CIOs and technology leaders in today’s school systems are often charged with maintaining and modernizing district IT infrastructure, ensuring information safety and student data privacy, and designing and implementing cybersecurity policies that protect the district’s most critical information.
A sometimes-overlooked part of the CIO’s role is providing input and guidance during the selection of the digital curricular resources that students and teachers are using every day. These tools are used on district devices, across wired and wireless networks. Additionally, they utilize student information and data for learning, assessments, and reporting, and the CIO’s input on the selection of these resources is important.
The acquisition of powerful, effective edtech resources is best achieved when curriculum leads and technology leads partner to select products and solutions. During my time as the CIO in Kentucky’s Marshall County Schools, as the director of instructional technology in Naperville Community Unit School District 203 in Illinois, and now as the director of educational partnerships at Discovery Education, I’ve been a part of numerous collaborations that have brought high-quality digital resources to students.
Here are my thoughts on what CIOs need to consider when they participate in evaluating digital curricular resources. As school administrators, it is important these questions be answered.
1. Data security
How is the prospective partner protecting your most valuable assets, such as student and teacher personal information? Most school districts across the country don’t have the staff or budgets dedicated to cybersecurity. Combined with a nearly 85% increase in cyberattacks in the education space over the last year, it is clear security is a critical consideration.
To minimize the impact of this burden on already stretched IT staff and budgets, CIOs depend on trusted partners to help protect their data and information. Your CIO should be considering if their prospective edtech partners hold all the appropriate security standards and certifications. Furthermore, they need to have industry best practices and protocols surrounding intrusion detection, end-to-end encryption, training & auditing, annual penetration testing, and more firmly in place.
2. Interoperability
Does the digital learning resource under consideration work well with existing software and applications? Are students and teachers able to easily use an SSO to access the resource? How does data flow from your SIS to the resource? Your CIO should consider having the systems integration leaders participate in the early stages of the review process to ensure a smooth integration. This will help avoid potential delays during implementation that can often derail the use of a quality digital resource.
3. Accessibility
Can ALL students access the resource? Does the resource provide text-to-speech, line readers, support for language learners, magnifiers, and the ability to be used across multiple devices? The CIO should consider if the proposed resources are accessible to ALL students, no matter where they are and what device they are using. Accessibility is non-negotiable in today’s world of digital resources.
4. Alignment to teaching and learning goals
What does the collaboration between the CIO and the teaching and learning team look like? The CIO is charged with ensuring all of the items above for ease of use, access, and security. A district’s teaching and learning team is charged with ensuring the resources meet the needs of the learners and provide best-in-class support to the teachers.
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When the CIO and the teaching and learning team are in regular communication, have a shared vision, and have clearly defined roles during a digital resource evaluation process, the winners are the students and teachers. Before beginning an edtech review process, have your CIO and teaching and learning leaders consider if they are on the same wavelength, and where necessary, have them work to build alignment.
5. Trusted partner?
Do you view your vendors as a partner? Is the company person you are purchasing the digital curricular resource from someone who understands the needs of your district? Are they aligned to the district’s mission, vision and strategic plan? Are your vendors actively listening to ensure alignment?
As a CIO, I’ve seen this scenario too many times: An excellent product is purchased, and then I don’t hear from the company again until it is time for renewal. That isn’t a partner; that is a vendor. Ensure your CIOs are establishing regular modes of communication with your edtech partners. They should consider their edtech partners an extension of their own district and technology department teams. If your edtech vendors are averse to your CIO’s efforts to build close relationships, you may not have found the right relationship for your district.
Today’s CIOs have big jobs and at no time have they had more responsibility. You can help them, and your district make great digital learning selections, help them keep these considerations top of mind.
