In the rapidly evolving world of technology, APIs have become indispensable tools for fostering innovation and efficiency. During my tenure at the Overseas School of Colombo (OSC), I often pondered how we could refine our systems. What should an ideal MIS, LMS, or SIS encompass? My exploration led me to delve into APIs, databases, programming, and notably, JavaScript. My primary goal was to achieve optimal efficiency without escalating costs. Through APIs, I crafted tailored solutions that addressed OSC’s unique challenges.

Essential Tools in My Arsenal:

• Postman: My go-to for API testing. The exhilaration I felt when I executed my first API endpoints for Open Apply was unparalleled.
• Airtable: A versatile tool that, in my opinion, has the potential to replace traditional SIS. Its features like views, Gantt charts, and extensions are commendable.
• Low-code Tools: Platforms like Parabola and n8n were instrumental in integrating API endpoints with Airtable, allowing me to delve deeper into APIs with minimal coding.
• JavaScript: To navigate the initial limitations of low-code tools, I ventured into JavaScript. Mastering data extraction, manipulation, and understanding objects, properties, and arrays was an enlightening journey.

My experiments culminated in the establishment of a student information system on Airtable, seamlessly synchronized with OpenApply, our admissions database. This is where the prowess of low-code tools shone. Parabola, especially, was a cost-effective solution that offered immense value. By connecting to the OpenApply API, I could extract data and subsequently feed it into the Airtable API. This facilitated the creation of dynamic views, such as lists of parents without mobile numbers, students with single parents, and more. Essentially, I had crafted an SIS.

Automations that Transformed Our Workflow:

1. Teacher Schedules Integration: I devised a system to feed teacher schedules from Managebac into Google Calendar. Overcoming the challenges posed by Managebac’s API limitations was no easy task. By amalgamating data from various sources like ASC Timetable Scheduler and Google Calendar, I successfully streamlined all schedules into a centralized calendar.
2. Syncing Classes & Students: Google Classroom lacked a bulk creation utility for classes and students. By harnessing data from Managebac’s API and using Parabola, I seamlessly synced classes and students from Managebac to Google Classroom.
3. Bulk Updates in Managebac: I utilized Airtable to bulk update student homeroom advisors and courses in Managebac using Parabola as the data integration middleware that would be invoked by a incoming web-hook.

These are just a few examples of the numerous automations I implemented. For a comprehensive overview, you can watch my presentation at the Faria Tech Conference 2022, where I delve deeper into my API journey.