from the SchoolTool website:
for Educators
SchoolTool will provide a robust and reliable means of managing their school or classroom, saving time on routine tasks like managing class rosters, tracking student attendance, assessment and demographic information, helping teachers coordinate their schedules and reserve resources like projectors and computer labs. The system will be accessible through a web interface or specialized desktop applications. SchoolTool's interface will be easily translated for use around the world and accessible to people with disabilites. Read more about our vision for schools...
for Developers
SchoolTool is more than just a relational database backed web site. It is an object-oriented platform specifically designed for the rapid development of networked applications for schools. It is built on outstanding open source technologies, including the Python programming language, Zope 3's component architecture, the Zope Object Database, and the Twisted framework. Extreme programming is the preferred programming methodology for the project. Read more about SchoolTool's architecture...
for System Administrators
Our goal is that schools will be able to install and use SchoolTool with a minimal architecture, as little as a single pc, and without a professional system administrator. For schools that have a more complex infrastructure and staff to manage it, SchoolTool will provide an unprecedented level of interoperability with other applications throughout the school, via a comprehensive web services API. Read more about deployment scenarios for SchoolTool...
for Foundations
Development of SchoolTool is funded by The Shuttleworth Foundation. The SchoolTool project is innovative not only it its use of open source licensing to distribute an application to schools at no cost, but in its full embrace of the energy and creativity of the global hacker community and its tools. The project is not based at a university, but is managed by an open community of educators and programmers. If successful, SchoolTool will set a new paradigm for foundation-funded software development. Read more about our system for funding open source development...