Online safety has always been and will always be a key priority at EdShed. It goes without saying that we are fully compliant with GDPR, COPPA and FERPA to ensure your data is handled securely, but what else do we do to ensure you and your pupils are kept safe on our platform?
1. EdShed is free from advertisements
EdShed is completely free from advertisements, meaning you and your pupils can focus on your tasks and you can’t accidentally click anything.
2. No in-app purchases or messaging function
There’s no need for parents, carers or educators to worry about children accidentally running up bills! Our apps do not have any in-app purchases. In fact, the only currency children can use to edit their avatar is honeypots, which they earn from playing games – nothing to do with actual money!
We also ensure that there is no messaging function in our apps, games or anywhere else on the platform.
3. Educators and parents/carers have control over pupil accounts
Depending on who set up the account, educators or parents/carers have control over pupil accounts. Not only does this allow for easy monitoring of progress, but it also means that settings can be adjusted as needed.
4. It’s easy to report or flag concerns
We make sure it is easy for children and adults to report or flag concerns. All of our quizzes (quizzes on QuizShed, MathShed Question Sets and Spelling Shed’s grammar and punctuation quizzes and Grammar Arcade games) have a red flag in the top right-hand corner. Clicking this enables pupils to report questions. These are then sent directly to our tech team.
5. Our AI tools do not use third parties
In 2024, we introduced Mastery Zone. Mastery Zone is AI-driven, meaning each pupil’s learning can be focused and personalised. Mastery Zone uses non-generative AI and does not use any third parties, meaning all information is solely on the EdShed platform. Mastery Zone uses a handwritten algorithmic AI to make decisions. This ensures that our team is entirely in control of the output, making sure there are no nasty surprises!
6. Usernames and avatars are used
Having a cool username and avatar is awesome, but it’s also a way of making our platform safer to use and protecting yours and your pupils’s privacy. EdShed automatically gives pupils usernames and avatars, so they can be used instead of real names. Usernames are also the default setting for showing pupils on leagues and leaderboards too.
Personal data collection is also kept to a minimum.
7. We offer multi-factor authentication
Admin and teacher accounts are offered multi-factor authentication. This extra security reduces the risk of unintended access to pupils’ data.
8. Security best practices are followed
EdShed follows security best practices to guard against data leaks, malicious attacks and bad actors. This includes an annual penetration test of our platform.
The EdShed team is dedicated to making sure you and your pupils are safe when using our platform and apps, so educators can focus on teaching and pupils can focus on learning.