EdTech Tools

CATE manages several learning tools at UIC and makes licenses available at no cost to individual instructors. These centrally managed learning tools have been vetted by Tech Solution’s security team and are FERPA compliant. CATE’s support team has experts for these tools who can help with setup and any issues that arise.

There are also quite a few great tools out there that are not managed by CATE, and this number has only grown since the pandemic started and online learning has increased. Many of these tools may have been offered for free, or picked up for use by specific departments to help during the initial shift to remote learning. However, if a trial period has ended, or a department has not renewed a license, the cost of continuing to use these tools could end up falling on instructors.

CATE encourages faculty to review the tools they use in their teaching and make sure they understand how they are funded and whether they are accessible and FERPA compliant. CATE has a list of commonly used but not centrally support EdTech apps to give instructors a little more information.

Instructors are also encouraged to review UIC’s FERPA tutorial to understand what kind of student information can and cannot be shared with outside sources, which includes tools that haven’t been vetted by CATE and Tech Solutions.

For any questions about specific tools or FERPA concerns, contact the Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence staff at teaching@uic.edu.