5 Commonly Asked Questions Lightspeed Digital Insight Can Answer Within Minutes

EdTech Data Analytics Solutions

Lightspeed Digital Insight

With the rapid expansion of 1:1 device programs, new learning apps, and tools from previous years, district teams need answers EdTech data analytics solutions. How do you optimize your edtech investments? Do you know which unapproved apps are being used in your district? How do you prioritize professional development? Finding the answers to these questions could take hours, days, or weeks without the right tools in place.

In fact, the estimated time it takes to evaluate a learning app is one hour. Now, multiply that one hour across the thousands of learning apps in the district app library. According to Lightspeed’s evaluation of EdTech Data Analytics Solutions, 100 schools across the United States in 2022, most districts have more than 2,000 apps in use across their student population. This means district admins can spend up to 2,000 hours manually reviewing  apps each year.

With Lightspeed Digital Insight, IT and instructional technology leaders can quickly understand and act on approvals, cost management, and impact with a single view of district edtech usage. Easy-to-understand dashboards help district admins to analyze EdTech data analytics solutions, saving time and improving compliance with application approval workflows, real-time privacy policy scanning, and alignment to industry standards like 1EdTech and Student Data Privacy Consortium.

“Like most districts, our use of educational apps exploded two years ago, and now we’re faced with a monumental task of maintaining data security, conducting reviews and approvals, and ensuring curriculum quality. With even fewer staff resources,” says Eric Hileman, Executive Director of Information Technology Services for Oklahoma City Public Schools. “The visibility, control, and context provided by Lightspeed Digital Insight makes it possible to do that at scale and still have the time we need to support our teachers and students.”

Continue reading to learn how Lightspeed Digital Insight can answer questions and more within minutes.

1. Where is all the data and can we trust it?

Collecting and centralizing edtech application usage data across an entire school district is complex and time-consuming and requires resources that curriculum and instructional technology teams often lack. Having the data in one place is important but means nothing if it’s incomplete or inaccurate. Accurate and comprehensive data is essential for understanding student usage, yet other providers only analyze local app libraries, leading to incomplete or skewed data.

Lightspeed Digital Insight provides admins with comprehensive, accurate data from their entire network in one place. Lightspeed’s device-level agents pull activity data from every operating system (OS) and browser on the district network, eliminating the need for manual effort and planning. This single source of data is updated in near real-time, providing admins with reliable, up-to-date insights and enabling them to make informed decisions about how best to support students’ learning.

Shareable and customizable dashboards allow multiple departments to work off the same data set—the “source of truth”. Teams can have productive discussions and make informed decisions on licensing, professional development priorities, and digital access issues as reporting also show device usage by location.

2. What apps are getting the most usage and engagement?

Gathering data on the top apps used across a school sounds like an easy task, but, unfortunately, it often isn’t. Reporting and data collection are time-consuming, cumbersome, and often inaccurate when done manually. However, with the right data analytics software in place, this information can be readily available at a moment’s notice during any district leadership meeting.

Lightspeed Digital Insight’s Trending Applications dashboard provides administrators with a comprehensive overview of applications used across their network and devices, across all operating systems, captured by Lightspeed’s SmartAgent technology. Admins can quickly identify the most used apps overall, across campuses, or by grade level, and compare app usage metrics by categories like math or STEM. Review app licensing costs and gain more insights to determine how much value the app is providing. The application library includes over 5,000 apps categorized by National Center for Education (NCES) categories, helping to make comparisons easier.

3. Are we seeing value from this app?

When it comes to determining the value of an app, there’s not a clear-cut answer. It is important to consider a variety of factors, such as the grade level or subject the app supports, the cost of the app, usage data, and whether the district is meeting its adoption goals. The district should take all these data points into consideration, so they can make an informed decision on whether the app is providing the desired value.

Lightspeed Digital Insight provides your district with important license management features, so you can track cost, license expiration, and funding sources against the actual app usage data. With the expanded Application Profile, administrators are provided with a comprehensive overview of an app, enabling them to quickly evaluate an app’s value and make informed decisions. Admins can quickly update app statuses with full control of licensing and approvals. The app description provides an overview of the app with access to the terms of service and privacy policy information—helping admins keep an eye on security and compliance. Tags and Categories provide additional context regarding the app’s intended use and funding source. With the expanded Application Profile, app data is front and center, giving admins valuable insights on usage and engagement by campus, grade level, and trends across the entire district.

4. Is the published list of apps on our website updated? Do we even have a published list of apps?

Most districts publish a list of approved applications for teaching and learning at the beginning of the school year. However, as teachers find new and free apps that support their needs, maintaining the approved list can be challenging. While IT leaders want to give teachers the freedom to try new resources, maintaining app usage, approvals, and compliance becomes a balancing act. IT leaders need an easier way to compile all approved apps and ensure that they are up-to-date and accurate.

Lightspeed Digital Insight provides administrators with an easier way to compile and keep an accurate up-to-date list of approved apps. It offers features such as customized lists for different user groups, real-time updates to ensure accuracy, and the ability to integrate with existing SIS and third-party application directory sources so admins always have the most current information on learning apps. Additionally, administrators can easily review and approve apps, as well as track usage and user feedback then export that list into a Google sheet, CSV, PDF, or PNG for easy distribution.

5. Are all the apps being used in alignment with district data privacy policies?

Districts must be vigilant about protecting data privacy and being aware of the data privacy policies for the apps they are using is essential. However, keeping up to date with changes to these policies can be a challenge. That’s why it’s important to have full visibility of all applications being used across the school or district and understand when those policies change.

Lightspeed Digital Insight is the only solution to provide real-time privacy policy scanning and visibility into policy changes in a privacy policy monitoring report. This ensures that student personally identifiable information (PII) is protected from getting into the wrong hands and that districts remain compliant with data privacy regulations. Lightspeed Digital Insight surfaces critical app insights, allowing admins to identify unapproved apps instantly, including alignment with 1EdTech and Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC), and access the full data privacy policy. The data privacy policy monitoring feature highlights any sections of the policy that were changed or modified since the last review, allowing administrators to quickly review the changes and assess if any substantial changes have been made. This feature saves administrators time while ensuring their policies remain compliant and that their data privacy practices remain secure.

Lightspeed Digital Insight is a powerful tool for administrators who need to quickly access and analyze edtech data to make informed decisions. With its easy implementation process, administrators can quickly gain access to a wealth of data and start making decisions on how best to support students. Lightspeed Digital Insight can save time and improve edtech data privacy management, streamlining manual processes and helping to ensure compliance with app approval workflows, real-time privacy policy scanning, and alignment to industry standards.

Learn how Lightspeed Digital Insight can help with your district’s security and compliance, and student engagement initiatives. Request a demo today.