Test Digital Resources

My Incredible Body - NOT APPROVED

SCUSD: Not Approved



Approval Decision: Personal data is collected for marketing and promotional use. The age level is college level.

Description:  An interactive anatomy app that is medically accurate.

Pear Deck - ADULT USE ONLY

SCUSD: Adult Use Only


Approval Decision: Teachers may sign up for the free version and use it for a quick formative assessment. Note, to use with students under the age of 13, parent permission is required.

Description:  With Pear Deck, bring interactive, engaging slide presentations to your classroom. Real-time formative assessments and discussions enhance understanding.

BrainPOP - APPROVED

https://www.brainpop.com/

SCUSD: Approved


Approval Decision: Approved - If students are under the age of 13, parent permission is required.

Description:  Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology.






Common Sense Media Review - Find Pros, Cons, Video Tutorials and Lesson Ideas for Brain Pop

Qalaxia - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved


Approval Decision: Does not follow teacher input. Does not support Google for research.

Description: Qalaxia is a free question-and-answer site for classrooms. On Qalaxia: Students ask for homework help on online homework forums and get help from experts.

TouchChat - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: In violation of student personal online information because of targeted ads.

Description: TouchChat is a full-featured communication solution for individuals who have difficulty using their natural voice.

Zaption - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: The app is in violation of SOPIPA because of targeted ads.

Description: We’re excited to announce that Zaption has been acquired by Workday.

WeScheme - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional

Approval Decision: If used with students be aware they will ask for personal identifiable. information and their Google Account Login. You do not have to submit personal identifiable information to use the program. If used with students under the age of 13, then parent permission is required.

Description:  WeScheme is a coding program.  You can use it  ...without login in, but you won't be able to save without login. It has curriculum on how to use it.

ToonDoo - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: There is a cost and SOL privacy laws are violated - social media platform.

Description: Toondoo lets you create comic strips and cartoons easily with just a few clicks, drags and drops.

TodaysMeet - Adult Use Only

SCUSD: Adult Use Only

Approval Decision: This app is approved for adult use only. Be aware that they do collect your email and IP address and share it with 3rd party vendors that could target ads.

Description: TodaysMeet Teacher Tools is here! Make managing your digital classroom even easier with TodaysMeet Teacher Tools, a toolbox just for teachers.

TalkTablet - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: This app is out of compliance for student use because they sell P.I. to 3rd party vendors.

Description: TalkTablet is the #1 speech app for autism, stroke, cancer, laryngectomy, ALS and other conditions.

Tour Builder - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: In violation of SOPIPA because of targeted ads.

Description:  From a nonprofit documenting its global missions, to a teacher transforming American history - check out the inspiring stories that people are creating using Tour Builder.

Screencastify - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional

Approval Decision: Free version for teacher use only. Conditionally approved, because Screencastify has not signed California Student Privacy Alliance Agreement. A letter has been sent to the vendor and is pending vendor response.

Description:  Screencastify is Chrome's screen recorder. Lite version is free forever, while Premium version unlocks all features.

Edublogs - Approved

https://edublogs.org/

SCUSD: Approved

Approval Decision: The app is free and is in compliance with student online privacy laws.  Free version only - is approved

Description: WordPress powered blogs, Eportfolios, and websites




Common Sense Media - - Find Pros, Cons, Video Tutorials and Lesson Ideas - Find Pros, Cons, Video Tutorials and Lesson Ideas for Edublogs

Discovery Education/Streaming - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: The third party marketers may use the personally identifiable information to contact students with advertisements if they opt-in to receive this information.

Description: We ignite student curiosity and inspire educators to reimagine learning with award-winning digital content and powerful professional development.

Codeable Crafts - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: The sharing of student drawings with no oversight or permission violates students privacy laws.

Description: Codeable Crafts is an app for kids to create their imaginative stories by drawing and coding.

Blockly for Dash and Dot Robots - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: Promotional communication is used for marketing purposes. This violates the student online privacy laws.

Description: Take on coding challenges and make your own programs for Dash & Dot using Blockly. Transform Dot into an alarm, play tag with Dash, or use Dot to control Dash. Programming lets you turn your silliest or most ambitious ideas into reality.

Adobe - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved


Approval Decision: Adobe Privacy Policy states that they will display ads. This is in direct violation of student online privacy.

Description: Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. We help our customers create, deliver and optimize content and applications.

Vimeo.com - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional


Approval Decision: Approved for teacher use only. Not in compliance with
                                                     SOPPIPA.

                                                      Description: The high-quality home to make, share, and watch videos.

Sumdog - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional


Approval Decision: This application requires parent approval before a student can use it.

Description: Math & ELA standards aligned adaptive learning for grades K-8. Loved by students, parents and teachers.

Tinkercad - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: This application targets advertisements to students. This violates the student privacy laws and therefore cannot be approved.

Description: Tinkercad is an easy-to-use 3D CAD design tool. Quickly turn your idea into a CAD model for a 3D printer with Tinkercad.

Nearpod - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: Because some of Nearpod's safety features have the potential of violating federal FERPA laws, this app is not approved until a letter is written regarding the violation of FERPA.

Description: Nearpod is an interactive classroom tool for teachers to engage students with interactive lessons.

Letter School - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: The app is free because they subject the user to advertisements; tracks  IP address and ad choices.

Description:LetterSchool makes handwriting incredibly easy to unravel. Just pick a letter, kick back and enjoy the show.

LAMP Words for Life - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved


Approval Decision: Recommend our other language program that is already in use with ipads.

Description: LAMP Words for Life is designed to meet the communication needs of children with autism. Furthermore, it was created to use in conjunction with Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP), a proven-therapeutic approach that uses consistent motor plans for accessing vocabulary.

Kidblog - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved


Approval Decision: Not COPPA/FERPA compliant.

Description: Kidblog provides K-12 teachers with tools to safely publish student writing. Teachers can monitor all activity within a community of authors.

Instagram - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved


Approval Decision: Denied 9/26/16. Violation of FERPA.

Description: A simple, fun & creative way to capture, edit & share photos, videos & messages with friends & family.

Hapara - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved


Approval Decision: Do not recommend because this is an LMS for a fee. Suggest Google Classroom for now.

Description: Clear and simple visibility into learning. Hapara helps schools make the shift to digital learning by making it easier to view and manage learner work in the cloud.

Haiku Deck - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved


Approval Decision: There is a fee and this is an LMS - our district is researching possibilities for LMS.

Description: Presentations that inspire. Meet Haiku Deck, a completely new kind of presentation software. We make telling your story simple, beautiful, and fun.

FreshGrade - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved


Approval Decision: Fresh Grade has the potential of allowing student evidence or learning samples that include student identifiable information to be shared with other parents that are not the students' parents - the app is denied. The app does provide public forums and message boards that also reveal student identifiable information. Student content can also be used by third party vendors. The personal data in transit is encrypted but there are no details whether the data is encrypted in storage.

Description: FreshGrade is the digital portfolio & assessment platform that makes learning visible for leaders, teachers, parents, and students. Available on any device.

Epic! - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved


Approval Decision: There is a cost to parents to join. We cannot require parents to pay for a subscription to have access to the teacher's classroom activities.

Description: Discover the Leading Digital Library for Kids.

Dictionary.com - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: The privacy policy states they will use the personal information to provide fund raising for schools, use cookies to capture and remember certain information to understand your preferences based on site activity. The privacy policy also states the non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses. They have not enabled Google AdSense on their site but may do so in the future.

The privacy policy does not supply a contact email or phone number to ask specific questions, therefore I was not able to ask the questions and/or raise the concerns about our schools use of this application.

Description: Dictionary.com is the world’s leading online source for English definitions, synonyms, word origins, audio pronunciations, example sentences, slang phrases, idioms, word games, legal and medical terms, Word of the Day and more. For over 20 years, Dictionary.com has been helping millions of people improve their use of the English language with its free digital services.

Book Creator - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: The reasons for not approving:

1. There is a cost of $2.99
2. The privacy policy explicitly states: "We will collect and process personal data to make specific offers, to send you offers, and we can lease your data to third parties."

Description: Book Creator is a simple EdTech tool to create ebooks on iPad, Android and Windows tablets. Create a book and publish it to Apple's iBooks Store.

Animoto - Not Approved

SCUSD: Not Approved

Approval Decision: Animoto appears to be a video editor. The district already has approved some video editing software for computers (MovieMaker and Adobe Premiere, etc.). We would recommend seeking video editing software that does not compromise student privacy, etc.

We see three barriers for this website:
1) Cost: monthly cost
2) Appears to be focused on serving Business clients, not educators and students
3) Terms of use do NOT guarantee ANY compliance with Ferpa and Copa. In fact the language says our district would agree to PAY for their attorney fees if a lawsuit does materialize.

https://animoto.com/legal/education_terms
"You and your School are ultimately responsible for all content and activity on your account and your students’ accounts and for assuring that such content and activities and all Animoto Videos created are in full compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations and do not violate any third party rights."
"You and the School agree to defend, indemnify and hold Animoto harmless from and against all claims, liabilities, actions, damages, losses and costs (including reasonable attorneys' fees) that arises from any breach or alleged breach of any of the forgoing obligations, including without limitation from any claims that the use of the Site and the Animoto Services by your students violates COPPA or FERPA."

Description: Animoto is a cloud-based video creation service that produces video from photos, video clips, and music into video slideshows.

Starfall - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional



Approval Decision: This app is approved for teacher use only. NO students should be allowed to sign up for an account, only teachers can have accounts. It is free, but teachers should be aware their digital activity will be tracked and used to target adds and newsletters their way. Teachers should also beware to advise students to not use their real names, but use an avatar or nickname when using.

Description: Starfall is a children's website that teaches basic English, Reading and Writing skills. The main demographic is Preschoolers, and Kindergarteners. Founded in 2002, the website teaches children how to read by using games and phonics.

Kahoot! - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional


Approval Decision: If under 13, will require a parent permission form to be COPPA compliant.

Description: Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn - any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages!

IXL - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional


Approval Decision: The application does not have enough balance between critical thinking and skill development. We are currently working on finding good apps that have the balance to support Common Core and/or NGSS.

Description: Practice that feels like place. Dynamic, adaptive learning in math, language arts, science, and social studies.

GoAnimate - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional


Approval Decision: This is a good use of the teaching strategy "gamification" to support students understanding of fractions in grades 4-6. Teachers may use the free version if they agree to use anonymous names for students.

Description: Create videos in a safe online environment.

Code.org - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional


Approval Decision: Conditional acceptance based on the fact that this is a paid app and free download for PC is temporary. Another concern was that there were no references to compliance with state or federal student privacy laws.

Description: Every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science.

Cignition - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional

Approval Decision: This is an excellent digital book resource for many of our students with IEP's. The accounts must be set up with pseudonym for student accounts. Shalla will train the classroom teacher how to assign books to the student. email Shalla at; smirkhani@scusd.net

Description: Cignition transforms the way students learn mathematics while maximizing the potential of every child.

Bookshare - Conditional

SCUSD: Conditional


Approval Decision: Bookshare can only be used for students or staff with a diagnosed disability, IEP, or 504 Plan. You need to check with Shalla Mirkhani. She will create a teacher account and review appropriate use.

Description: An accessible online library for people with print disabilities. Read in ways that work for you. Read, listen, and learn with ebooks in audio, braille, large font, and more.

Circle Farm

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WeVideo - Approved

https://www.wevideo.com/

SCUSD: Approved


Approval Decision: We Video is approved as of 11/14/16 for the Ed Tech TOSA team to pilot with various student projects.

Description: Make and share videos using WeVideo's cloud-based online video editing software. Available on Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC and Chromebook.

Grades: 4-12

Common Sense Media Review - Find Pros, Cons, Video Tutorials and Lesson Ideas for WeVideo

Tutorial:

Spelling City - Approved

https://www.spellingcity.com/

SCUSD: Approved


Approval Decision: Free version only - is approved

Description: Build vocabulary, literacy, phonics, & spelling skills with SpellingCity. Improve vocabulary, a core reading skill, with gamified context-rich. SpellingCity is a fun way to learn spelling and vocabulary words by playing engaging learning games using any word list.

Common Sense Media Review - Find Pros, Cons, Video Tutorials and Lesson Ideas

Seesaw - Approved

web.seesaw.me/

SCUSD: Approved


Approval Decision: The free version of Seesaw is approved. Before using, teachers will need to have parents sign the parental consent letter available on the teaching and learning site.  Free version only - is approved

Description: Student driven digital portfolios and simple parent communication. Seesaw empowers students to independently document what they are learning at school. Students can “show what they know” using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links. You can also import directly from most popular apps. When students add to their Seesaw journal, content is uploaded, organized by student, and immediately accessible to teachers from any device. Seesaw makes it easy for students and teachers to review progress over time and demonstrate growth.

Common Sense Media Review - Find Pros, Cons, Video Tutorials and Lesson Ideas

ScratchJr - Approved

https://www.scratchjr.org/

SCUSD: Approved


Approval Decision: ScratchJr Free version only - is approved.

Description: ScratchJr let's young children (ages 5-7) program their own interactive stories and games. In the process, they learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer.

Common Sense Media Review

Remind - Approved

https://www.remind.com/

SCUSD: Approved


Approval Decision: This application has earned the iKeepSafe certification. Students and parents have to agree to provide their cell phone numbers.

Description: Remind, formerly Remind101, is a communication tool that helps teachers reach students and parents where they are using texts without revealing teacher's personal phone number. Schedule announcements to all parents or send individual texts to parents with photos or attachments. At Elementary and Middle School teacher's can use it to communicate with parents.

Grades: 1-12

Common Sense Media Review

Quizlet - Approved

https://quizlet.com/

SCUSD: Approved



Approval Decision: Quizlet has earned the security badge from iKeepSafe.

Description: Quizlet allows students and teachers to makes simple learning tools to study concepts, vocabulary and phrases using flashcards, games and other learning tools. It does not require a student login to use it.  Teachers can create their own study sets and provide their students with the link to the sets.  Teachers can also search from the thousands of already created sets and use them as is or modify them to suit their classes.

Grades: Teacher 4-12  Student Independently: 6-12

Common Sense Media Review

Newsela - Approved

https://newsela.com/

SCUSD: Approved


Approval Decision: Free version is approved. Newsela Pro version is now approved as of 2/1/17.

Description: Free leveled news, primary sources, and more, with standards-aligned formative assessments. Each Newsela text is offered at multiple tiers, for every student, no matter their level. Now students can study the same content and learn at their own pace—while teachers save time and headaches.

Newsela Pro Version can only be purchased by site. Pro version allows teachers to assign texts to students and monitor their quizzes and writing assessments.

National Student Clearinghouse - Approved

http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/

SCUSD: Approved


Approval Decision: National Student Clearinghouse has earned the iKeepSafe badge.

Description: The National Student Clearinghouse is the nation's trusted source for degree verification, enrollment verification and student educational outcomes research. National Student Clearinghouse tracks post graduate students in college. We use this service through Naviance. It provides a measure of how many of our graduates go on to college and how many years they finish and/or what degrees they obtain.

Mosa Mack - Approved

https://www.mosamack.com/

SCUSD: Approved


Approval Decision: Mosa Mack and Mosa Mack Pro Version are both approved.

Description: Your NGSS Solution. For students in 4th through 8th grade. Animated Mysteries + Hands-on Labs + Engineering.

Common Sense Media Review

Make Wonder - Approved

https://www.makewonder.com/

SCUSD: Approved



Approval Decision: Free version is okay for teacher use only.

Description: Make Wonder teaches kids how to program with Dash and Dot, toy robots that make coding fun using apps on iPads, iPhones, Android tablets and phones.

Khan Academy - Approved

https://www.khanacademy.org/

SCUSD: Approved



Approval Decision: Khan Academy was approved as of 11/14/16. The access to YouTube videos associated with Khan Academy are accessible through the use of Google Classroom.

Description: You can learn anything. Expert-created content and resources for every subject and level. Always free.







Common Sense Media Review - Find Pros, Cons, Video Tutorials and Lesson Ideas