3 District Hacks to Enhance Security, Simplify App Approvals, and Cut Costs with EdTech Analytics

Districts face increasing challenges managing their technology effectively while ensuring data privacy and optimizing costs. Enter Lightspeed Digital Insight, our edtech analytics platform designed to provide IT and curriculum leaders with unparalleled visibility into their edtech ecosystem, with workflows to ensure privacy policy compliance, easy app approvals, and budget optimization. This blog highlights three favorite district tools and workflows to save time, improve security, and cut costs.

Protect Student Data: Spot Risky Apps and Ensure Compliance

The safety and privacy of student data is a top priority, and it is necessary for districts to stay on top of privacy policy changes of apps in use. According to our EdTech App Report, 91% of apps undergo privacy policy changes, with an average of three changes per school year per app.

With resource-limited departments, time is of the essence, and Lightspeed Digital Insight saves districts an average of 2-3 hours per app reviewed for privacy policy compliance. say goodbye to combing through Terms of Service agreements!

Here’s how:

• Identify Risky Apps: Easily detect and assess applications that may pose security threats. Quickly search and pull a report of unapproved apps in use at the district, and receive alerts when privacy policies change. Our tracked changes feature highlights before-and-after changes to see exactly what has been revised.
• Ensure Compliance: Simplify the process of adhering to privacy regulations and policies, protecting sensitive student PII with 1EdTech and SDPC integrations to expedite app vetting.

Simplify App Approvals and Public List Management

Managing the approval and review process for apps can be cumbersome and time-consuming, often involving manual work via spreadsheets and a decentralized system. Lightspeed Digital Insight streamlines this process with user-friendly workflows that improve collaboration among teachers, IT staff, and instructional technology departments. The platform allows you to:

• Simplify App Reviews: Unlike other tools that only see part of the picture or whose data is limited to activity from SSO logins, Lightspeed Digital Insight’s device-level agents allow you to see all applications in use across all device and OS types and identify rogue applications in need of review.
• Enhance Collaboration: Centralize app requests and enable teachers to discover and request approved apps without leaving their daily tool, Lightspeed Classroom Management.
• Manage Your Public List: Create, edit, and share approved app lists with stakeholders, providing transparency and demonstrating compliance with student data privacy regulations.

Reduce Costs with App Usage Insights

With ESSER funds expiring in 2024, districts are striving to maximize their budget and need detailed app usage analytics to make informed decisions about their edtech investments. Many districts cannot confidently answer questions like:

• How many apps are in use?
• Which apps are redundant?
• Which apps are being used the most and the least?

Lightspeed Digital Insights gives leaders the tools they need for ongoing budget management and optimization. Leverage this platform to:

• Evaluate App Usage: Assess the utilization of purchased apps to determine the return on investment for edtech spending. Identify which licensed apps are redundant, unused, or underutilized at the school and district level.
• Cut Costs: Eliminate unnecessary expenditures and optimize your edtech budget.

“[Lightspeed] Digital Insight has helped us prioritize certain applications over others by giving us transparency into how often those tools are used,” said Justin Steele, former IT Director at Caddo Parish School District in Shreveport, LA. “We will be re-negotiating [one of our contracts] at renewal and will save 58% in spending for that platform, and an overall 16% in budget spending for the year,” shared Steele.

Transform Your Edtech Management with Lightspeed Digital Insight

Lightspeed Digital Insight is a game-changer for districts seeking to protect student data, streamline app approval processes, and reduce costs. By providing comprehensive visibility and actionable insights, districts can manage their edtech ecosystem more effectively and efficiently – all in one platform.

Unlock the full potential of your district’s digital resources with Lightspeed Digital Insight! Schedule a demo today.