The organizations — 1EdTech, CAST, Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), Digital Promise, InnovativeEDU, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) — recently announced the establishment of five common quality indicators that can be used to evaluate ed-tech tools, along with a coordinated review and credentialing system.
“The need for this has just grown immeasurably, and in particular, in the last 18 months or so, as we’ve really seen the much broader use of artificial intelligence and the embedding of that in products,” CAST CEO Lindsay Jones said.
According to the announcement, the five indicators of a quality ed-tech tool are that it is safe, evidence-based, inclusive, usable and interoperable. Meeting these benchmarks means receiving validation through a variety of existing third-party certification processes.
Once a tool has received a quality validation, that validation is posted in ISTE’s updated EdTech Index, formerly known as the EdSurge Product Index, a searchable guide that features more than 1,700 ed-tech tools. The goal is to create a central place for buyers to see what credentials a tool has earned, and to organize those credentials according to the quality indicator they validate.
“It’s just been a matter of it’s too much, you know. You’re drinking from a firehose here, and so the accumulation of certifications is really trying to demonstrate partnership with decision-makers, that they’re not alone,” said Sierra Noakes, director of ed-tech evaluation at Digital Promise. “We can each take a little bit and support you with making the best decisions you can for your kids.”
As for Digital Promise’s role in quality validation, Noakes said the organization will use its existing Research-Based Product Certification to assess whether an ed-tech tool is sufficiently evidence-based, and it will use the Learner Variability Certification to assess whether it meets the usable and inclusive standards.
On the EdTech Index site, users can click the validations button at the top of the page to see the full list of organizations that offer credentials for each of the five quality indicators. For example, to be validated as interoperable, a tool must earn one or more of the following: 1EdTech Certification, Ed-Fi Alliance certifications and badges, or Project Unicorn Interoperability Certification.
Along with buyers using the index to search for appropriate tools, ed-tech developers can use these validations and the certifications that back them as blueprints for future tools, according to 1EdTech CEO Curtiss Barnes.
“To me, this is about reducing barriers to innovation, improving time to market and improving product-market fit,” Barnes said. “It’s really a win-win for the marketplace and the whole sector because the supplier can get a lot of insight into what’s in demand.”
The EdTech Index is up and running now for buyers to access information on the validations each ed-tech tool has received. Earned validations appear green on the tool’s profile page. If a validation has been denied or the tool’s developer has not applied for the necessary certifications, the validation appears gray.
