Guidance for free teaching tools

["Jim A. Bole" <jbole () STEVENSON EDU>]

Many faculty members are scrambling for tools to teach remotely. And vendors are capitalizing on this.

I'm trying to provide some quick tips to faculty.

Here's what I have so far:

1.       Take a few minutes to read the "terms of service" and "privacy" sections. One key thing to look for is whether 
they will sell or provide your information to other third parties without your permission. If they say they will or 
it's not mentioned, you should exercise some caution, depending on the type of information they are gathering.
2.       Does the software or service require students to setup their own accounts? Or does it only require the faculty 
member? If student accounts are required, also consider what student data (including personal information) the vendor 
will have access to and whether it would fall under FERPA guidelines.
3.       Let IT know if you begin using a tool. There maybe some support or guidance OIT can provide.

Any feedback/suggestions greatly appreciate.

Jim

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