For schools · in development, not yet in use at any schoolIn development
An alternative to Magister or Somtoday?
Ludendo aims to become one.
Ludendo is a new school app for Dutch secondary education, made to replace Magister or Somtoday: student administration, the app for parents and students, lesson materials, messages and absence in one. Ludendo is in development.
For school leaders, school boards, IT and administration. Magister and Somtoday are trademarks of their own makers. Ludendo is a different company and is not affiliated with them.
What Ludendo is
One app for the whole school.
With how far each part is.
Ludendo aims to bring together the systems a school often uses separately now. The timetable and publishers’ lesson materials stay where they are: Ludendo connects to them.
Student administration
Registering, placing and deregistering students are built. Reporting enrolments to DUO is still a clickable example: Clickable example
For parents and students
Timetable, homework, grades with explanations, reporting sick and leave, on phone and laptop. For parents · For students
For teachers and mentors
The lesson with everything ready, marking, grades, and how the class is doing. For teachers · For mentors
Sign in with the school account
Via Entree, for students and staff; parents with a code. Tested with a simulated Entree. Built, not yet in use
Little explanation needed
Every screen has one main button. You undo a mistake straight away. Built, not yet in use
The school’s data
No advertising, no selling of data, and student data never used to train AI. Privacy and security
Choosing a new system
What to look for.
And how far Ludendo has got.
Looking beyond Magister or Somtoday? These are the points a switch depends on. For each point, where Ludendo stands, without dressing it up. The full list of requirements, with what you ask every supplier
| What to look for | Bij Ludendo | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting to DUO: enrolments, absence and exams | Without reporting to DUO no school can switch. It comes before the first pilot. | Clickable example |
| Exporting everything and being able to leave | All the school’s data in one file, with a description of how it is built up. | Built, not yet in use |
| Past years after the switch | The Ludendo Archive: read-only, searchable, at no extra cost. It is coming; there is no date yet. | Planned |
| Absence and compulsory schooling | Sick reports, teacher and front desk in one register; the compulsory schooling report is ready, with the days you have left. | Built, not yet in use |
| An app for parents and students | Timetable, homework, grades with explanations, reporting sick with one button and requesting leave. | Built, not yet in use |
| Signing in via Entree | Students and staff with their school account; tested with a simulated Entree. Lesson materials without a second login (ECK iD) are still a clickable example. | Built, not yet in use |
| Privacy: data processing agreement and DPIA | An addendum to the model of the Dutch education privacy covenant and building blocks for the DPIA, in draft. The GDPR with a new system | Draft |
| Where the data is stored | Decided: with one company in the European Union, with backups in a second location. Which company is still open. | Planned |
| Little explanation needed | One main button on every screen; you undo a mistake straight away. | Built, not yet in use |
| Price and contract | Not fixed yet. We will only say once we are sure. | Not known yet |
From Magister or Somtoday to Ludendo
Taking your data with you.
Including past years. We are building that.
- Well ahead: check your contract. When does it end, and what is the notice period? Cancelling early may come with a fee.
- Before cancelling: ask what you will get. In writing: which data, from which years, in which file. From 12 January 2027, in our reading, your current supplier may no longer charge for the export (European Data Act). What the Data Act arranges
- The spring before: a trial. You import students, parents, classes and teachers from a file; only after a check does everything go across in one go. Built, not yet in use
- 1 August: the new school year in Ludendo. Compare the grades while the old system is still open.
- After that: past years in the archive. Grades, absence and exams from earlier years, searchable and read-only, without keeping the old system. Planned
Match the columns once
There is no open standard for transferring a whole student administration. So you will match the columns of your export file once, and Ludendo remembers that. The goal: it works with exports from Magister and Somtoday. We only use the export the school makes itself, no connection that goes around the supplier. How a switch works
Not ready yet
What is not there yet.
We would rather say so up front.
- Not yet in use at any school. Everything you see on this site was made with made-up data.
- Not yet checked from outside. A security test by an outside company and a review of the code come before any real data goes in.
- The connections with DUO, the transfer file (OSO) and lesson materials without a second login (ECK iD) are still a clickable example. Clickable example
- No company chosen yet to store the data. Decided: one company in the European Union, with backups in a second location. Planned
- The price is not fixed yet. We will only say once we are sure.
Questions
What schools ask
when they look further.
Is Ludendo an alternative to Magister?
That is what it aims to be: one app for student administration, parents and students, lesson materials, messages and absence. Not yet: Ludendo is in development and not yet in use at any school. The first three schools switch in August 2028 at the earliest.
Is Ludendo an alternative to Somtoday?
That is the aim too, with the same status: in development, not yet in use at any school, the first schools in August 2028 at the earliest.
Can we bring our data from Magister or Somtoday?
That is what we are building towards. Importing students, parents, classes and teachers from a file is built. For past years you will match the columns of your export once, and they go into the Ludendo Archive; that is planned. How well it works depends on the export you get.
Is Ludendo a copy of Magister or Somtoday?
No. Ludendo was built by us. It contains no code from Magister or Somtoday, and we use no connection that goes around them.
Can Ludendo report to DUO yet?
Not yet: that is a clickable example for now. Without reporting to DUO no school can switch, so it comes before the first pilot.
When should we cancel our current contract?
First check when your contract ends and what the notice period is; cancelling early may come with a fee. Before you cancel, ask in writing which export you will get. You switch at the start of a school year. How a switch works
How long does a switch from Magister or Somtoday to Ludendo take?
The switch itself happens at the start of a school year, around 1 August. Preparation starts well ahead: checking your contract, requesting the export and a trial in the spring.
Which schools is Ludendo for?
For Dutch secondary education: vmbo, havo and vwo. Whether it also fits practical education, the international transition class and secondary special education, we are still finding out.
Can we switch already?
Not yet. You can get acquainted, see a demo with made-up data, and think along as a pilot school about what we build first. Switching will be possible at the start of a school year.
What does Ludendo cost?
That is not fixed yet. The Ludendo Archive will be included in the licence, at no extra cost.
Looking beyond your current system?
Come and
get to know each other.
We show the app with made-up data, tell you what already works and mostly listen. Do not send any data about students.
Your email reaches Thomas and Geert, the makers of Ludendo.