Dive Brief:

• EdTech: Focus on K-12 solicited input from a teacher and a researcher about how best to find, select and introduce new educational applications to classrooms, including apps for communication, assessment and classroom organization.
• Rachelle Poth, a Spanish teacher at Riverview Junior/Senior High School in Pennsylvania, recommends starting by identifying a problem or inefficiency in the classroom and then thinking about how an app might solve it.
• Teachers can take advantage of reviews and sample apps on Common Sense Education and EdShelf as they begin to narrow down the field of possibilities and test their chosen apps, and once they are ready for the classroom, Kent State assistant professor Karl Kosko reminds teachers to use the apps to support teaching and enhance their lesson plans.

Dive Insight:

One danger administrators should keep in mind as teachers search for apps to bring into their own classrooms is data security. Tustin Unified School District Senior Director of Technology Robert Craven is among those who have centralized approvals for classroom use of educational applications. While that may slow down the pace at which teachers can introduce the new apps to their classrooms, it ensures they choose apps that do not require much personal information from student users.

Teachers are often receptive to the concerns of IT directors, but they have to know there are concerns. Third-party vendors are also often willing to work with districts to get their technologies into more classrooms so administrators should be aware of their negotiating power when considering new subscriptions.