In our quest to help networks better understand and improve their K12 school system's capabilities, we created the School Network Pledge. This pledge symbolizes secure access to student data, educates practitioners and families about student privacy, promotes equity, and ensures fiscal responsibility for edtech purchases. By signing this pledge, schools are signaling to other school networks, edtech vendors, and their community that they’re committed to helping students grow with interoperability.
To support edtech vendors in enhancing the use of educational data and improving teaching and learning practices for stronger student outcomes, we created the Edtech Vendor Interoperability Pledge. This pledge symbolizes the commitment to maximizing equitable access and availability through data interoperability. By signing the pledge, edtech vendors are signaling they are committed to enhancing their products' security, access, privacy, and interoperability. This enables educators, and families to be more involved in their student’s education, enhancing the effectiveness of their educational data. It also informs teaching and learning practices for stronger student outcomes.
A successful and modernized Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) should function as a dynamic tool empowering educators, principals, and decision-makers to directly impact student outcomes. Beyond the mere collection of data, the system must seamlessly transform information into actionable insights through intuitive dashboards. This evolution from data to information to knowledge to wisdom is crucial for informed decision-making at various educational levels.
Ready to uncover recommendations, resources, and success stories to enhance your journey to harness the full potential of SLDS (Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems)? Dive into Project Unicorns’s latest resource and learn how to use the strategy of federal funding braiding to secure federal funding sources and improve your implementation.
Stories from the Field, curated by Project Unicorn, provide a glimpse into the collaborative efforts between school systems and edtech solution providers, offering valuable insights into what's possible within an interoperable data ecosystem in education. These stories supplement the findings from the 2023 State of the Sector (SOTS) Report, offering a detailed analysis of K-12 school system capabilities related to education data, with input from 208 unique LEAs, Regional Education Service Agencies, and school systems. Explore Stories from the Field and the SOTS report to better understand the evolving landscape of education data.
The potential of cooperatives to build capacity for implementing Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) is vast. With the ability to foster interagency cooperation and strengthen the data ecosystem, this strategy presents an innovative approach. This resource provides suggestions and examples of incorporating cooperatives into your SLDS initiative. Learn about the key benefits, anticipate challenges, and explore recommendations for state leaders.
Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) can be crucial in education data management and data-driven decision-making. Some states have increasingly looked to make these connections to workforce development, such as California’s Cradle to Career system. These systems are designed to collect, store, analyze, and manage a wide range of data related to student performance, school information, demographics, and other relevant indicators in the education data curriculum. To ensure effective use and meaningful data analysis, interoperability is a key consideration in SLDS implementation.
As we work to provide physical infrastructure for our schools that is safe, healthy, and supportive for all students, the time has come to align resources towards creating a digital infrastructure that is equally safe, accessible, resilient, sustainable, and future-proof.
Protecting student data privacy is critical to implementing interoperable technology systems. Read this jump-start guide to learn about key education data privacy organizations and resources that support best practices in student data privacy during your interoperability journey.
To provide more insight and guidance into how edtech purchasing happens and consider how educators and leaders can work together to make more informed purchasing decisions, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and Project Unicorn have released Better Edtech Buying: A Practical Guide - Revised Edition.
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To provide more insight and guidance into how edtech purchasing happens and consider how educators and leaders can work together to make more informed purchasing decisions, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and Project Unicorn have released Better Edtech Buying: A Practical Guide - Revised Edition.
Read MoreWhy One Supports the Other: Data interoperability is a helpful component to building and maintaining quality software. Interoperability isn't a panacea, but making intentional and informed choices about implementing an interoperability standard contribute to better development practice, better privacy practice, and better security practice. Here are 5 ways interoperability, privacy, and security enhance each other.
Read MoreAs local and state governments, businesses, and institutions across the country implement the first phases of reopening after weeks of lockdown, schools are beginning to plan for learning this fall…
Read MoreThis infographic illustrates that, when all the important people in their lives have appropriate access to information, individuals get the support they need to succeed.
Read MoreLearn about the benefits of signing the Project Unicorn pledge which includes joining a community of districts and vendors, access to other resources, scholarships, and technical support.
Read MoreLearn more about why Data Interoperability matters to schools.
Read MoreLearn more about starting your journey towards interoperability as a superintendent.
Read MoreThis issue brief shares state policy recommendations and action steps for policymakers who are supporting the redesign of educator workforce systems.
Read MoreInsert language from our partners at EdFi in your requests for proposals so that your school or district procures only technologies that are interoperable.
Read MoreLearn more about the Project Unicorn initiative.
Read MoreIn partnership with Lea(R)n Platform, Project Unicorn has launched a free service for schools to research EdTech products with a Project Unicorn Index. The hub is designed to allow for comprehensive edtech management, informed decision making and increased transparency in purchasing for schools and districts.
Read MoreIn this resource, we show four tiers of interoperability illustrating how you can gradually save time and glean important insights from interoperable systems in your classroom.
Read MoreUse this email template to reach out to your school and district leadership. Let them know how the lack of interoperability impacts your everyday life as an educator.
Read MoreWatch this short video by Digital Promise to learn about what data interoperability is and how it makes education better.
Read MoreInsert language from our partners at A4L in your requests for proposals so that your school or district procures only technologies that are interoperable.
Read MoreRead MoreProgress reports go out on Thursday and the teachers are up in arms because they can’t enter scores into their online gradebook. This isn’t because the internet is down or due to a device malfunction—it’s because the online gradebook isn’t able to share data with the student information system (SIS)...
Marisa Kaplan, EdSurge
EdMatrix is a cooperative effort to create a directory of Education Standards. The emphasis is on Education Data standards but important Competency & Achievement standards and Design & Practice standards are also included.
Read MoreFrom the Center for Democracy and Technology, read this resource to learn more about the role of Chief Privacy Officer and why they are important to district teams.
Read MoreRead major takeaways, lessons, and highlights from the event held by Project Unicorn and Future of Privacy Forum in December 2018.
Read MoreInsert language from our partners at A4L in your requests for proposals so that your school or district procures only technologies that are interoperable.
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