How to Reduce Digital Friction in K–12 Districts

What Is Digital Friction?

Digital friction is the unnecessary effort employees have to make to be able to use technology in the workplace. For educators, that might include adding student rosters to a technology application or keeping track of complex passwords for each different application.

In K–12 schools, digital friction can be an issue with classroom technology that students and teachers must use. From remembering complex passwords to navigating cumbersome interfaces or troubleshooting their own problems, the technical issues users can face in the classroom are plentiful.

The Hidden Cost of Digital Friction in K–12 Classrooms

When digital friction delays or derails a teacher’s plans for a class, students lose instructional time and educational outcomes may suffer.

“Classroom technology access is the final step in a long list of operational tasks,” says Audrey Cisneros, former director of instructional technology at IDEA Public Schools and senior account executive at Clever. “A misstep anywhere upstream can create issues for teachers or students.”

For example, if a teacher is planning to use an interactive smart board to deliver a lesson, she might run into friction for a number of reasons, Cisneros says. There could be a misconfiguration on their device or the network, or a gap in training or knowledge.

Another challenge can be getting device access for all students in a classroom, especially when entering usernames and passwords for younger students who may not have learned their letters yet.

“Even if everything is running as expected, depending on how a district connects each app, it may take a few seconds or a few days for a new student’s access to be set up,” Cisneros says. “At the start of the year and each semester, there are new students and frequent schedule changes. Because these operational changes occur behind the scenes, it can be hard for a teacher to anticipate potential class issues ahead of time.”

While many teachers are good at adapting on the fly, “unexpected issues can be stressful and cause a loss of instructional time,” Cisneros says.

Moving From Digital Friction to Digital Dexterity

Digital dexterity is the opposite of digital friction. It describes the experience of using technology seamlessly in the way it was intended, without hiccups or extra work. While there’s no way to guarantee the removal of all digital friction, district and school technology leaders can take proactive steps to simplify the use of technology in the classroom.

Implement Single Sign-On To Prevent Password Fatigue

Rather than requiring teachers and students to keep up with different passwords for each app or technology platform, using a single sign-on portal can be a game changer. When a teacher signs into the single sign-on portal, they automatically sign into all available apps from the portal.

At IDEA Public Schools, the single sign-on portal is essential for teachers.

“If they see a district app in their portal, they can trust that it is ready for them to use for instruction,” Cisneros says.

A portal that is rostered makes it easy for teachers to see when their student accounts are ready and which apps are available for each class.

“This helps them plan with confidence that access is ready to go,” Cisneros says.

For younger students, consider a sign-on portal that allows logging in with a badge rather than requiring every student to enter credentials. Some portals can be set up so that teachers can launch an app for the entire class, saving time and allowing teachers to quickly get students working independently so they can focus on any students who need individual support, Cisneros says.

READ MORE: Implement single sign-on for educator efficiency and security.

Prioritize Interoperability and System Integration

One reason for digital friction is the wide array of platforms and apps that schools are using, leading teachers, staff, students and parents to regularly adapt to new systems. A recent survey showed that in districts that have not selected a single, integrated system, most schools use between 10 and 15 educational apps, creating a fragmented digital experience. As a result, educators spend an average of two to four hours per week using multiple educational apps, with additional administrative time detracting from their instructional duties.

By choosing a single technology system and platforms that can integrate with that system, IT leaders can simplify the learning curve for teachers, staff and students. Rather than spending hours each week moving from one educational app to another, teachers can become comfortable with the district’s system and use the technology with confidence.

“Planning and communication are also important,” Cisneros says. “Proactively informing campus staff and teachers about timelines for technology access, providing bite-sized technical training and posting key support resources in multiple channels reduces the number of technical support tickets for general issues.”

Select Technology Strategically

When selecting technology solutions, leaders can make strategic decisions based on how a solution will fit in with their existing tech stack, as well as the vendor’s ability to provide ongoing service.

“It’s very important to choose the right platform and a vendor that will work with you,” says Meyer Levin Middle School’s Hendrickson. After uncovering the tedious work required with her school’s new literacy platform, Hendrickson collected teacher feedback and presented it to the vendor, requesting updates to simplify usage.

“They have made changes and offered professional development to teach our staff about the updated platform,” Hendrickson says. “But you have to make your recommendations known. If we didn’t communicate and let them know what wasn’t working for us, they would never have known.”

Empower Teachers and Staff With Training and Support

Teachers and staff need proper training to be able to use technology seamlessly in the classroom. Many technology vendors offer professional development for teachers using their products, so make sure to take advantage of those opportunities.

In addition to vendor-led professional development, Hendrickson recommends establishing two or three in-house experts for every new platform.

“I have teacher leaders who will go on scavenger hunts with a new platform and learn all about it, so they can become in-house experts and answer questions for other teachers,” she says. “Sometimes we have to find experts in other schools across the district until we can develop our own; it requires a network of support.” 

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Future Proofing To Avoid New Sources of Digital Friction

As technology teams plan for the future and new technology implementations, it’s wise to consider what’s working now and use current success to inform future plans, Cisneros says.

“Spend time in classrooms observing teachers and students using technology,” she says. “There is no better way to pressure test an implementation plan than to put it in the hands of classroom users to identify potential issues ahead of a full-scale rollout. Throughout the year, take note of teacher and student feedback from campus visits, support requests and training sessions to identify opportunities for improvement.”

While technology solutions will evolve, the goals of K–12 education remain the same. Teachers need ongoing training and support to ensure they understand how to use classroom technology, and they also need systems that make it easy to access and use.

“Technology changes often and fast, but access should be intuitive and routine,” Cisneros says. “Reliable access to devices and accounts removes the friction and creates opportunities for teachers to use technology in innovative ways.”