Even before COVID-19, there were an increasing number of vendors vying for their share of the $70+ billion educational technology market. The sudden influx of capital has dramatically increased the number of companies with varying degrees of experience and expertise. It can be a difficult environment to navigate.
There are interesting options out there and you may want to try them out. These tips will help you make safer choices if you want to try things outside of Middlebury’s approved software and services.
Do we have a vetted option?
Middlebury works hard to provide a robust and diverse set of options to answer your instructional needs. All of these services have been reviewed to ensure they are secure, address student privacy, and meet accessibility guidelines. We are also able to support these services through our help desk and provide other options like single-sign-on integration.
You may find what you need in the Service Catalog. You can also reach out to DLINQ with your needs and we can suggest some paths using software that’s already been vetted.
Student Privacy
It is often difficult to tell what companies are doing with your students’ data. Before encouraging your students to use a service make sure you understand what is happening to their personal data.
- Make sure you have read and understand the company’s privacy policy.
- The “free” service may generate revenue by gathering information on your students and selling that data to other companies.
- Educational records are broadly defined and require additional privacy and security measures to comply with FERPA.
- Consider the data categories ITS uses to frame conversations about data and subsequent security measures.
Accessibility
Middlebury is devoted to providing accessible tools and materials to enable “full participation in our diverse community.” You’ll want to make sure any services you use provide equitable access for all of your students.
- Make sure you’ve read and understand the company’s Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) prior to using their service with your students.
- Consider evaluating any web-based services using the WCAG 2.0 framework.
Security
It can be nearly impossible to assess an application’s security without special training and knowledge. Without Middlebury’s experts going through the processes necessary to evaluate this product, we can’t accurately assess the risk for students from data breaches, password exposures, etc.
Support
With outside services, you will want to see what kind of support they offer. If their support falls short Middlebury will not be able to provide additional central support.
- Consider whether you’ll be able to provide student support if it’s needed.
Longevity
Many of these services are startups and are operating on investment funds while hoping to be acquired by a larger company. As a result, these services can shut down or be acquired (i.e., change their vision, approach, cost, data protection policies) overnight.
