The Vetting Process

      According to ISTE, one of the three facets of Digital Citizenship is Digital Self, with ISTE Educator Standard 3d. stating: Model and promote management of personal data and digital identity and protect student data privacy (2019). One of the responsibilities our team fulfills is that of app/website vetting. As a very large 1:1 district, teachers and students would like to utilize all sorts or resources, we hope, with the best intentions. Unfortunately, not all web and app developers also have the best intentions, compromising personal data and privacy either with or without our knowledge. To do our due diligence in protecting the private information of students and teachers, a request needs to be made for it to be made available district-wide.

     In order to streamline this vetting process, our team developed a Google Form as a checklist to assess the safety and usefulness of the requested digital resource. Some of the sections include category of resource, sign-in requirements, pedagogical and curricular considerations, age restrictions, ads, third party servers, and the ISTE EdTech Advisor Grade. The district also provides paid subscriptions for various resources like Discovery Education, World Book, BrainPop, and Gale Group so that the needs and safety of student information has already been considered.

     A few of the resources that our teachers use often: Khan Academy, Schoology, and EdPuzzle, have privacy policies or features within their settings that allow them to be implemented safely into the classroom. Or course we prefer teachers use the resources the district has already purchased and supports, but appreciate the need for other tools. After reading the article “The Educator’s Guide to Student Data Privacy” by Kerry Gallagher, Larry Magid, and Kobie Pruitt, I’m pleased knowing that our team’s approach to the vetting process is fortified (2016).

Gallagher, Kerry, Larry Magid, and Kobie Pruitt. “The Educator’s Guide to Student Data Privacy” Connect Safely, 20 May, 2016, https://www.connectsafely.org/eduprivacy/. Accessed 29 March 2019

ISTE Standards for Educators, 2019 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators Accessed 29 March 2019