Abstract:

There is a multitude of data and information, as well as a large number of stakeholders that need to be identified and placed in the function of secondary education development. Students, teachers, parents, school management, community representatives, representatives of authorities, representatives of industry and other stakeholders lack the adequate and relevant information necessary to manage and make appropriate (high-quality) decisions. The reasons for this include absence of appropriate institutional support and lack of high-quality collaborative information services, which would enable raising the level of their knowledge by means of appropriately gathered and unified data.

The paper presents the results of empirical research aimed at establishing the level of readiness of students, parents and teachers at schools to active use a collaborative information platform, and identifying its primary functionalities. The conducted survey included 523 students, parents and teachers in the Republic of Serbia. According to the survey results, the students expect that the platform should possess elements of managing documents and contents that are used or only stored for future use or exchange, or monitoring their flows and search in an archive. The platform also supports exchange of information and knowledge, but also collaboration of all stakeholders. Such a method of work deepens and enhances their collaboration through various forms of web 2.0 communication, such as audio and video presentations, discussion forums, blogs, surveys etc. News and information are also contents that are significant for the realization of individual activities and processes within secondary schools. An especially significant component of the platform would be the contents of e-learning system, usually open-access, which enable supporting additional courses, open meetings, lectures, surveys, forums etc.

As a result of analysis of replies gathered by means of survey, the paper particularly identifies and elaborates necessary innovation of secondary school business processes that would be caused, i.e. indicated by the adoption of the collaborative information platform.

Keywords:

Collaborative information platform, functionalities, secondary schools, business processes.