In the age of information, we have lots of work to do to help keep our student’s data safe.  With the emergence of education technologies and the advancement of web 3.0, data is currency.  Big data, is big money.  In the recent years, some of our most beloved classroom apps have left our students data susceptible to hacking. There are a few things that we as teachers can do to protect our student’s data when we use our chosen applications.  So before importing your student’s information into the next really cool app, try some or all of these 4 tips of protection.

1.  Seriously look through the Terms of Service.  I know they are incredibly long and ridiculously scary but we must we must we must.  Here’s a quick video on what to look for in the TOS.  Take some notes if you’d like.

2. Check to see if the company has signed the K-12 School Service Provider Pledge to Safeguard Student Privacy.  Now it’s not an exhaustive list and it probably won’t include the newest products, but it does show initiative from the company.

3.  Check out these excellent privacy lesson plans from Commonsense.org for both you and your students.

4.  Build a culture of safety in your school or classroom by creating a Data Safety procedures and policy and training students, staff and parents on Data Safety.

These are a few ideas to get you started on the Safety Path.  Please, add more to the list in the comment section, we can make this a PD FOR FREE!