PLBuilder
Client: New South Wales Department of Education
Team: GreyMeta
At GreyMeta, the innovation studio behind SLAM, we pride ourselves on creating transformative digital solutions. One such solution is PLBuilder—a comprehensive suite of apps designed to deliver remote professional learning at scale. Initially developed for the Quality Teaching Practice (QTP) unit within the New South Wales Department of Education, PLBuilder has since grown to support over 12,000 teachers per year across multiple educational streams.
The Challenge
The HSC Strategy team at QTP had long been the standard-bearers for high-quality, face-to-face professional learning experiences. However, with the onset of a global pandemic, the team faced a pressing question: how could they pivot to online learning without sacrificing their hallmark quality?
The Solution
We designed PLBuilder to meet this challenge head-on. PLBuilder is a seamless, feature-rich learning environment using Microsoft's Power Platform, Teams, and SharePoint. This ecosystem integrated three core components:
My Digital Lanyard
Each personalised lanyard is integrated into Microsoft Teams, helping tailor the professional development journey for each educator.
PLRegister
A one-stop registration platform integrated with Microsoft 365 and SharePoint.
PLBuilder Management Tool
The backend powerhouse enabling coordinators to manage all aspects of deep professional learning.
Key Features
- Customised Learning Paths: Tailored lanyards guide teachers through their learning sessions, eliminating the need to navigate multiple platforms.
- Dynamic Collaboration: A proprietary algorithm creates collaboration groups based on diverse criteria, fostering rich discussions.
- Real-Time Tracking: In-app progress tracking for both coordinators and participants.
- Communication Made Easy: An integrated EDM tool for bulk email sends, all aligned with NSW Education's branding guidelines.
- Deep Insights: Comprehensive data analytics and evaluation capabilities offering insights into participants' progress and resource engagement.
Impact & Results
PLBuilder has not just survived but thrived, with a permanent team of developers, operators, learning designers, and evaluators now dedicated to its continual improvement. Here's the impact by numbers:
- Teacher Engagement: 4.2/5 average rating against key adult learning principles.
- Recommendation Scores: 73% of participants rate their likelihood to recommend at 8 or above on a 0-10 scale.
- Usage: Supports over 12,000 teachers a year, with seven distinct streams of professional learning.
Testimonials
PLBuilder was awarded a silver medal in the Step Two Intranet and Digital Workplace Awards, global awards that recognise outstanding contributions to the fields of intranets and digital workplaces. From the judges of the Intranet and Digital Workplace Awards:
"This is an imaginative and highly ambitious combination of Teams, SharePoint and Power Apps."
"The impact of the tool is impressive, and the training delivered has had a quantifiable and significant positive impact on learning."
"We love the incorporation of live support for events that is also embedded within the platform. Including a mass EDM tool is a nice touch that is very useful."
The Team and Legacy
What started as a challenge has turned into an ongoing initiative, now driven by a permanent team of developers, operators, learning designers, and evaluators. PLBuilder didn't just solve a problem; it redefined the landscape of professional learning. Other streams within QTP, initially hesitant, have now adopted PLBuilder, realising its benefits for their own programs. PLBuilder is continually evaluated and optimised by a dedicated team. It stands as a living testament to what can be achieved when technology meets educational excellence.
For more details or to explore what Slam can do for your educational needs, book a free consultation.