MVSD Approved Digital Resources

The MVSD Approved Digital Resources is a list of websites or applications from vendors that have signed student data privacy agreements that meet the stringent standards of CA State and Federal guidelines.

If the digital resource is not listed on this document, or has not been approved as a District program, MVSD students SHOULD NOT be directed to use the resource as part of their instruction. All approved resources listed on this document have gone through our District's vetting process.

From the Acceptable Use Policy signed by all employees:

All employees must ensure that any digital tool or resource that requires access to students’ individually identifiable information be pre-approved for use by school site and/or district administration. This includes any free or paid, third-party applications or online platforms (e.g. online grade book, educational software application, parent communication tool, etc.).

Below is a more detailed explanation from a company we deal with, EdPuzzle:

For the teacher who loves tech, there's never been a better time:

...Google Classroom integrations

...One-click sign-ins

... and free trials galore!

But with so much technology ready and waiting to debut in your classroom, there's a new challenge that teachers, parents and school leaders face: keeping student data secure.

While school data might be more at risk than ever, the problem of keeping students' information secure is not a new one. In fact, the United States first acknowledged the need to protect student records in 1974 with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

FERPA makes it the responsibility of schools to keep personal information about their students secure and confidential. While some directory information like names and addresses isn't classified, other more sensitive information like grades and GPA's must be kept secure.

The government took an ever more careful stance on this issue in 1998 with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This law states that children under the age of 13 may not have personally identifiable information about them collected by websites or apps.

This has serious implications for the way that teachers use technology with their students and for the ways that ed tech companies choose to interact with teachers and students.