Policy

SETDA Creates Digital Materials Acquisition Policy Portal

• By Leila Meyer
• 10/14/15

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has created a free, online portal designed to help school and district leaders implement digital instructional materials more effectively and efficiently.

The Digital Instructional Materials Acquisition Policies for States (DMAPS) portal enables administrators to access information about each state's education technology standards, plans and planning requirements, as well as information about each state's policies and procedures related to the acquisition of digital instructional materials. SETDA's goal in developing the portal was to help administrators understand the policies that are in place and identify potential policy changes.

"It is essential that leaders understand all options related to adoption and implementation of tools and resources to support learning in the digital age," said Lan Neugent, interim executive director of SETDA, in a prepared statement.

Key features of the DMAPS portal include:

• Overviews of state policies and practices;
• Map of state trends;
• Tool to compare up to five states by topic;
• Individual state profiles;
• District exemplars; and
• State educational technology background details.

To create the portal, SETDA worked with "state leaders responsible for procurement instructional materials and educational technology and in collaboration with experts in the field," according to a news release from the organization.

On October 26, at its annual Leadership Summit in Arlington, VA, SETDA will release a national research report, "Navigating the Shift: Mapping the Acquisition of Digital Instructional Materials," which includes an overview of options for purchasing and implementing digital instructional materials.

Free access to the DMAPS portal is available through SETDA's site.