What are frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the Inventory Dashboard?

The Inventory Dashboard allows organizations to discover the breadth of edtech solutions their students and teachers access. Answers to frequently asked questions about the Inventory Dashboard are provided below.

Why does my Inventory Dashboard data not match what I’m seeing in product dashboards?

There are a number of reasons why Inventory Dashboard data does not exactly match data in reporting/dashboards native to specific products or through your single sign-on (SSO) provider. Access data provided through the Inventory Dashboard is URL-driven, so if a product is being accessed via an LMS (including LTI) or API via another product, the URL event may not be picked up. If a student or teacher accesses a product from a personal device without the LearnPlatform extension installed, that activity is also not tracked. Additionally, application behavior (i.e. when a Google Doc autosaves) may be picked up as an event by the Inventory Dashboard.

What product access data is not picked up by the Inventory Dashboard?

Any product accessed via an iframe in another product is not tracked on the Inventory Dashboard because iframe activity is not URL-based. Activity that happens in browsers without the Chrome or iOS extension installed are also not tracked. Additionally, for the Chrome extension, a user must be signed into their Chrome browser with the same email domain that was provided to LearnPlatform.

Why isn’t Inventory Dashboard data used for RCEs?

The Inventory Dashboard is designed to provide user and access data at a very broad level. Rapid Cycle Evaluation (RCE) on the other hand, provides administrators with a deep dive into how a specific product is being used and the outcomes it is driving. Usage and outcome data obtained directly from solution providers is more accurate than Inventory Dashboard data, so it is a better fit for use in RCE.

What’s the difference between the Chrome and iOS browser extensions?

The Chrome browser extension can be deployed via a Google Admin account to Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge browsers. It can capture users, events (pageviews, page refreshes, etc.) and time-on-system (minutes). It cannot capture access and usage data on apps launched within another app (i.e., if a teacher/student is logged in to Canvas, and launches Flipgrid via Canvas, Flipgrid use will be captured as Canvas use). The browser extension can be utilized on Windows OR macOS devices on which Chrome or Edge browsers are being used. It will not capture access/use data for native apps on macOS devices. The Chrome extension only collects data from the active window, so tabs open in the background will not be captured.

The iOS extension can be deployed via any MDM (Jamf and others) and installed on any MDM managed iOS device. It cannot be used to capture data on macOS devices. It uses WebContentFilter on supervised educational iOS devices to measure student and educator engagement with EdTech products, including native apps and web apps. It can capture device and event data on shared devices, and device, event, and user data in 1:1 implementations. The iOS extension can capture usage data on apps launched within another app, provided there is parity with the non-natively launched app’s standard URL. Additionally, the iOS extension cannot differentiate between active and inactive tabs open in web browsers. It also cannot differentiate between native apps that are open vs. those open in the background. The iOS extension can only capture data from apps that send a signal to a network.

What access data is captured for products launched via Canvas LMS?

Visibility to access data on products launched via Canvas LMS depends on the integration of the specific product with the Canvas platform. Reach out to Support or your Customer Success Manager for questions about specific tools being used via Canvas.

Why does the Inventory Dashboard not display a product that I know we access?

There are several reasons product access may not display in your Inventory Dashboard. Use the questions below as a guide to determine the issue you are experiencing and the information the Support team may need so they can help you.

iPad (i.e. iOS)

  • Browser apps (Chrome, Safari, etc.): What are the URL’s for accessing and using the tool? Provide both pre-login and post-login domains so the support team can check whether either needs to be added to the tool in the LearnPlatform library.
  • Non-browser apps: What is the bundle ID for that tool? The support team may need to confirm that the same app bundle ID is attached to that tool in the LearnPlatform library, or they may need to add it.

Chromebooks

  • Chrome browser app: What are the URL’s for accessing and using the tool? Provide both pre-login and post-login domains so the support team can check whether either needs to be added to the tool in the LearnPlatform library.
  • Any other apps: LearnPlatform cannot track usage of any other native apps on Chromebooks.

Macbooks (i.e. macOS)

  • Chrome browser app: What are the URL’s for accessing and using the tool? Provide both pre-login and post-login domains so the support team can check whether either needs to be added to the tool in the LearnPlatform library.
  • Any other apps: LearnPlatform cannot track usage of any other native apps on Macbooks

Why am I seeing data for products that I have blocked?

Because LearnPlatform extensions are URL-driven, they still capture attempts to access blocked sites, as well as visits that occur outside the range of on-campus content filters. This means data captured for blocked products likely falls into one of two scenarios:

  • If there are a high number of users for a blocked product, but the volume of usage is low (i.e. total minutes per user), this likely represents users who have attempted to access the blocked product and were denied access, but our browser extension captured that attempt as an event since it pinged the network.
  • If there are a low number of users for a blocked product, but the volume of usage is high (i.e. total minutes per user), then it’s likely that an educator or student took their school device home with them and used it to access the blocked site. If there are no off-campus content filters installed, they would be able to access the site from their home and LearnPlatform would capture that data. If the extension has been installed on the device and the user is logged into their school email account, then usage data would be captured.

For instances that fall outside of these two scenarios, check your content filter settings and contact LearnPlatform support.

How can I see access data for a single site in my district?

In order to see access data for a single site, you must upload rosters to LearnPlatform. Once rosters are uploaded, you can use the Organization filter to select the individual site you are interested in seeing access data for.

It is recommended that all customers upload rosters, as it ensures all members of your organization are automatically approved and verified upon installing the Chrome/iOS extension. Rostering also provides you with deeper insights into which users are accessing which products and allows you to filter access data by grade level in addition to individual sites.

Is the Inventory Dashboard compliant with regulations around student and teacher PII?

LearnPlatform collects some personally identifiable information (PII), including student and teacher email addresses and names. It complies with AWS security best practice protocols which include encrypting all data in transit and all database data is encrypted at the file system level. All student PII is removed and student records are de-identified before processing in the platform. This is largely the same for educator PII, with the exception of providing a list of the top educator users when drilling down into a specific product usage data. Administrators can also hide this educator-specific usage data from the Inventory Dashboard if they do not want to access or view that information.