11 Essential Components of a Quality PreK-12 Digital

Resource

With so many PreK-12 digital resources, how do teachers identify the best ones?

The PreK-12 Learning Group found 11 qualities for digital products that contribute to successful classroom learning.

They are ….

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The technology behind the product should not only be up-to-date and work on the latest operating systems; it should also be tested from all user perspectives.

Reliability:

Learning is the primary focus, and everything about the digital product should be in service of its educational goal. The program should have a clear scope and sequence, and it must meet quality assurance measures.

Fit for Purpose:

The resource cannot be the proprietary product on an isolated digital island. Resources should use common industry standards and formats so they can be easily integrated into existing systems.

Interoperability:

Products should provide easily understood data on the student’s progression toward their learning goals. The data should be exportable to common file formats so teachers can view it in concert with other student information.

Accountability:

Teachers and students should have the ability to choose lessons as needed or work through an entire progression. Content should be accessible in meaningful units and allow for variation. In turn, teachers should be able to customize the data they need to monitor.

Flexibility:

Digital products should be developed so they are usable by students of various learning abilities. Products should be able to interact with students using readers, closed captioning, etc.

Accessibility:

While the content is key, teachers should take advantage of the benefits of technology to engage students.

Interactivity:

No matter the scope of the product, there should be separate guidance for teachers that explains the technical aspects of how the product works as well as the pedagogy and learning goals.

Teacher Assistance:

Users should easily learn how to perform basic commands quickly (e.g., save, help, and exit). Teachers should be able to easily guide students who are on different parts of the program, and use a dashboard.

Usability:

Users should easily learn how to perform basic commands quickly (e.g., save, help, and exit). Teachers should be able to easily guide students who are on different parts of the program, and use a dashboard.

Usability:

Make sure that the creators of the program have expertise in the subject area of the product. Putting together an app with basic math problems does not mean that a developer has the background to sequence them properly.

Expertise:

It’s critical that that students’ privacy is protected while using digital products. Technology should be evaluated to ensure that it meets a school’s data privacy requirements.

Student Data Privacy:

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