5 data protection policies for the new school year

Keeping sensitive data and student information secure is a top priority

data-securityStudent data is a hot topic these days, and as the new school year kicks off, educators and school leaders are examining their data storage and data security practices to ensure that sensitive student information remains private and secured.

Most school information security approaches are multi-layered and come together from different angles to offer protection from a variety of threats.

Schools deal with sensitive and private student information—information that is necessary to connect students with the right resources and opportunities. As the new school year begins, a quick data security refresher can help educators use, and protect, sensitive student information.…Read More

6 questions to ask about data

Data–including big data and learning analytics–has incredible potential for teaching and learning

data-analyticsThe term “big data” is everywhere and, in a nutshell, is the term used today to describe large collections of data that companies use to personalize their products and services.

But what does this concept mean for K-12 education? Well, for starters, increased knowledge of individual students can lead to personalized teaching and learning. This is called learning analytics, which involves using big data for educational purposes, as defined by the New Media Consortium K-12 Horizon Report. The report is produced in collaboration with the Consortium for School Newtworking (CoSN), which recently released a report that examines, in-depth, learning analytics’ potential.

School districts already use data, but learning analytics would enable educators to use this data to a greater extent, examining what the report calls “student-level data” and using that information to determine how students are learning, what might help them learn better, and what teacher practices are or are not having an impact on this learning.…Read More

What’s a Culture of Data, and how can schools get one?

Here are six key steps in forming a culture of strong data use to improve education

culture-of-data
Leadership is a key tenet of a successful culture of data.

Schools are overflowing with data—attendance records, achievement data, even logs from mobile devices—and the question remains, how can education systems create a culture that uses data to make decisions?

Central to the creation of a Culture of Data are three key structures: Technology, Process, and Leadership. All are essential to support the shift to a data-centric culture in education.

When considering Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) technology, it’s obvious that the agencies supplying and using data must be using compatible software and sufficient hardware to accommodate such a large amount of data and processing. Strong processes are vital as well; each agency that contributes or uses data from the system must trust that the other members’ policies regarding privacy, data quality, and acceptable use are compatible, and the processes must be sustainable and effective.…Read More