- Interoperability has had different definitions and standards. Figure out what yours is. Differentiate between interoperability standards (the rules and definitions used to move different types of information) and interoperability (the ability to move information easily to where you need it).
- Accept that when interoperability works, it goes unnoticed. It fades into the background, boring and forgotten.
- Interoperability is not about collecting data. Stopping interoperability doesn’t affect data collection, and stopping interoperability won’t stop data use.
- Bad commercial edtech products can stand in the way of interoperability – and good design has big upsides. Interoperability standards won’t solve the problem of bad software, but intelligent adoption of interoperability standards can reduce a district’s exposure to a data breach.
- Data-privacy questions about interoperability are more complicated than either side that debates those questions acknowledges. When a company uses an interoperability standard with its product, three things can generally be said to be true: 1) the product will have a clear sense of the data it collects; 2) the product will potentially have access to a larger amount of data: and 3) the data collected and stored by a product will be easier to move.
- Interoperability creates the potential for better edtech vendor practices, but it doesn’t guarantee it. Good practice must come from education companies doing the right thing—and from schools, students, and parents demanding meaningful rights and ownership over the data that quantifies the learning experience.
Source: Education Week https://tinyurl.com/yabxmwfy
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