Page 14 - The EDGE Summer 2024

TECHNOLOGY

BY VERONICA PERCIADO AND HELENE MCMURPHY
Revolutionizing Data Access and Sharing ̶

How AI Is Transforming the Vail School District

Veronica Perciado Helene McMurphy

School districts across the nation, including Vail, presents a compelling means to mitigate risks of
encounter significant challenges in managing their errors, expedite turnaround times, and enhance
back-office operations efficiently. From human operational efficiency. TIVA's Knowledge Base,
resources and finance to facilities management for instance, furnishes employees with 24/7
and procurement, these administrative functions support, addressing frequent questions that
are frequently burdened by manual processes, are answered by district employees who spend
repetitive tasks, and disjointed data sources. valuable time researching and responding to them.
Moreover, the demand for immediate access to This self-service approach not only alleviates the
information compounds these challenges. workload of many staff members, but also ensures
the consistent and accurate timely dissemination of
A study by the Education Commission of the
information. This is accomplished in a walled and
States found that school district central office
secure district-controlled environment that ensures
staff spend upwards of 60% of their time on
security and accuracy.
compliance reporting and administrative tasks.
The EdTech Evidence Exchange estimated that Furthermore, AI-powered software serves as a
automating routine data entry, scheduling, and cornerstone in optimizing resources, facilitating
other administrative processes could save schools universal data access across devices. Equipped
up to 728 hours of staff time per school year. One with features including text generation, question
survey found that 58% of district administrators answering, summarization, language translation,
said repetitive manual tasks were a significant drain and analysis, these technologies comprehend
on efficiency and productivity in their business and produce fluent, contextual language. It is
offices. This is a clear and painful reminder that the noteworthy that such advancements happen within
struggles at the central offices of school districts secure, controlled environments, safeguarding
are not going away and the increased use of AI in proprietary data from external influences and
these areas will provide relief and improvements. removing any hallucinations.

Recognizing the imperative to streamline access In tandem with these advancements, Vail has
to district and student information securely while established a rigorous validation process to uphold
delivering specific responses to inquiries and data data accuracy and produce stakeholder buy-in.
requests, Vail sought transformative solutions. This meticulous approach reinforces the credib0As
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) ility and reliability of AI-driven insights, creating
technologies emerged as a promising avenue to organizational confidence. As technological
streamline operations, reduce costs, and bolster adoption increases so will the expectations and
overall productivity. confidence that TIVA-like products will increase
data usage, improve employee satisfaction, and
AI-powered automation, exemplified by products
save hundreds of hours. What is your time worth?
such as TIVA from Mindshine Technologies,
A question worth thinking about.
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14 THE EDGE SUMMER 2024