provides more

a principal spends less time on adminis-

opportunities for teachers and students

tration, or invoicing, supplier and repair

to have richer day-to-day interactions.

issues, they can concentrate on edu-

That’s how technology is improving

cational leadership,” says Varanasi.

teaching and learning.”

With its strong record of implementing technology that frames and stream-

This notion of transformation also extends to the physical realm, with w w w.pa rra .c a t ho l i c. ed u . a u

C AT H O L I C E D U C AT I O N D I O C E S E O F PA R R A M AT TA

Who has the answers to help plan for tomorrow’s classrooms?

Secure Agility is proud to provide CEDP with services and advice that keeps the technology running and an IT roadmap that ensures our children’s learning into the future.

secureagility.com

CLOUD & MANAGED SERVICES | IT CONSULTING | MONITORING & MANAGEMENT | HARDWARE & SOFTWARE

WE UNDERSTAND EDUCATION Customised Procurement Transactional supply, account management & strategic planning.

Managed Service Agreements Tailored agreements including services from repairs to onsite or remote support.

Deployments & MDM SOE deployment, asset tagging & true zero-touch configuration.

Professional Learning & Development Training to help implement technology solutions in the curriculum.

BYOD & 1-to-1 Programs School funded, parent funded, class-sets, BYOD, Mac, PC.

Interactive Classroom Displays Boost interactivity & collaboration in the class with Surface Hub & Office 365.

Lifecycle Management Maintain visibility over your supply chain for easy upgrade & disposal.

Disruptive Printer Technology Printing solutions with lower energy consumption & fast performance.

SOLUTIONS • SERVICES • SUPPORT 1300 COMPNOW | sales@compnow.com.au

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CEDP exploring innovative locations

tion. They should mirror today’s work-

and architecture, including asking

places: we want our students to work in

Secure Agility to lay the foundation for

a space that promotes collaboration

IOT (internet of things) opportunities

and learning.” Whitby concurs, detailing

that will enable truly dynamic and

two of the organisation’s upcoming

responsive classroom environments.

projects. “We’re building our latest school

“Our new schools, including the last five

in a community precinct, because that’s

schools that we have commissioned,

where the community is. Why build

are truly 21st century,” says Varanasi.

a school on a hill, put a fence around it

“We speak to experts in learning enviro-

and use it for just 40 weeks of the year?

nments and spaces, because you can’t

We will also build a school in the precinct

just change the curriculum without

surrounding Sydney’s second airport

changes the learning spaces. Learning

as part of a major science and technol-

environments must allow for collabora-

ogy park. We will partner with other w w w.pa rra .c a t ho l i c. ed u . a u

C AT H O L I C E D U C AT I O N D I O C E S E O F PA R R A M AT TA

OUR PARTNERS

TechnologyOne

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TechnologyOne is an ASX-150 company with 14 offices around the world, employing over 1,200 staff and investing $50 million in Australian innovation.

TechnologyOne has been a partner of CEDP for many years but was selected in 2015 to become the core Enterprise Financials suite for both schools and Head Office. Since then our partnership has gained momentum to include Enterprise Content Management and Enterprise Asset Management.

As an early adopter of cloud services, CEDP has leveraged the benefits of TechnologyOne cloud, through scalability and access including compute support during peak periods such as our Billing cycles.

CEDP enjoys a well-managed and transparent vendor relationship

Secure Agility Pty Ltd Secure Agility is a provider of Professional and Managed ICT Solutions provider with expert knowledge of Telstra and Cisco architectures.

CEDP has partnered with Secure Agility

for several years and has utilised their skills and managed services across many domains including: • Network • Cloud • Data Centre • Apps and Collaboration • End User Computing • Transformation CEDP have found the team to be customer centric, highly skilled and professional and willing to go the extra mile to make our projects a success, We have a high confidence in the quality of their work.

MIP Australia MIP is a data company with over 26 years’ experience in Australia. MIP, a gold partner for Tableau and Alteryx, has supported CEDP since the early days of our digital transformation in helping establish our own a self-service analytics framework.

Through their expertise in the enterprise data cycle, MIP has positioned CEDP to develop over 400 visualisations and dashboards covering our rich data sets across many domains. These analytics have delivered actionable insights and enormous value to the teachers, staff and students in our schools.

CingleVue International Pty Ltd

Telstra

CingleVue have been a partner of CEDP for the past 8 years. CingleVue supply our Enterprise Student Information System which has been the backbone of our journey from Legacy school-based applications to Enterprise strength best of breed services which have been transformational in the rich data they have provided to our system of schools. Underpinned by Oracle technology, the student information system has been robust, available and reliable throughout.

It has awakened an appetite for data within our user community.

Telstra is Australia’s leading telecommunications and technology company, offering a full range of communications services and competing in all telecommunications markets.

In Australia Telstra provides 18.0 million retail mobile services, 3.7 million retail fixed bundles and standalone data services and 1.7 million retail fixed standalone voice services.

Telstra is CEDP’s Telecoms provider including Voice and Landlines. This also includes Cisco routers through their managed services.

CompNow

Cisco

CompNow provide device procurement, deployment & support services to our Education community.

CEDP have found them to be innovative in their approach to procurement, they are supported by excellent technology and self service mechanism and have also provided value added services in partner with Financial organisations to support leasing and buy-back services.

Cisco Systems is an American technology company, operating globally, best known for its computer networking products.

CEDP utilise Cisco for their network computing needsfor Network, Voice, Switches and Routing.

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C AT H O L I C E D U C AT I O N D I O C E S E O F PA R R A M AT TA

“ If a principal spends less time on administration, or invoicing, supplier or repair issues, they can concentrate more on educational leadership” — Raju Varanasi, DDI, Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta

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education, business and industry providers. It’s an opportunity to be part of a community that will change the very nature of schooling.”

Given the rapidly changing nature of today’s world, CEDP sees its transformation agenda as an ongoing process. “Our goals for the future are to drive change in the ways learning is done, the ways learning spaces are organised and the ways that teachers interact with students through technology,” says Varanasi. In doing so, not only will schools thrive in a business sense, but students will develop the skills and capabilities necessary for the modern world. “The old model’s broken,” says Whitby. “Let’s be honest about it and build the future.

All we’re doing is short-changing tomorrow’s generation if we continue teaching them in the same way. Times have changed, and technologies like data and machine learning in the school system are here to stay.”

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12 Victoria Road Parramatta NSW 2150 T +61 2 9840 5600 www.parra.catholic.edu.au