CONTACT
Jonathan Yang
Marketing and Communications Manager
SETDA
[email protected] 

SETDA Joins Initiative to Ease the Burden 
on Schools with EdTech Quality Indicators

June 24 2024 (Washington, DC) – The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), in collaboration with leading educational organizations, is excited to announce a new initiative to ease the burden on schools when evaluating edtech and AI products. This effort focuses on establishing five quality indicators to ensure high standards for educational technology, ultimately benefiting students and educators. Schools face significant challenges in determining the quality of edtech products, leading to duplicated efforts and overwhelmed administrators. To address this, SETDA, along with 1EdTech, CAST, CoSN, Digital Promise, InnovateEDU, and ISTE, is advocating for a standardized set of indicators to streamline the review process. These indicators include Safety, Evidence-Based Practices, Inclusivity, Usability, and Interoperability.

SETDA’s commitments include:

• Increase awareness of the and Product Index and equip state leaders to effectively implement edtech solutions aligned with the Five Edtech Quality Indicators.
• In collaboration with CoSN, collect input and feedback from state education systems and companies regarding how to improve edtech purchasing (through state-sponsored or cooperative service models or purchasing agreements).
• Develop sample RFP language for state procurement processes that includes recommended validations aligned to the Five Edtech Quality Indicators.

By focusing on these quality indicators, SETDA aims to reduce the workload on school leaders, ensuring they can focus on what matters most: delivering high-quality education to students. The organization will also provide training webinars and promote these standards at various conferences, helping educators make informed decisions about the technology they use.

For more information on this collaboration, read ISTE’s full blog post here.

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About SETDA

Founded in 2001, SETDA is the principal association representing U.S. state and territorial educational technology and digital learning leaders. Through a broad array of programs and advocacy, SETDA builds member capacity and engages partners to empower the education community in leveraging technology for learning, teaching, and school operations.

For more information, please visit our website https://www.setda.org or Twitter @setda