Xplor Childcare & Education bolsters Playground offering with mobile programming and planning features

Childcare management software provider Xplor Childcare & Education has confirmed a new fully mobile programming and planning feature for Playground, Xplor's educator platform, as it continues to deliver on its promise to invest across its early childhood education and care (ECEC) software ecosystem. 

“We are very pleased to be announcing this important upgrade to Playground,” Matt Varley, GM Xplor Childcare & Education said.

 

“Coming into 2023 we made a commitment to our user community that we would listen very carefully to their needs and strive to ensure that our core business delivers on our mission of making great childcare software for leaders, educators and parents.”

 

“As we approach the end of the year, this important addition to Playground is a great example of us delivering on our promises. The upgrade will be of real value to educators, saving a great deal of time and ultimately providing more room for them to deliver top-quality early learning to the children in their care.”

 

Observations, Documentation, Canvases and Tables now all mobile enabled

 

Playground, Xplor's educator platform, enables ECEC providers to streamline everyday duties for educators and staff. It facilitates parental engagement and assists educators with documentation and compliance. 

 

Initially, the app focused on tracking health events and other health and safety documentation, which provides parents with peace of mind. However, to access programming and planning features, educators had to log into the Playground web platform on their computers. 

 

The new release will bring programming and planning functionality into the iOS version of the Playground app, giving educators the flexibility to document learning outcomes as they occur, in real time, allowing educators to access observations, documentation, canvases and tables on their mobile devices for improved programming and planning.

 

 

Educators can now track and report on each child's learning outcomes and achievements with visually appealing documentation, making it much easier for them to share learning journeys with parents and, in particular, providing educators with the creative means to create stunning planning documents.

 

"Direct access to the programming and planning records via the Playground app means educators are able to create meaningful documentation and record experiences with greater flexibility,” Kirsten Holland, General Manager of Program and Practice of Catholic Early Ed Care explained.

 

“The app will enable educators to interact with the platform in ways that suit them best, saving time and supporting increased engagement with Playground and shared decision-making with children," she added.

 

Listening to pedagogical experts informed details of Playground additions

 

As well as seeking feedback from its extensive user community as to how to enhance its existing software solutions, the team at Xplor have also actively consulted with pedagogical experts about how best practice standards could be harnessed to take the Playground experience to the next level. 

 

“When digital platforms are responsive to the nature of educators’ work in early childhood education settings, documentation can become more meaningful and accessible,” Dr Melinda Miller, the Director of Early Learning at First Five Early Learning said. 

 

“The evolution of Playground web functionality into the app is responsive to the time-critical nature of educators’ work, a need for flexibility in how documentation is accessed and recorded, and opportunities for working with digital documentation in more innovative ways for and with children,” she added.  

 

Consistent with Xplor’s commitment to listen carefully to users and experts about ways to deliver on their overall mission to empower educators, and the early education sector at large, Dr Miller’s feedback has been central to the outcomes of this important Playground enhancement. 

 

To take advantage of the new features, users must update their Playground app version 2.14.0 on their iPad or Apple mobile device. After the update, educators will be able complete education programming and planning tasks in the app, wherever they are. To learn more about how Playground can benefit childcare service providers, book a demo or visit the website.