Abstract

This article presents the implementation and usability of a based web system to promote positive educational trajectories based on technology and available evidence on educational engagement's predictive capacity to influence students' educational trajectories in Chilean schools. The web-based system was developed through collaborative work between the university, information technology team, school communities, and stakeholders (governmental institutions). It is a web-based system composed of six steps whose axis centers on a decision-making space between teachers-students-parents (School Engagement Board) tasked with applying online and scientifically validated school engagement and contextual factors measurement instruments, checking specific report results for each actor involved into the system (teacher, school engagement board coordinator, school) as well as reviewing advocacy strategies that are pertinent to school context and manage strategy implementation supported by the management sheets that the model offers to schools. The goal of this paper is to present the usability of the system through a case study of the implementation in Chilean public schools. In order to discuss about which elements should be incorporated to adjust and improve the system’s usability and to guarantee its effective implementation, the paper describes those aspects that have favored and/or hindered the use of this educational technology platform in the Chilean case. The results make it clear that there have been more difficulties related to management aspects than IT, indicating that these conditions are critical for implementation even when SIESE is designed for stand-alone use. Although there are aspects to upgrade, such as extending its use to other browsers, improving the intervention guidelines and others systems functionalities, this web based-system have been considered by educational communities as a simple, useful, and intuitive platform. The paper concludes about the importance of having this type of platform in Chile and other Latin American countries, for its contribution to school management -being helpful for day-to-day educational practice- due to different technical facilitators.