Just over a year ago, Ida, a primary school teacher in Hylte municipality, discovered the digital learning tool Kattalo. It all started when Ida's daughter came home from school in the neighboring municipality and told her about the cool app that helps you learn to read and write. After testing it with her students, she quickly realized its potential.
But Ida wasn't satisfied with having Kattalo in her own classroom - she decided to introduce the tool to the entire municipality.
Today, one year later, Kattalo has been implemented in all of Hylte's primary schools. Ida's drive and dedication have given over 500 students access to modern support to reach their goals in Swedish. However, the road there hasn't always been straightforward. It has required perseverance, conviction, and collaboration. Ida's journey shows that every teacher can make a difference and contribute to development, not only in their own classroom but in the entire municipality.
We have spoken with Ida about her experiences. In this post, she shares her best tips, pitfalls to avoid, and success factors for you as a teacher to introduce new learning tools at the municipal level.
Positive effects directly in the classroom
It all started when Ida's daughter came home from school in a neighboring municipality and told her about the amazing app that helps you learn to read and write. Ida got curious, visited Kattalo's website, and decided to test it in her own teaching.
"I downloaded Kattalo for my six students, three of whom had already cracked the reading code. Even they found it fun with the repetition. And a bilingual student started reading with more correct pronunciation," says Ida.
After just a few weeks, she noticed clear effects, especially on the students who previously had difficulty getting started with reading. Shortly thereafter, Ida's colleagues also started using Kattalo and saw the same positive results. Enthusiasm grew at the school.
Finding the right entry point in the municipality
Ida didn't want to stop at having Kattalo in her own school. She realized the potential of offering the tool to all students in the municipality. That's when the planning began to anchor the idea and create understanding at the decision-making level.
To begin with, Ida contacted a strategist at the municipality whom she knew worked with school development. She highlighted the need for modern tools for reading and writing instruction. The strategist directed her further to the special education teachers, to whom Ida then got to demonstrate Kattalo.
With them on her side, the dialogue took off. The app aroused curiosity, and Ida was invited to demonstrate Kattalo on a large training day for principals and educators in the municipality.
Demonstrate in practice and emphasize the benefits
During the training day, Ida gave a walkthrough of Kattalo and showed in practice how it works. She also shared several examples from her own teaching on how the app has simplified things for her while the students make faster progress.
The message was clear: Kattalo is not just another app that gets added to the pile, but a powerful tool that complements and strengthens the work of teachers. This, in combination with letting the participants test for themselves, created great enthusiasm.
Many teachers and principals strongly expressed that Kattalo was something they wanted. This meant that the ball eventually rolled on in the municipality's decision-making processes.
A long process – don't give up!
Despite the great interest from the schools, it took time before everything was in place. Ida had to remind and follow up several times on how the evaluation was going. But in the end, after about six months, the municipal license for Kattalo was in place. Today, all primary schools and adapted primary schools in Hylte can use the app to reach the goals in Swedish.
Ida's advice is not to give up, even if the processes in public organizations sometimes take time. The hardest part is to get the ball rolling in the first place. After that, it's about staying on top of things by following up and reminding key people about the benefits.
Practical guide to introducing Kattalo in your municipality
In addition to her own inspiring story, Ida shares several nuggets of wisdom for those who want to introduce new learning tools in their municipality:
Test it yourself in the classroom first to see the effects. It adds credibility!
Seek out key people who drive strategic development in the municipality. Special education teachers are also good entry points.
Demonstrate in practice and talk about your experiences. Concrete examples convince!
Talk to the supplier – you often get good input and materials to use.
Be persistent and remind key people if the process is slow. Unfortunately, this is common!
Don't give up! Even if it takes time, your commitment can yield results in the end.
A burning interest in the best for the students drives teachers like Ida. By spreading knowledge, inspiring colleagues, and knocking on the right doors in the municipality, every teacher can contribute to development – not only in their own classroom but for all students.
Kattalo wants to support more passionate souls like Ida in the endeavor to strengthen children's and young people's learning. Feel free to contact us for advice and support in the process of introducing Kattalo in your municipality.
Together we reach further!
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