INTEROPERABILITY CRASH COURSE
WHAT IS DATA INTEROPERABILITY?
Interoperability is the seamless, secure, and controlled exchange of data between applications. At the core of interoperability is a focus on better informing instruction and driving student-centered learning experiences.
THINK ABOUT IT LIKE THIS.
“It’s actually all over our daily lives. Whether you’re using an ATM that’s not from your bank and you’re still able to get money out, or when you fly - not having to go to a Delta TSA agent versus an American Airlines TSA agent; these examples illustrate that interoperability can be so seamless. It’s so fundamental that it works in the background - it’s kind of magical.”
Erin Mote in ‘Project Unicorn Pushes for Interoperability in Courseware’ | Jeff Dominguez | February 21, 2018
THE FULL PICTURE
With interoperability, all of the information from your edtech tools comes together to contextualize your student’s learning, allowing each educator, school, and district to better understand their student’s and support their paths to graduation.
DATA INTEROPERABILITY VISUALIZED
This video from Digital Promise and the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools visualizes the need for data interoperability in K-12 education.
WHY INTEROPERABILITY IS IMPORTANT FOR SCHOOLS
GIVES TEACHERS THEIR SUNDAYS BACK
With interoperability, data is right at each teacher's fingertips. No more manual importing, exporting, and adjusting to make the data work within different systems.
personalize instruction
Interoperability allows teachers to personalize instruction and understand each student's unique path to graduation.
end data silos
End data silos and allow schools and districts to contextualize their data and improve learning practices district wide.
administrator coaching
Interoperability helps administrators to deepen coaching relationships with teachers to better support teachers and students.
secures student data
Secure student data by utilizing standardized formats adding clarity to data collection and management through secure software.
WHY INTEROPERABILITY IS IMPORTANT FOR VENDORS
Your customers are demanding interoperability. As more and more school districts commit to procuring interoperable EdTech products and platforms, it's important for vendors to stay ahead of the curve. Enhancing privacy and security, reducing technical debt, surviving industry consolidation, and growing sales are four reasons to prioritize interoperability in your roadmap and builds.
enhance privacy and security
Privacy and security are essential. Building to a data standard can enhance the security of your data interchange. LEA and SEA site administrators using standard enabled software strategies can control exactly what data is being shared between applications and users.
REDUCE TECHNICAL DEBT
Cost matters. Building to a data standard now will reduce long-term costs. Failing to implement data standards now will prevent innovation as development time will be consumed by tech debt. A report from Cast shows that on average, applications carry $3.61 of technical debt per line of code. Building to a standard reduces tech debt.
INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION
EdTech is one of the fastest growing industries, but according to Inc. some startups are flunking out. A company's long-term success depends on how well it can adjust when EdTech companies consolidate . Adapting to industry standards ahead of the curve will boost companies up the consolidation curve and increase their valuation.
GROW SALES
Schools are demanding greater interoperability in their products. More vendors are committing to standards such as those provided by Ed-Fi Alliance, Access 4 Learning Community, and IMS Global, and districts are demanding interoperability in RFPs. You can set your product apart from the competition. By signing the Project Unicorn pledge and publicly acknowledging your commitment to interoperability, schools will prefer your products.
SUPPORT STUDENT GROWTH
For teachers, schools, and parents to help students on the path to graduation, we need interoperability.