Imagine hosting a movie night at home where each friend arrives with a different set of tech relics: laserdiscs, VHS tapes, Betamax, and even physical slides. To add to the complexity, they all come with media files in a variety of formats, such as .m4a, .mov, and .wma. The devices, equipped with various players and connectors like VGA, HDMI and Bluetooth, create a chaos of hardware incompatibility. What was intended to be a fun night of sharing video memories has turned into a duct tape tech project – so much for a party!
In the educational technology space, a similar mess occurs without a standardized system for educational technology interoperability. Educators and students struggle to navigate multiple platforms, each with their own unique interfaces and data structures. This lack of interoperability results in a frustrating and fragmented experience, much like the challenges we face during our hypothetical movie night, and teachers and educational leaders end up spending time making lists instead of learning.
Interoperability in education allows different software applications to communicate and work together effectively. Integrating educational technology applications in a standardized language or format results in streamlined administrative tasks, improved collaboration, and a more comprehensive view of student performance and progress. But linking data from the universe of educational technology products is more complex than syncing a phone with a speaker via Bluetooth.
Recently, EdSurge spoke with representatives from two educational technology product vendors about the challenge of interoperability and their companies' decision to implement a data standard across Ed-Fi Alliance, a nonprofit organization funded by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. He Ed-Fi Data Standard It allows different educational technologies, including student information systems (SIS), registration tools, and assessment software, to communicate seamlessly.
Ali DeGeorgea product line manager who oversees SIS products in To the sky, says his company recognized the need for a consistent way of managing and sending data so that different applications could communicate with each other in the same language. Similarly, Andrea Presstechnical support supervisor for classroom assessment products for the objectiveswebPlus evaluation product in pearsonsays his company prioritizes convenience for its customers, and Ed-Fi provides an excellent standard so organizations can “plug and play” with any system they need.
EdSurge: What is the challenge in the edtech ecosystem that requires data standardization? Why is it worth implementing it?
Press: There is a very broad use of educational data, not only in school information systems, but also in the way organizations need to store and transmit data. It's not as seamless a transition from one point to another, ensuring that data is available. When we find ourselves in situations where we cannot seamlessly make those connections, school administrators waste time and money trying to not only perform the required data collection but also create a successful classroom environment for their teachers and students. We spend too much time troubleshooting data connection issues, which means the information teachers and students access is not real-time.
DeGeorge: Exactly! If you are using a custom API (application programming interface) or a solution created by two different companies, any vendor that wants to integrate will also have to implement that solution so that all companies can communicate. The standard allows for a universal language; You can easily interact with other companies because you speak the same Ed-Fi language.
Press: When there are so many different providers that you are trying to convey information through and each provider speaks a different language, that becomes very difficult. Implementing a data standard really gives us the opportunity to be a very easy provider to work with. It's easier for our partners to configure systems and retrieve information. They don't have to pay anyone else to learn the different languages.
What challenges did you face in the implementation process and how did your team address them?
DeGeorge: One of our challenges was making sure we were consistent across the company with how we described, traversed (the process of mapping equivalent or near-equivalent elements between different data sets), and configured our implementation. Skyward has different teams that handle different areas of expertise, such as programming teams or rating teams, and Ed-Fi covers a wide range of all of that. Although each team felt confident in their implementation, the key question was whether we maintained consistency and alignment across teams.
We created a team, what I called Ed-Fi Black Ops, that manages the implementation framework. More technical training was needed within our company to understand concepts related to interoperability, such as the differences between state and non-state implementations. We started by documenting everything, which led us to build this coherent framework. Additionally, we added an Ed-Fi session to our Skyward conferences so anyone in the district could learn more about how to walk through a setup, configure an application, or understand how to cross. Change is difficult for anyone and the process takes time. We want to help districts understand the benefits of implementation and offer what we've learned to make that transition smoother.
Press: Yes, it is important to document all! We have spent five or six years building this database to support the implementation effort. We want to make sure the client understands what to do next or where to go from here; We want to be a good partner and support you in the process. We not only need to have the information available to share with customers, but also disseminate it in a way that is understandable by providing training sessions, documentation and videos. This information catalog has taken some time (to develop) to address the nuances needed to ensure everyone has what they need. Hard lessons were learned in the process, but challenges turned into improvements and improvements.
DeGeorge: I think it's important to know, as a supplier, that other product suppliers have faced similar challenges. When I first attended the Ed-Fi Summit, I thought it was awkward to be in a room with other vendors who were essentially major competitors. However, the Ed-Fi Alliance has created this community where we can all discuss our implementation processes and learn from each other. I now feel safe in those environments and have no problem speaking to or in front of any supplier, even if they are major competitors.
What is the future of interoperability?
DeGeorge: I think we will see continued growth in the way school districts can communicate with each other, house student information, and share that information with teachers. As a result, we will see real changes in the classroom; that's really our ultimate goal here. It's not just about allowing our companies to communicate with each other. It's that automated process of putting important data into people's hands that can make an impact. This is real-time data that allows teachers to intervene with a student to ensure graduation and long-term success.
Press: Interoperability is more than just the technical way in which systems communicate. We're not just talking about lines of code; We are talking about real people (students) whose lives are affected by this. It's about collecting that demographic data so you can support not only your staff but also your students in a way that improves their lives.
