July 30, 2019—iKeepSafe has partnered with Michigan Department of Education and EduPaths, Michigan’s free online professional development portal for educators, to bring four free online courses centered around student data privacy to all U.S. K12 educators, administrators, staff and school board members. This series of courses is designed to give education stakeholders the tools they need to be aware of privacy concerns and keep students safe. The courses cover the necessary information all educators must know in order to keep student data safe in an increasingly digital learning environment, including educators’ legal requirements related to student data privacy.

The first two courses, Introduction to Data Privacy in Education and Reviewing EdTech Products for Data Privacy, are designed for all K12 education stakeholders – teachers, support staff, administrators, and school board members. The third course, Data Privacy for Educational Leaders, is geared towards school and district administration and school board members. The final course, Facilitating Educator Data Privacy Training, provides the information and resources necessary for a staff member to lead training around student data privacy in their school or district.

Through a grant from the Michigan Department of Education, The Data Privacy in Education online courses have been adapted from iKeepSafe’s previously published PDF course curriculum. The courses, housed on Michigan’s Edupaths Canvas-based professional development platform, are 30 minutes long and self-paced, allowing educators to enroll and complete the courses at a convenient time and place.

Each completed course generates a certificate that can be downloaded for proof of completion. Michigan educators can earn “SCECHs” professional development credits for the courses at no cost through EduPaths. Utah educators receive 3 CEU credits through the state’s MIDAS professional development system. Other states should check with their departments of education and/or their district for professional development opportunities. All educators can create a free account on EduPaths and access the courses from the iKeepSafe website.

For questions regarding the training course, contact info@ikeepsafe.org, and click here to take the training course.