Maryvit School uses PowerSchool PowerBuddy built with Azure OpenAI to boost focus and efficiency

Maryvit School wanted to personalize learning, streamline teaching, and support Thailand’s “Anywhere Anytime” education policy. With limited time and resources, educators needed to balance lesson planning, administrative tasks, and student engagement.

Maryvit School partnered with PowerSchool to implement PowerBuddy, an AI assistant powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. It enhances efficiency by generating lesson plans and personalized learning activities while keeping students focused.

PowerBuddy transformed learning at Maryvit School by personalizing education and reducing educator workloads. It boosts student engagement and independence while streamlining lesson planning, providing real-time feedback and enhancing accessibility.

Like many schools in Thailand—and around the world—Maryvit School works hard to serve students with diverse learning needs including those with varying levels of English proficiency. Educators face mounting pressures to manage large classrooms, stay on top of administrative tasks, and prepare engaging lesson plans—all while striving to deliver personalized learning experiences to each student within limited timeframes.

Maryvit School is a private Catholic educational institution in Thailand, educating over 10,500 students across four campuses. The school offers holistic education from kindergarten through secondary levels, emphasizing academic excellence, social responsibility, and creativity.

In response to Thailand’s “Anywhere Anytime” education policy—which strives to make learning more accessible and flexible through digital platforms, allowing students to study at their convenience—Maryvit incorporated PowerSchool’s PowerBuddy, an AI-driven learning assistant powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, into their existing PowerSchool LMS, Schoology Learning. Integrating seamlessly with PowerSchool, PowerBuddy provides students with 24/7 personalized learning support and helps educators streamline their workflows. This innovative tool helps to fulfil the Anywhere Anytime goal of bridging educational gaps and promoting equal opportunities across the country.

“This is not just about using technology,” says Dr. Steven Kitikiatisak, President at Maryvit School. “It’s about preparing our students and teachers for the future with tools that are secure, trusted, and effective. PowerBuddy is like having a dedicated tutor for each student, offering personalized guidance and helping them stay on track. The AI capabilities of PowerBuddy have significantly reduced the workload for teachers, allowing them to focus more on what they do best—teaching.”

Maryvit Schools in Thailand utilizes PowerBuddy from PowerSchool, running on Azure OpenAI Service

More inclusive, more engaging, more efficient

PowerSchool’s PowerBuddy acts as a one-on-one assistant for students, offering focused, personalized support and helping them manage their studies. Built-in inclusivity features, such as speech-to-text functionality, make learning more accessible to students with unique needs and offers support for those learning English. By incorporating visual aids, videos, and conversational feedback, PowerBuddy fosters an interactive and engaging learning experience, empowering students to learn independently and at their own pace.

“Students love it because they can ask questions without fear of judgment,” Apinya Srinuttee, 9th grade Science teacher, explains. “PowerBuddy puts things in simple terms and adapts to their needs. And its speech-to-text feature is a game-changer for students who struggle with traditional learning methods. It makes education accessible to everyone.”

For teachers, PowerBuddy generates quizzes, activities, and lesson plans within minutes, saving valuable preparation time while providing creative and customizable teaching strategies for diverse student needs. It also boosts administrative efficiency by helping streamline time-consuming tasks, giving teachers more time to focus on student engagement. Additionally, PowerBuddy’s insightful analytics feature examines chat logs and student interactions, enabling teachers to identify areas where students are struggling and provide timely support.

A survey conducted with over 100 Maryvit teachers revealed that 98% felt PowerBuddy saved time in lesson creation and 50% reported saving 20 minutes or more per lesson or assessment. Teachers and students alike have expressed satisfaction with the tool, citing its efficiency and ease of use.

Louis Alfred Fontelo, Schoology Administrator at Maryvit, attributes these phenomenal results to PowerBuddy’s ability to act as an extension of Maryvit’s teachers by addressing individual queries and providing immediate tailored feedback. This helps struggling students manage their learning without added pressure, even outside school hours.

Building confidence during the process of learning

PowerBuddy empowers all students to learn at their own pace. PowerBuddy also helps keep students focused on their subjects by redirecting them if they get off-topic.

“PowerBuddy has guardrails that keep students focused on the topic,” Fontelo shares. “If they ask unrelated questions, PowerBuddy redirects them back to the lesson. There’s also a chat history feature for teachers. If students type inappropriate words, PowerBuddy flags them, and teachers can address it.”

PowerBuddy has also increased student confidence by facilitating self-directed exploration. Students use PowerBuddy to explore topics, ask questions, and receive text-based responses enriched with images and videos, equipping them with knowledge before classroom discussions and encouraging more active participation.

Tippayaphorn Sungaied, a 5th grade English teacher, notes that students appreciate PowerBuddy’s friendly, conversational interface. This nurturing dynamic enhances their enthusiasm for learning. By reducing pressure and encouraging curiosity, it fosters greater happiness and engagement in the classroom, especially for those who hesitate to ask questions in class.

“Students love using PowerBuddy,” she says. “Features like videos and explanations give them confidence to prepare independently for lessons. I’ve noticed how PowerBuddy helps struggling students catch up while making learning fun and engaging for everyone.”

Helping educators focus on what truly matters

Sungaied also uses PowerBuddy to simplify lesson planning in Schoology Learning, enabling her to create quizzes, exercises, and customized activities in just minutes, compared to over an hour previously. Its flexibility allows her to tailor question formats to her students’ needs—everything from fill-in-the-blank to multiple-choice. Sungaied also uses PowerBuddy to analyze chat logs to generate insights, helping her quickly identify areas where students need support.

“The flexibility of PowerBuddy allows me to customize quizzes and activities based on my students’ needs, making lessons more effective,” Sungaied says. “But it’s not just about saving time; PowerBuddy gives me more opportunities to focus on what truly matters—helping my students succeed.”

For teachers like Srinuttee and Sungaied, PowerBuddy isn’t just a tool; it’s a partner in education, helping them to reduce their workloads so they can focus on fostering student creativity and engagement.

“PowerBuddy has made lesson planning so much easier,” says Srinuttee. “What used to take hours now takes minutes, and it even gives me creative ideas I hadn’t considered before. It frees me up to focus more on my students instead of spending hours on prep work. I feel like I can give them more individual attention.”

“The flexibility of PowerBuddy allows me to customize quizzes and activities based on my students’ needs, making lessons more effective. But it’s not just about saving time; PowerBuddy gives me more opportunities to focus on what truly matters—helping my students succeed.”

Tippayaphorn Sungaied, 5th Grade English Teacher, Maryvit School

Building peace of mind with secure AI

Committed to responsible AI, PowerSchool built PowerBuddy on Azure OpenAI Service with robust security measures and careful monitoring. Hosting PowerSchool SIS on Microsoft Azure helps schools reduce risk, enhance data security, and lower total ownership costs, helping to build a strong foundation for secure AI-driven solutions.

“Using Azure OpenAI Service ensures that PowerBuddy operates securely, respecting student privacy and data safety,” Kitikiatisak says. “This is crucial for building trust in any AI system.”

Deepening integrations between PowerSchool and Microsoft 365 tools, like AI-powered Learning Accelerators and Teams Assignments, also saves teachers time while advancing student learning. Fontelo views AI as a critical tool for the future and encourages other schools to adopt such technologies in safe, secure environments to prepare students and teachers for the evolving digital landscape.

“I’m proud to see how PowerBuddy is helping students and teachers,” he says. “It’s backed by Microsoft and PowerSchool, so I know it’s reliable and safe. It allows teachers to be more efficient and creative, while students can learn at their own pace. It’s a great tool for continuous support and gives everyone more opportunities. I believe it will help our students be future-ready for AI tools.”

“I’m proud to see how PowerBuddy is helping students and teachers. It’s backed by Microsoft and PowerSchool, so I know it’s reliable and safe. It allows teachers to be more efficient and creative, while students can learn at their own pace.”

Louis Alfred Fontelo, Schoology Administrator, Maryvit School

Preparing students for an AI-driven future

Tools like PowerBuddy foster creativity, productivity, and personalize learning while helping to prepare students for an AI-driven future. With gamified activities, multimedia resources, and interactive features, classrooms are now more dynamic and engaging, serving large student populations with limited educator resources.

By reducing teacher workloads, fostering student independence, and creating inclusive learning environments, Maryvit’s adoption of PowerBuddy sets a benchmark for effective and secure AI integration in schools. It ensures that all Maryvit students, regardless of their abilities or backgrounds, have access to quality learning resources and support.

“By streamlining lesson planning and assessments, PowerBuddy gives our teachers more time to connect with students,” Kitikiatisak explains. “The result? Students are far more engaged and confident because they’re receiving personalized support tailored to their individual needs.”

“By streamlining lesson planning and assessments, PowerBuddy gives our teachers more time to connect with students. The result? Students are far more engaged and confident because they’re receiving personalized support tailored to their individual needs.”

Dr. Steven Kitikiatisak, President, Maryvit School