Key Pillars of the EdTech Quality Indicators Guide
The goal of the EdTech Quality Indicators Guide is to “save time and money, reduce risk, and improve student outcomes,” according to the document. The guide walks IT and procurement professionals through an assessment of ed tech tools to evaluate whether they meet each of the guide’s five key pillars:
- Safe: Tools must adhere to industry standards for data minimization and transparency to protect sensitive information and prevent breaches.
- Evidence-Based: Classroom tools should align with ESSA Tiers of Evidence for interventions, and claims of outcomes should be based on research and educational standards.
- Inclusive: Technology must be accessible and equitable, made to reach a diverse variety of students without bias or stereotype.
- Usable: Ed tech tools should be designed for intuitive use and seamless integration into the classroom for students and teachers.
- Interoperable: Tools should work with existing district technology and infrastructure and securely aggregate data.
“The EdTech Quality Indicators Guide helps districts prioritize accessibility, inclusion and Universal Design for Learning while streamlining procurement decisions,” says Christine Fox, chief growth and innovation officer and co-project director for CITES at CAST. “Together, we can reduce barriers for educators and learners to ensure that technology investments deliver meaningful impact for every student.”
Six Steps for Assessing Ed Tech Tools
When IT decision-makers, district leaders, procurement professionals and educators come together to make decisions around classroom technology, they work together to prioritize student success. But the process can also be time-consuming and involved, especially when there is limited guidance. The EdTech Quality Collaborative hopes to lessen the burden of these teams by offering a go-to resource with which they can apply the same standards and evaluation parameters to each tool they assess.
“School districts often shoulder the complex burden of independently vetting hundreds of digital tools, which takes valuable time and resources away from supporting teachers and students,” says Jean-Claude Brizard, president and CEO of Digital Promise. “By leveraging shared quality indicators, we can significantly lighten the operational load on administrators while ensuring that classroom technology is safe, accessible and built to help every student succeed.”
In addition to a six-step guide for evaluating tools, the document includes practical resources for planning and decision-making:
- Ed Tech Needs Assessment
- Vendor Screening Checklist
- Evidence Evaluation Rubric
- Inclusive Design Evaluation Rubric
- Ed Tech Pilot Navigator
- RFP Criteria Builder
- Rollout Planning Template
- Post-Rollout Review Template
“Making education technology work better for everyone means bringing the entire education community together to define what quality looks like,” says Curtiss Barnes, CEO of 1EdTech. “By creating a shared framework for evaluating edtech, we’re helping schools make more informed decisions while giving providers clearer guidance on how to build products that meet educators' needs.”
