Today, it’s more important than ever for schools to choose high-quality educational technology products, but the evaluation process can be overwhelming. A new initiative aims to simplify this process by establishing five key quality indicators for instructional EdTech products. These indicators were developed collaboratively by SETDA, ISTE, 1EdTEch, CAST, COSN, Digital Promise, and InnovateEDU. The indicators are Safety, Evidence-Based Practices, Inclusivity, Usability, and Interoperability. By focusing on these indicators, schools can streamline their evaluation procedures and make more informed decisions about the technology they adopt.
These Five EdTech Quality Indicators represent a collaborative effort to ensure that instructional educational technology products are safe, effective, and accessible to all students. This initiative recognizes the critical need to reduce the burden on schools by providing a standardized framework for evaluating EdTech products. Instead of individually reviewing each product, schools can look for evidence that products have been validated by qualified experts against these indicators. This streamlined approach promises to save time and resources while ensuring that schools have access to high-quality instructional EdTech tools to support teaching and learning.
MOREnet is an affiliate member of SETDA and is currently working with educational leaders across the country to develop sample RFP (Request for Proposal) language for procurement processes that includes recommended validations aligned to the Five EdTech Quality Indicators. If you have suggestions about what should be included in the RFP please email info@more.net and we will include those ideas in our discussions.
To learn more about this initiative see the links below.
https://iste.org/blog/easing-burden-on-schools-five-quality-indicators-for-edtech-ai-products