Dos and Don’ts

This guide describes the organisational, data protection, safety, technical, functional and usability requirements for partner applications (Apps) that are to be integrated in Eduplaces. It serves both as orientation for new partners and as quality assurance for existing integrations. Eduplaces naturally does not wish to interfere with the sovereignty of the providers in the development of innovative school applications. At the same time, however, it must ensure that binding minimum standards are met in order to guarantee the usability and safety of users.

Educational benefit

Eduplaces sees itself as an educational platform. Partner products must therefore have a recognisable educational benefit:

Educational usefulness (MUST): The application must support the teaching, learning or school practice.
Collaboration functions (COULD): Functions for collaboration between teachers and students are desirable.

Organisational requirements

Support and training

Reliable support is essential for schools, as technical problems or uncertainties when using digital applications can directly affect the flow of lessons. Teachers and administrators need fast, competent help in everyday school life in order to be able to use digital services effectively and safely. Without clearly accessible support, not only acceptance but also trust in the quality of the partner product decreases.

Technical support (MUST): Accessible support for technical or organisational issues must be available, especially for teachers and administrators.
Training courses (COULD): Eduplaces strongly recommends that training courses or tutorials are offered to introduce the application and functions. They are desirable and promote acceptance of the solution.

No purchase options for students

It is strictly forbidden to offer students which login via Edupalces purchase options. This applies to all products and content, whether paid or “freemium”. This rule should protect students from unwanted spending and is mandatory for partners and Eduplaces alike. Eduplaces is particularly concerned about educational equity and therefore only teachers, schools or educational institutions should be able to buy.

No advertising to students

Any form of advertising aimed directly at students is prohibited. Eduplaces is designed for the educational context in schools and is therefore subject to the strict laws of the various German federal states, which prohibit advertising in schools as a whole. This applies to advertising banners, sponsored content, pop-ups or other advertising formats.

No hidden costs or subscription traps

Any trial period must not automatically lead to a paid subscription. Paid offers must be consciously and actively triggered by teachers. It must be clearly and transparently communicated when and how costs are incurred. Automatic renewals without explicit consent are not permitted.

Price transparency during onboarding

Teachers must already be informed about a partner product during the registration or activation process:

Which licence models exist,
whether trial versions are available,
whether these are automatically extended
and whether a licence applies to the whole school or just a single person.

This information must be clear, easy to find and easy to understand.

Data protection and safety

Data protection is a top priority at Eduplaces. All partners must comply with legal requirements and fulfil additional requirements.

All connected products must fulfil the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This includes in particular:

Transparent data protection declarations: Users must be able to clearly understand which data is collected, stored and processed - in understandable language.
Data minimisation: Only data which is absolutely necessary for the function of the product may be collected.
Data encryption: Strong encryption must be used for both the transmission and storage of personal data.

Teachers must be able to actively consent to data processing (opt-in) and also revoke this consent. Students cannot give effective consent - special protective measures apply here (e.g. data processing agreements with the school as the data controller). Therefore, never ask students for personal information.

Contractual basis

Submission of a data processing agreement (AVV) is typically mandatory for use of applications in school, with very rare exceptions. If possible, additional information SHOULD be provided to schools, e.g. wording to include in their (schools) privacy policy.

Technical requirements

The technical integration with Eduplaces is based on the standardised Single-Sign-On that must fulfil certain requirements:

MUST criteria

SSO correctly implemented according to Eduplaces specifications
Data minimisation: only necessary data may be requested
App behaviour for mobile use:
- On mobile: Clicking on an app tile opens the partner app directly (see documentation) with an active Eduplaces login.
- On Desktop if no web login is possible: A landing web page displaying instructions and an app link is displayed.

SHOULD criteria

Logout logic: When logging out of Eduplaces, the partner should also log out (back-channel logout). Conversely, a logout from the partner must not automatically lead to a logout from Eduplaces.
App login via Eduplaces: If a mobile app is offered, it should also include an Eduplaces login option.
Account linking: Users should be asked when they first log in whether they want to link an existing account - with the option to change it later.

Usability

Usability is crucial for the use and acceptance of a partner product and the whole Eduplaces ecosystem.

Onboarding process

The following requirements therefore apply:

Onboarding for teachers and students must be clearly structured.
If necessary, different paths or information for both target groups should be displayed
MUST: Include a “Login with Eduplaces” button on your own login page
SHOULD: Welcome Eduplaces users as such (“Welcome, Eduplaces users”)