High School Goes High Tech Through Unique ECM Partnership

Dec 2008 , Sponsored by OnBase - Hyland Software, Inc.

Westlake City Schools students are getting a look at software that goes way beyond a basic computer class. And they won't just be learning about it - they'll be helping to create it. The school district, which is located about 12 miles west of downtown Cleveland, has partnered with its Westlake neighbor, Hyland Software, on a special hands-on learning project.

Hyland will involve students from Westlake High School in the creation of a new module for OnBase, Hyland's award-winning enterprise content management (ECM) solution. The students will work with Hyland staff on the software configuration process from start to finish. The school system then will be able to use the software, which will help automate the creation and distribution of meeting agendas and minutes.

Hyland has been working on a variety of projects with the City of Westlake since moving to the city in 2002. These projects focus on how OnBase can help the city work more efficiently. Superintendent of Westlake City Schools Dan Keenan was interested in OnBase too. He and Westlake Mayor Dennis M. Clough have had numerous discussions about OnBase, including how the city uses it and how the school district could use it as well. Keenan's discussions with Hyland eventually led to the learning project.

Learning by Doing
An independent study group of eight students will work to configure the software. "Kids think bigger than we do, and they are starving for a way to channel their energy into something productive," said Keenan. "They don't know the boundaries that adults seem to face as they get older. Kids still think outside of the box, which is why they tend to have so many great ideas."

The students will participate in software planning, design, implementation and training. They will begin by discovering how the schools currently handle agendas and minutes, what the business processes are, and how meeting information is currently captured and distributed. Then they'll help configure the solution that will aid the schools in getting the work done more efficiently.

Students will do much of the work themselves. "That's what's really exciting about it," said Keenan. "It isn't that students will watch the Hyland team do the work and then just talk about it - it's, ‘This is how you do it, now go out and do it. And as you encounter different issues and problems, this is the process we use to work those problems out.'"

Students will learn how much work goes into creating software and how many steps are involved. "It's about taking them through the processes, and showing them how everything links together," Keenan said. "It provides a great opportunity for our kids to understand what happens from software development to project management, all the way through implementing that software and training people within an organization to use it."

Professional Partnership - and Philanthropy Effort
The project is an extension of the school district's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program. STEM works to foster interest among students in STEM-related fields in preparation for the work world. "Kids are interested in science and technology, but they don't really see, in typical schooling, how it applies to problem solving or a career," Keenan said. "Science fairs and contests are all well and good, but being able to work with a local successful company will really put it into perspective for them."

To bolster the project, the school district decided to extend opportunities initiated through a STEM grant from the Ohio Board of Regents. The grant was specified for this type of concept at the middle school, and this was a great opportunity to expand it to the high school. Hyland suggested the software configuration idea as a good fit for the high school students.