PRINCIPLES FOR PUBLIC-INTEREST EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Education technology should support children's development, uphold their rights and contribute to the public good. These five principles provide the foundation for EDDS's approach to digital education.
Principle 1
Edtech’s primary purpose should be to enhance learning and improve educational outcomes. Edtech should only be deployed in the classroom if there is proven case for its enhancing role – the classroom should not be a testing ground for unproven products.
Principle 2
Edtech should, at a minimum, be tested and certified to abide by all legal, social, pedagogic, ethical and organisational norms, laws, regulations and standards. Without this proof, no edtech should be deployed in the classroom.
Principle 3
Edtech has a societal responsibility to children, it should therefore be held to higher ethical standards of trust, privacy and security of children than other technology products.
Principle 4
Edtech should be held accountable through transparency of its algorithmic and data processing. Children should be excluded from data collection where it is not needed for the immediate task and be allowed safe digital spaces to allow error and exploration without record.
Principle 5
Edtech products should be covered by strict licencing, regulatory oversight and systematic independent audits.
