The Learn Platform can be accessed from the Staff Links page on the Knox Schools website. Knox County Schools uses the Learn Platform to communicate about the appropriateness of specific digital tools. The Learn Platform consists of a Knox County Schools-specific library of apps and tools that are in use by teachers and students across our district. When a teacher wants to use a tool that requires student logins and/or hefty student interactions, the teacher should consult the Learn Platform. There, the teacher will see whether or not the tool is in the Knox County library. All tools in the Knox County library are labeled as either approved for use, reviewed and denied, or pending. The label indicates that a review team made up of data and privacy, IT, and curriculum representatives has determined whether or not a tool meets their specifications.

You can hover over a tool's tile and select "Details" to get more information about the tool's intended use. This tool has been approved for use, so when I click "Details," I can see who the intended audience is and any other details that have been added to the record. If I hover over a reviewed and denied tool, when I click "Details," I can find information about why the tool was denied. If I see a tool that is listed as pending, that means the review team is in process of reviewing that tool, and the record will be updated as soon as a decision is made.

Let's check out an example. Let's say I want to use a tool called Live Numbers. As I type, the Learn Platform begins to predict what it thinks I am looking for, and I can see here that Live Numbers is not one of the Knox County Schools apps and tools that is in the library. I can also see that there are 106 other results in the Learn Community library. I’m going to click "Show Results" and see if Live Numbers is within the master library that the Learn Platform holds. And there it is. When I hover over this tile, I can see a "Request" option. I click the "Request" option. I'm asked to fill in some basic information, including a form that allows me to share my intended use of the product. By submitting this form, the review process is initiated. You will receive an email that tells you that your request has begun the review process and that you will be notified when the process is finished. When the process is finished, that tool will be added to the Knox County Schools district library and labeled as either approved or reviewed and denied.

Let's try another example of a tool that may not be in the Learn Platform master library. There's a tool I would like to use called Match The Habitat. I can see that there are no products in the Knox County School District library that match that title, and there is nothing in the Learn Platform master library that matches this title. This is an opportunity for me to add the product to the Learn Platform's master library and then, in turn, have that added to the Knox County Schools library. Let's see how it works. I click "Missing Product," and it gives me an opportunity to request that the product be added to the Learn Community library. I supply the product's name and the URL. I submit the request, and the Learn Platform goes out and harvests the tool. This can take anywhere from 2 to 10 days. Once the tool has been added to the Learn Community master library, then the teacher can go back in and ask that it be reviewed within the Knox County-specific library.

You will be notified once your tool has been reviewed and a ruling has been made, and you will be able to consult the Knox County portion of the library to see whether or not your tool is approved or reviewed and denied. Once you have received the ruling on your product request, the review process is over, and you may begin using approved tools with your students.