K-12 Edtech Cloud Service Inventory

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Research Publication No. 2014-2

January 15, 2014

K-12 Edtech Cloud Service Inventory

Isaac Meister

Alicia Solow-Niederman

This paper can be downloaded without charge at:

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society Research Publication Series:

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/8717

The Social Science Research Network Electronic Paper Collection:Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2378570

2 3 E v e r e t t S t r e e t S e c o n d F l o o r C a m b r i d g e , M a s s a c h u s e t t s 0 2 1 3 8

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K 12 Edtech Cloud Service InventoryJanuary 15, 2014

Isaac Meister and Alicia Solow-Niederman

23 Everett Street Second Floor Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

+1 617.495.7547 www.cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/studentprivacy


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BACKGROUND

A wide range of cloud technologies are now available to K-12 educators, ranging fromreplacements for school- and district-maintained servers (infrastructure as a service, in which

servers traditionally maintained by a school or district are outsourced to a cloud vendor), to a

variety of software tools that users access from web browsers or mobile applications, which arein turn supported and powered by third-party companies. These tools are generally classed assoftware as a service (SaaS) as opposed to software that can stand alone (i.e., run on

school computers or devices without storing and retrieving data on a third partys servers). Justas infrastructure as a service allows educators to replace its physical servers, the SaaS offerings

below allow educators to move existing administrative and classroom needs into these cloudservices, and to create entirely new technically-mediated forms of interactions among students,

teachers, parents, and administrators.

The services below are roughly grouped according to the functionality they afford, from thosecommon to any organization (collaboration and identity management), through the

administrative office (student information systems), to the classroom (learning management andclassroom management), and outside it (parent-teacher communication). It should be noted,however, that the growing ubiquity of Internet access generally and of mobile devices

specifically among students, parents, and teachers makes it increasingly easy and desirable forcloud application developers to create services that transcend these boundaries. In each case, we

document:

the level of adoption: who can sign up for the service? the audience: who will be expected to use it? thepricing model: is there a fee associated with the service, and under what conditions? the extensibility: how, and under what circumstances, can this service be connected to or

included in other services? mobile integration: does the service require or suggest the use of a mobile app? is the

services web interface designed for use with mobile browsers?

The examples below are meant to illustrate the kinds of cloud technology being developed ineach class, and are not exhaustive.

INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE

Most K-12 school systems already possess some degree of technical infrastructure at the school and

district levels, and frequently in classrooms themselves. That infrastructure requires staff and expertise to

maintain and extend technical functionalities like e-mail, identity management, storage of student and

staff metadata, internet filtering, and the like. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides on-demand

virtual servers and storage, which behave logically exactly like the physical hardware they replace or

supplement, but which live on physical hardware maintained by the seller. This allows administrators

and infrastructure specialists to focus their efforts on the services their infrastructure provides, rather than

the deployment of the infrastructure itself.


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Example: Amazon Web Services!1AWS offers a wide range of virtualized replacements for physical hardware and functionality provided by

physical servers, including general-purpose servers (which can be used to host e-mail, administrative

applications, websites, etc.), bulk file storage, databases, and domain name services. Infrastructure is

provided on demand, and primary responsibility for maintenance and security remains with the school ordistrict.

Teachers Schools Districts Students Admin. Staff Parents

Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Paid (per virtual server, per hour)

School/district approval required? Yes

Extensibility Not applicable

Mobile integration None

COLLABORATION AND IDENTITY PLATFORMS

Bridging the gap between IaaS and Software as a Service (SaaS), certain cloud technologies bundle

features that address the needs common to any office environment-- as opposed to specifically targeted to

the unique needs of a school context-- and are then marketed to educators. These features replace school-

and district-hosted services and are generally accessible via web browsers and mobile apps, rather than

networked storage and applications installed on school or district computers.

Example 1: Google Apps for Education!2Google Apps for Education makes available the familiar range of Google services (e.g., search, word

processing, email, etc.) within the management and administration of a single educational organization, as

opposed to via the actions of a given individual who creates a Google account in bottom-up fashion.

Schools or districts may extend these services to faculty and staff only!3, or create Google Apps accountsfor students as well. In November 2013, Google announced!4a line of K-12 student-oriented tablets thatuse Google Apps for Education to manage identity; educators can extend the functionality of the tablets

using Google Play for Education, a specially vetted marketplace containing a variety of education-

oriented apps (including ClassDojo and Socrative infra) classified by grade, subject, and educational

standard.

Google Apps for Educations services include:

search (Google Search)1http://aws.amazon.com/2http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/education/

3http://www.emissourian.com/local_news/saint_clair/article_0a8d8724-0f46-11e3-989f-001a4bcf887a.html

4 http://googleenterprise.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/introducing-tablets-with-google-play.html


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e-mail (Gmail) document creation, sharing, and storage (Google Docs and Drive) peer-to-peer communication (Google Talk) videoconferencing and social networking (Google Hangouts and Google+) identity management (Google Accounts) educational application and content acquisition (Google Play for Education)


Adoptable by

Audience []

Pricing model Free

School/district approval required? Yes(Google verifies ownership of the domain name associated with the school

or district.)

Extensibility additional services through Google Apps Marketplace third party applications can use Google accounts for

identity management

third party applications can be downloaded throughGoogle Play for Education

can connect to existing user databases on school- ordistrict-owned computers

Mobile integration Android and iOS apps available for most services School-owned Android devices (e.g. Chromebooks) can

be centrally managed

Managed tablets available for use with Google Play forEducation

Example 2: Office 365 for Education!5Office 365 for Education offers a suite of Microsoft products commonly used in K-12 institutions (e.g.,

Microsoft Office and other proprietary software). Many schools and districts already use Windows-

powered workstations and servers and thus have a directory of faculty and students; Office 365 can

connect to and manage that directory and assign access to cloud functionality accordingly. Schools or

districts may choose to offer these services solely to staff and faculty, or extend accounts to students.

These services include:

document creation (cloud-hosted Microsoft Office) document storage (Microsoft SkyDrive)

project management (Microsoft SharePoint) instant messaging and video conferencing hosted voicemail and telephony identity management (Active Directory)


5http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/


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Adoptable by

Audience []

Pricing model Freemium(technical support and desktop versions of Office applications incur a per-

user fee)


Extensibility can connect to existing user databases on school- or district-

owned computers

Mobile integration Android and iOS apps available

ADMINISTRATIVE AND STUDENT INFORMATION SERVICES (SIS)

Some cloud technologies are built primarily to meet the needs of teachers and administrators,allowing teachers and administrators to store, aggregate, and retrieve information about students

(e.g. grades, disciplinary action, medical information) and teachers (e.g. lesson plans,

evaluations, etc.). Although aimed at teachers and administrators, these sorts of technologies mayalso provide interfaces for students to access data about themselves, and for parents/guardians toaccess or submit data about their children.

Example 1: Pearson PowerSchool!6Originally sold as software hosted on school or district servers, the cloud-hosted Pearson

PowerSchool suite can store student grade information, teacher feedback, attendance data, healthand immunization data, and state-mandated reporting information. It provides optional SMS

capability for text-message communication for parents and students.


Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Paid(license negotiated at school or district level)


Extensibility Data import/export possible via Schools Interoperability

Framework!7data standard.Mobile integration Android and iOS apps available for data input (teachers and

administrators) and viewing (students and parents)

Example 2: BloomBoard!8BloomBoard allows teachers to manage professional development activities like lesson planningand certification requirements, as well as to retrieve relevant content created by other teachers;

6http://www.pearsonschoolsystems.com/products/powerschool/features/

7http://www.pearsonschoolsystems.com/products/sif/

8http://www.bloomboard.com/teachers


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administrators can use it to store information about parent-teacher conferences, track studentsrequiring administrative attention, and take notes about classroom observations.


Adoptable by

Audience Pricing model Paid

(license negotiated at school or district level)


Extensibility continuing education content available fromBloomBoard-curated marketplace

student/class metadata can be imported from otherstudent information databases

Mobile integration Web portal is optimized for iPad and Android

Example 3: Illuminate!9Offered as an application running on a districts own servers or hosted in the cloud

(outsourced, so to speak), Illuminate stores student attendance, discipline, grading, health, andspecial education data for entire districts. It also provides a parent and student portal for retrieval

and verification of student data. Student data can be aggregated and analyzed by administratorsand prepared for export to state institutions for compliance and reporting purposes.


Adoptable by

Audience [] []

Pricing model Paid



Extensibility Data import/export possible


LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LMS)

Learning Management Systems are a class of student-facing, student-oriented platforms that

typically integrate teacher-created and/or external educational content for students to browse,

assessment (quizzes, open response questions, etc.), grading, student-created content, student-to-student social networking, teacher-to student feedback, and reporting functionality in a singleplace. LMSes frequently can integrate with third-party, purpose-built services that supplement

the internal functionality of the LMS itself.

Example 1: MyBigCampus!109 https://www.illuminateed.com/illuminate-student-information-features.html

10http://www.mybigcampus.com/tour


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MyBigCampus provides a suite of tools for teachers to develop online courses for students as

well as a repository for class-related documents, an assignment submission system, classcalendaring, data aggregation for teachers, and a social networking interface for student-student

and student-teacher interaction.


Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Free

School/district approval required? No

Extensibility can integrate content that other teachers and schoolshave designated as shareable

can use Google Apps for Education to manage identityMobile integration Android and iOS apps for students and teachers

Mobile-optimized web interfaceExample 2: Desire2Learn!11The Desire2Learn platform allows teachers to create courses with original content and embeddedmedia, provides internal e-mail and social networking functionality (which allows students to

associate social media profiles like Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn with their accounts), offerscloud file storage, and permits the aggregation of student-created content into ePortfolios to

which teachers can assign feedback as well as generate class-wide statistics and grade reports.


Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Paid(free to try; license negotiated at school or district level)


Extensibility programming interface allows third parties to create

apps that can be embedded into Desire2Learns interface

Mobile integration Android and iOS apps for students and teachers

Example 3: Edmodo!12Edmodo makes available a Facebook-like social networking platform for students and teachers.

Teachers can post and create assessments, assign grades, recognize student participation,introduce Edmodo-approved educational apps to students, and share educational content with

other teachers. Students can communicate with teachers and one another, take assessments, andview the results. School and district administrators can aggregate and track activities and

assessments for relevant teachers and students.

11http://www.desire2learn.com/solutions/k-12/

12http://www.edmodo.com/


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Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Free

School/district approval required? NoExtensibility Third-party applications available in Edmodo store

Mobile integration Android and iOS apps for students and teachers

CLASSROOM FEEDBACK TOOLS

Classroom feedback tools mediate and augment in-class participation by students and facilitateteacher recognition of their pupils.

Example 1: ClassDojo!13

ClassDojo allows teachers to upload class rosters and then submit feedback in real time based on

in-class events (e.g., answering a question correctly, causing a disruption, etc.). Teachers canshow class-wide behavior statistics in real time and distribute individual reports to parents on a

weekly basis. Students and parents can view relevant feedback through an online portal.


Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Free

School/district approval required? NoExtensibility None


Example 2: Socrative!14Socrative allows teachers to create and distribute instant quizzes in a variety of formats (e.g.

matching, multiple choice, free response, etc.) that students access and answer in-class on mobiledevices. Teachers may then download and view graded student responses.


Adoptable by Audience

Pricing model Free


Extensibility None

13http://www.classdojo.com/

14http://www.socrative.com/


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STUDY AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Study and assessment tools are student-oriented utilities that aim to present educational materialto students dynamically, and provide avenues for teachers to integrate assessment opportunities.

The utilities then either grade student assessments or provide teachers the means to gradeassignments and provide feedback.

Example 1: Quizlet!15Quizlet allows students to create virtual decks of flashcards that they can use to play recall games

in a variety of formats. Students sign up individually and can use Facebook or Google+ forsingle sign-on. Teachers can sign up for accounts, create content, aggregate the content into

virtual classes, and invite students to join the classes, from which they can view individual

students study activity. For a fee, teachers can remove sponsored advertisements from classstudy decks and receive a teacher badge next to their username.


Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Freemium(paid teacher-only accounts remove inline advertising for students)


Extensibility Content can be embedded into web pages and LMSes


Example 2: Voki!16Voki allows teachers to create cartoon avatars that explain educational concepts. In the freeversion of Voki, avatars can be shared or embedded in web content for students to access. In

Voki Classroom, the paid version of the Voki service, teachers can create Voki-enriched lessonsand lesson plans, issue accounts to students, assign students to create their own Vokis based

around lessons, and grade them.


Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Freemium(student-teacher interactive features are paid only)


Extensibility Content can be embedded into web pages and LMSes

15http://www.quizlet.com

16http://www.voki.com


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Example 3: Turnitin17

Turnitin provides a means for teachers to solicit submission of and evaluate student assignments.

Turnitin runs assignments against a cache of publicly available content to determine its degree oforiginality, and then presents a report for each assignment to the instructor. Further, it allowsinstructors to annotate the submitted work with text and voice comments and exposes an

interface for students to view the annotations. Teachers may also assign grading and feedbacktasks to peers, sometimes anonymously, while teachers retain administrative oversight.


Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Paid


School/district approval required? YesExtensibility Integrable into most LMSes, including Desire2Learn

Mobile integration iPad app (for teacher grading)

PARENT-TEACHER COMMUNICATION TOOLS

This class of cloud technology both directly facilitates interaction between teachers and parentsby exchanging data about students in-class activities and generally seeks to elicit parental

involvement in, awareness of, and consent to the activities.

Example 1: MommaZoo!18MommaZoo allows teachers to upload class rosters and parents to create accounts, through

which teachers can share homework assignments, share photos of their classes, issue reminders,and solicit parent volunteers for school activities. School-level accounts permit school groups to

sell in-app sponsored advertising for fundraising purposes.


Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Freemium(school-level accounts incur fees)


Extensibility None

Mobile integration Mobile device-aware web interface

17http://turnitin.com/

18https://www.mommazoo.com/


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Android and iOS apps availableExample 2: Chalk!19Chalk allows teachers and administrators to upload and convert forms requiring parent input

(e.g., permission slips, medical release waivers, evaluations, authorized use policy forms) anddistribute them to parents, who can fill out, digitally sign, and submit them. Administrators maydistribute and audit forms and submissions.


Adoptable by

Audience

Pricing model Free to try

(trial accounts are manually vetted by Chalk for standing)


Extensibility None

Mobile integration Mobile device-aware web interface

LOOKING BEYOND

In considering these cloud-based services, it is imperative to note that the above inventory ofservices is merely one possible means of organizing the cloud educational technology space a

focus on audience, or on types of data stored, or on the relationship between a providersbusiness model and the price of a service would be equally analytically valid. The privacy issues

presented by any one service are heavily dependent on the context in which it is usedthe fullcloud use scenarioand as such, school officials, teachers, and parents should identify what

services are being used on the ground to better understand what data is being collected aboutstudents and how it can be stored and used.

19https://www.chalkschools.com/

K-12 Edtech Cloud Service Inventory

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