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District outlines deliberate tech vision, filtering and opt‑out process; board asks for outcome data
Summary
Osseo technology leaders presented the district’s digital learning vision (path, place, pace), data on device usage and core instructional apps, and described the Relay filtering agent and 24/7 YouTube restrictions; board members requested updated studies on instructional outcomes and clearer opt-out communications to families.
District technology and digital learning staff told the Osseo School Board that the digital learning vision—framed as Path, Place and Pace—guides intentional technology use in classrooms and that the district differentiates instructional technology from general consumer apps.
Anthony (executive director of technology) and Andy Badeau (digital learning coordinator) explained that devices are used at teacher discretion in elementary grades (devices often stay at school) and more frequently by secondary students. Staff said the district’s usage data come from a Relay agent on devices, and that the Relay agent captures screen-level activity that is used to classify educational versus other activity.
Technology staff described core instructional platforms (Schoology, Google Workspace for Education, Seesaw, Clever, Amplify) and said filtering is applied at school-device level with different YouTube restrictions by grade band (strict for elementary, moderate for secondary). Staff also said filtering rules apply 24/7 whether students are on campus or off campus.
On family controls and opt-out: staff said families may request curricular-resource opt-outs through building leadership and that full-device opt-outs are rare; schools often create tailored plans (for example, the device stays at school or teachers use Relay Classroom restrictions) to meet student needs. Staff said they do not have up-to-date numbers for how many families have opted out and that the most recent promise-and-practice study cited was from 2021; formal learning-walk data focused on technology were last collected about four years ago.
Board members asked for clearer evaluation of instructional impact, teacher experience surveys, and more detailed data about device use after school and its effects on student outcomes. Several members also raised concerns about equity, screen time and the administrative burden on teachers to manage devices.
Next steps: Staff agreed to take board questions back to their teams, to collect additional data about opt-outs and instructional outcomes, and to return with more targeted evaluation and recommendations.
