NEW: Check out our 2022 publication below
Schlosser, L., Hood, C. E., Hogan, E., Baca, B., & Gentile-Mathew, A. (2022). Choosing the Right Educational Technology Tool for Your Teaching: A Data-Privacy Review and Pedagogical Perspective into Teaching with Technology. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 51(2), 236–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472395221137298
Our Project
Infusing educational technology into your classroom can be a wonderful way to boost student success that might otherwise take a lot of time and energy. However, choosing the right tool to expedite certain tasks in a targeted way can be tricky.
At the OTL, we want to support instructors by providing tools that can help you to make informed decisions as you discern the best educational technology tools for implementation in your classroom, while also mitigating data privacy risks for you and your students.
We have generated a catalogue of OTL-reviewed technologies aimed to evaluate an array of available teaching tools for their safety, uniqueness of functionality, accessibility, and whether they are highly effective in achieving innovative pedagogical goals. This catalogue includes a list of technologies within each phase of our stoplight rating system. Each rating stems from a robust review of data-privacy concerns and pedagogical understandings.
Our Goals
- Safety: Equipping faculty to better understand the process for evaluating the security of educational technologies.
- Pedagogy: Guiding faculty to learn how to choose the right tool.
- Consistency: Orienting faculty towards top ranked products as determined by IT Technology Review & the OTL.
The OTL does not accept legal liability or responsibility for the use of any of these tools as adopted by instructors. Please refer to the Educational Technology Stoplight ranking system below to better understand the risks related to student privacy and relevant local and federal regulations, and consult the official DU Tech Review process through IT for those technologies that are supported by the university.
Due to the constantly changing nature of privacy policies and technology features, this is a living document. We will strive to monitor and maintain records to the best of our abilities, continuing to add, change, and update as needed. At minimum, all DU-enterprise level (Blue) technologies should undergo a full IT Technology Review every 5 years and an OTL privacy and pedagogy review every 3 years.
REVIEW
Our Educational Technology Stoplight ranking system.
Click HereCHOOSE
Which technology makes sense for your teaching practice
Click HereEXPLORE
Technologies in our Knowledge Base.
Click HereStop Light Rating System
Red technologies are not supported by DU. DU does not accept the liability for the use of these tools. DU also does not offer technical support. Instructors using this tool need to be aware of the liability in regards to FERPA standards and other relevant student privacy regulations.
Red Technologies
- Discord
- Slack
Yellow technologies are not widely supported by DU. DU may or may not have a 3rd party vendor security agreement for the use of these tools. However, some uses of this tool may be appropriate for teaching if certain conditions are met. DU does not directly offer technical support, but may consult on pedagogy. Please check with your department around processes for meeting relevant student privacy regulations.
Green technologies are appropriate for teaching at DU. The tool does not pose a risk to student privacy or FERPA regulations. DU does not directly offer technical support, but may consult on pedagogy.
Green Technologies
Blue technologies have cleared the rigorous DU technology review process, obtained a FERPA agreement, and DU has accepted the liability for the use of these tools. DU offers technical and pedagogical support, as well as institutional licenses for the use of these tools to staff and faculty. Tools may also offer integrations with other technologies.
Blue Technologies
- Canvas
- CIDI Labs Design Tools
- Kaltura
- Kurzweil 3000
- Perusall
- Respondus
- Top Hat
- Zoom
- See additional blue technologies in the IT Software Catalog
FAQs
- Our reviews are conducted from the student-privacy perspective, therefore our information may not be accurate in terms of instructor account creation. We encourage you to read additional privacy policy documents or consult with an Instructional Designer before adopting the tool for your teaching if you are concerned about instructor data privacy.
- DO NOT have students create non single-sign-on (SSO) logins to access platforms. You are encouraged to use tools that integrate with DU software (i.e. using FlipGrid within Canvas) and tools that do not require student account creation (i.e. Kahoot!).
- Please consult with an Instructional Designer or Technologist about grading and assessing student work via educational technology platforms. You are encouraged to only assign grades/assessments through enterprise technologies, like Canvas and Kaltura.
It is the policy of the University of Denver to evaluate the institutional risk and financial impact of all technology-based business or administrative applications prior to their implementation. The OTL’s technology review allows for additional evaluation of educational technology by focusing on student privacy concerns from the pedagogical perspective. Technology that DU considers “enterprise” allows DU to assume responsibility and confirm that FERPA regulations are met. Technology that is not considered “enterprise” does not have a formal agreement between DU and the software company, adding to potential security risks.
To submit a tool for the IT technology review, return the tech review form to IT.PMO@du.edu.
To submit a tool for the OTL technology review, email otl@du.edu.
All technologies that meet minimum criteria in our review can be found in our Educational Technology Knowledge Base. To see which technologies fall under each stop light rating, click on the lists next to each rating above.
To schedule an appointment with an OTL staff member, use our online booking system or email otl@du.edu.
