Compliance Analysis
There are several governmental policies that are critical to education and student privacy: FERPA, COPPA, E-Rate and SOPIPA. Please see the slideshow below for my analysis of SDUSD's compliance, and recommendations for the EAP.
For an in depth look at each policy mentioned above, view this Google Slide Show created in collaboration with some of my EDL classmates.
SOPIPA is the newest policy to affect education in California. It is aimed at Ed Tech operators and service providers, rather than schools. The unique thing about it is that it puts the responsibility of security and ethical use on the websites. This is in contrast to FERPA, which only applies to K-12 institutions, and only those that receive federal funding (Sabett, R., Cooleygo.com). It will be interesting to see how non-compliance will be dealt with, once the act goes into law.
In regards to SDUSD's Enterprise Architecture plan, I suggest conducting a review of what contracts are in place already for anything that may violate this new law, so it can be fixed before it goes into action in 2016. From then on, be diligent in assessing the policies of any new operator contracts (Herold, B., thejournal.com).
For an in depth look at each policy mentioned above, view this Google Slide Show created in collaboration with some of my EDL classmates.
SOPIPA is the newest policy to affect education in California. It is aimed at Ed Tech operators and service providers, rather than schools. The unique thing about it is that it puts the responsibility of security and ethical use on the websites. This is in contrast to FERPA, which only applies to K-12 institutions, and only those that receive federal funding (Sabett, R., Cooleygo.com). It will be interesting to see how non-compliance will be dealt with, once the act goes into law.
In regards to SDUSD's Enterprise Architecture plan, I suggest conducting a review of what contracts are in place already for anything that may violate this new law, so it can be fixed before it goes into action in 2016. From then on, be diligent in assessing the policies of any new operator contracts (Herold, B., thejournal.com).
Application Analysis
SDUSD is at the end of a 5 year major overhaul of their technology and infrastructure, which makes it a great time to analyze the systems that are now in place. Some of the applications currently in place at SDUSD are detailed in this preliminary Application Inventory.
An application roadmap serves to plot out the next 5 years and prioritize what applications will need to be replaced or updated. The process I would take to work with stakeholders is to firstly make sure that every Program Area to be affected has a representative expert about that department’s applications. These experts will be tasked with researching the applications more in depth and creating a forecast for the future. What does the application do and what does the future trend look like for that service or department? Do the applications work with outside agencies and what are their plans for refresh?
Aside from knowing the logistics of refreshing and replacing applications, another purpose of an Application Roadmap is to assign value and prioritize. Our reading this week stated, “the ordering is based on the strategic priority of the impact to the value proposition that the given data stream can provide”. To determine the value of these features and tools, all stakeholders must be consulted, not just the Program Area Units but also the users and potential users. I would use the knowledge of the expert team to craft a survey to send to all stakeholders. I would use the data from the survey to gauge what applications are used more frequently and are most impactful to students. Then I would work with stakeholders and my experts to try and merge the two types of knowledge: knowing a future forecast and stakeholder input about application value.
When documenting Application Architecture, it is crucial to have an Application Rationalization. According to Gartner's Application Overhaul, "Enterprises that ignore long-range planning rish dealing with escalating maintenance costs for out-of-date application, a lack of access to information critical to decision making and regulatory compliance, and a loss of business agility in an increasingly agile world." An Application Rational helps to prioritize and plan your Application Architecture. One critical component I analyzed was the substitute assignment application, SAMS can be seen in this Rationale:
Aside from knowing the logistics of refreshing and replacing applications, another purpose of an Application Roadmap is to assign value and prioritize. Our reading this week stated, “the ordering is based on the strategic priority of the impact to the value proposition that the given data stream can provide”. To determine the value of these features and tools, all stakeholders must be consulted, not just the Program Area Units but also the users and potential users. I would use the knowledge of the expert team to craft a survey to send to all stakeholders. I would use the data from the survey to gauge what applications are used more frequently and are most impactful to students. Then I would work with stakeholders and my experts to try and merge the two types of knowledge: knowing a future forecast and stakeholder input about application value.
When documenting Application Architecture, it is crucial to have an Application Rationalization. According to Gartner's Application Overhaul, "Enterprises that ignore long-range planning rish dealing with escalating maintenance costs for out-of-date application, a lack of access to information critical to decision making and regulatory compliance, and a loss of business agility in an increasingly agile world." An Application Rational helps to prioritize and plan your Application Architecture. One critical component I analyzed was the substitute assignment application, SAMS can be seen in this Rationale:
SBAC Readiness Assessment
The new Common Core testing is coming soon, and preparedness for this new style of testing is critical to an Enterprise Architecture Plan, especially with the Technology Architecture. I looked at devices in use in the San Diego Unified School District and evaluated their potential for use in Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Testing. SBAC Testing will be administered entirely online, and thus there are certain requirements that devices and networks must meet in order to properly administer the SBAC test. IT directors must consider bandwidth when many, or all, students are accessing the network. Devices must be able to handle certain functions, as well as have the proper security to ensure the integrity of test results.
My key findings are:
You can view my SBAC Readiness Assessment Data in the slide show below.
My key findings are:
- Security seems to be more external to device
- iPads are most problematic
You can view my SBAC Readiness Assessment Data in the slide show below.
Technology Brick
One step in creating an Enterprise Architecture is documenting everything, and one way to do that is with a "brick". Bricks serve as a way to plan out the future of certain tools. The Nation Institute of Health provides an extensive example of enterprise bricks, and defines a brick as something that "specifies NIH adopted technical standards and protocols or technologies and products." One area I found important to create a brick for was Web Content Management (WCM).
Currently, the baseline applications for WCM are Microsoft SharePoint and also SchoolWires Solution Suite. SharePoint is consistent with the Microsoft 365 suite that is used for other purposes as well, which increases interoperability. SchoolWires was just acquired by Blackboard and though no immediate changes were announced, tech leaders should contain this application for further review. I found an article that outlined five emerging options for Web Content Management in education, which I included in the “Emerging” area. My brick document can be accessed below.
Currently, the baseline applications for WCM are Microsoft SharePoint and also SchoolWires Solution Suite. SharePoint is consistent with the Microsoft 365 suite that is used for other purposes as well, which increases interoperability. SchoolWires was just acquired by Blackboard and though no immediate changes were announced, tech leaders should contain this application for further review. I found an article that outlined five emerging options for Web Content Management in education, which I included in the “Emerging” area. My brick document can be accessed below.