K-12 schools are generating and storing an unprecedented amount of data. From student academic records to attendance, behavioral reports, and more, this personally identifiable information is of paramount importance to protect. Implementing best practices for data integration with third-party edtech vendors is essential. GG4L specializes in helping schools and edtech vendors connect without compromising student data. Here are some best data integration practices to consider.
Establish Clear Objectives
K-12 schools need to identify what they aim to achieve with the edtech vendor, why it is valuable for the school, and what risks there will be in the data integration process. Whether it’s improving student performance, enhancing administrative efficiency, or ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, having a clear set of goals will guide the entire integration process.
Comprehensively Review and Vet EdTech Vendors
1EdTech’s Trusted Apps help eliminate much of the worry about the vendors schools choose. 1EdTech educates vendors on what is not acceptable to a lot of districts, and they talk to schools to help them understand why vendors are doing things a certain way or what their policy actually means. Collaboration is the biggest key in achieving trusted app status – a status that is earned through coming together to understand the needs of the district and establish privacy policies that really work to protect PII. It goes beyond the standard DPA; it’s very thorough. More than 10,000 vendors have participated with 1EdTech to achieve that status.
Choose the Right Integration Tools
As more K-12 schools are able to move away from DPAs (data protection agreements) they will instead use a system like School Passport to anonymize PII. School Passport provides a robust, open standards, based API framework of anonymized services, making it easy for vendors to adopt.
Prioritize Data Security and Privacy
As students use devices and online platforms for learning, they may unknowingly expose themselves to threats like malware, phishing attempts, and data breaches. Schools, on the other hand, become targets for cyberattacks that can result in data theft, financial losses, and disruptions to learning. Traditional rostering services have only served to increase this risk. It is essential for K-12 schools to adopt a zero-trust culture and embrace the concept of “Secure by Design.” With the integration of multiple data systems, ensuring data security and privacy becomes more complex. Schools must implement robust security measures to protect sensitive student information using
Train Staff and Stakeholders
Effective data integration is not solely a technical challenge; it also requires human expertise. Training staff and stakeholders on the new integrated systems is essential for successful implementation and usage. GG4L offers K-12 schools a comprehensive Certified Data Privacy Administrator training program that provides school IT leaders with both the skills and tools to effectively manage and control the sharing of data between the organization and its chosen educational applications. At the end of the program, the learner will be given a certification exam; upon whose outcome will be awarded a Certificate of Completion
Monitor and Evaluate Integration Efforts
Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the data integration process are necessary to ensure it meets the defined objectives and can be adjusted as needed. Regularly review and update the integration strategy based on data insights and feedback.
Effective data integration is a multifaceted process that requires careful planning, the right tools, and continuous evaluation. The ideal system anonymizes data, works with open source APIs, prioritizes the protection of student data, and comes with support and training for the people within the school who will be using the system.
GG4L’s School Passport includes our Privacy Governance Console, which will categorize and prioritize PII risks according to custom rules configured. Districts using the Privacy Governance Console were able to identify data leakage risks about which they were previously unaware and gain the control necessary to reduce risk. Learn more: https://gg4l.com/privacy-governance-console/
