Overview of LearnPlatform
LearnPlatform is a comprehensive edtech evaluation and management system designed to help educators, school districts, and higher education institutions make informed decisions about the digital learning tools they use. Here’s a detailed look at what the product does and its key features:
Purpose and Functionality
LearnPlatform serves as an edtech effectiveness system that helps educators evaluate, manage, and optimize the use of educational technology tools within their institutions. The platform addresses the challenges of managing a large number of edtech tools, often described as the “Wild West” of edtech environments, by providing a structured and evidence-based approach to selecting and utilizing these tools.
Key Features
1. Product Evaluations and Reviews
- LearnPlatform allows educators to access product grades and report cards for individual edtech products, based on reviews from thousands of educators in the LearnCommunity. This helps in making informed decisions about which tools to use.
2. EdTech Library Management
- Educators can build and maintain a personal “EdTech library” of applications, streamlining the process of organizing and differentiating between various edtech tools.
3. Community Feedback and Support
- The platform enables participation in a learning community where educators can ask for feedback about edtech products from fellow educators. This fosters collaboration and shared knowledge among educators.
4. Comprehensive Product Library
- LearnPlatform offers a vast library of nearly 6,000 edtech tools, allowing educators to search, save, and compare different products based on their specific needs.
5. Approval and Privacy Status
- The platform allows for customizable approval and privacy statuses for each tool, ensuring that only vetted and compliant tools are used. This includes FERPA compliance and suitability for different age groups.
6. Contract Management and Compliance
- LearnPlatform streamlines processes such as contract management, pilots, purchasing, and data privacy compliance, ensuring that all legal and regulatory requirements are met.
7. Analytics and Impact Analysis
- The platform provides analytics and IMPACT analysis tools to help educators and administrators understand which learning tools are most effective in improving student outcomes. This includes monitoring tool usage across the organization and analyzing the impact of these tools on student learning.
8. Integration with Educational Systems
- For institutions using G Suite for Education, LearnPlatform integrates seamlessly, enabling school- or district-wide product request-and-approval services, and creating a centralized library of approved apps and services.
9. Customizable Workflows
- Administrators can customize product request forms and utilize notes features to share contextual information about products, ensuring formalized processes and workflows between administrators and teachers.
Recent Developments
In 2023, LearnPlatform was acquired by Instructure, the company behind the Canvas learning management system. This integration aims to enhance Instructure’s suite of classroom tools by adding LearnPlatform’s functions for assessing and tracking the effectiveness of edtech tools, providing educators with more comprehensive and trustworthy evidence to inform their decisions.
In summary, LearnPlatform is a powerful tool for educators and educational institutions, offering a robust set of features to evaluate, manage, and optimize the use of edtech tools, ultimately aiming to improve student outcomes and streamline educational technology management.