North Penn School District

Anytime, anywhere access is a lifesaver

When schools made a surprise shift to virtual learning, “already having ClassLink in place was a lifesaver for a lot of reasons,” explains Dr. Kristen Landis, Director of Technology at North Penn School District, PA.

Most importantly, ClassLink’s Single Sign-On platform gives every student and teacher consistent access to a launchpad containing all the district’s digital resources using just one username and password—from anywhere and at any time. That’s crucial as the district’s 13,000 students shift between in-class, hybrid, and virtual learning.

“There’s a lot of power in just how easy access is for all of our students,” explains Dr. Landis. She says having a consistent way to access digital learning saves time, reduces support calls, and keeps learning on track.

ClassLink offers more than SSO

With a districtwide 1:1 Chromebook program and more than 40 digital learning applications, Landis and her staff chose ClassLink over three years ago to make accessing digital learning easier. 

As Learning Coach Brett Baker explains, ClassLink encourages technology use by cutting out problems that waste instruction time like forgotten passwords and trouble finding digital resources.

With access issues out of the way, Landis and her staff quickly learned ClassLink offers much more than SSO support. Today the district has grown to use ClassLink in ways they hadn’t expected.

• ClassLink Roster Server provides time-saving automated rostering.
• ClassLink Analytics helps them understand student and teacher engagement with resources. This enables staff to make informed purchasing and professional development decisions.
• And, of course, ClassLink’s platform eventually made it easier to make a surprise shift to remote learning.

“It’s the ultimate single sign-on, and we love it for that reason,” explains Landis.

Analytics support purchasing and PD decisions

Today, Landis says ClassLink Analytics is an integral part of the decision-making process when it comes to renewing application licenses. 

For example, using ClassLink Analytics, Landis and her colleagues noticed one application was only used by seven teachers and about 300 students. Those are small numbers when you consider the district serves 13,000 students. 

With those details, administrators could decide to provide additional professional development or opt-out of renewing the license agreement.

Consistent access for teachers and students

Sixth-grade teacher Wendy Stover says ClassLink is the basis for how she and her students start every school day. She loves that the process for logging in is consistent no matter which devices students use, and all the resources they need are at their fingertips.

“ClassLink is the consistency amidst all of this uncertainty. It’s that structure, and routine people look for and need when things are inconsistent. To have ClassLink has been very valuable, no matter where we’re learning from," says Stover.

Learning coach Baker echoes that sentiment, “ClassLink is a vital part of who we are and where we are as a district. For parents, students, teachers, and administrators, it’s been a huge helping hand.”