Below is a listing of the online services used with Lower School students at St. John's School. Included is a brief description of their purpose and links to their privacy policies and terms of services. The core services of FACTS and Google's G Suite for Education are used by the majority of Lower School students. A listing of additional services follows; these services may or may not be used by members of the Lower School faculty with their students. Consequently, students will not need accounts for all of these services. In most cases, the teachers or school administrators will create accounts for the students. Whenever possible, the students' Google account for school will be used for registration.
Updated August 2024
Core Services
St. John's School uses FACTS to manage attendance, academic records, schedules and grading in a cloud-based, student information system. This is the school's official online service for collecting and computing grades, as well as for sharing a student's academic information with the student and his/her parents. Parents' contact information (such as home and email addresses, phone numbers, etc.) is also stored in FACTS and is accessible by the student's teachers. FACTS does not sell personal information to third parties. "All personal information collected is used by our affiliates to perform services, send you information about new products and services, comply with laws or carry out internal functions." Student accounts are created by the Registrar for students in grade 2 and are used until the student's graduation or departure from the school. Account login information is shared with the students and their parents so that they can view the grades entered. Privacy - Terms of Service
Google's G Suite for Education student accounts are used for communication, sharing assignments online, and various file creations for school-related purposes. It includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Classroom, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Drawing, Slides, and Sites. Pseudonym-named accounts are created and managed by the school. Additionaly restrictions and monitoring of accounts are performed on site. Students are restricted from exchanging emails from outside of our domain but they can publish to the web. Student accounts are deleted within 1 year after leaving the school. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Additional Services
Class Dojo is a school communication platform used by teachers, students, and parents to share messages, photos, and videos. Teachers set up the class and provide individualized feedback on class skills and achievements to students and parents. There are other features for announcements, digital assignments, student digital portfolios, daily announcements, and more. Teachers create student accounts using alias names and send parents a code to join the group. A student's profile and portfolio is only visible to the student, the students' teachers, school leaders, and the student's parents. Additionally, feedback points are deleted every 12 months. Parents' phone numbers or other contact information is kept private from other users; all interaction takes place between accounts within Class Dojo or its mobile app. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
EBSCO provides high-quality information resources and technology solutions to libraries, including research databases, journals, e-books, and more. St. John's School has a subscription that can provide students with EBSCO materials. EBSCO's privacy policy is COPPA compliant. "If a user under 16 years of age wants to use our personalization featrures, we ask the user to register with their first name (not considered personal information by the US Federal Trade Commission) and a unique identifier only." Cookies are not used for advertising purposes. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Epic is an online platform with a collection of digital books for children. Teachers create free accounts for their students to access Monday through Friday between 7am-3pm. Epic is COPPA, FERPA, and SOPIPA compliant. There are no ads. Any data collected, such as an IP address, is used only to support the functionality of their service; it is not used for marketing or advertising purposes. Teacher will set up classroom accounts using the students' Google accounts from school via Google Classroom. The student then access Epic using a class code.
Parents also have the option to sign up their child for the free Basic plan, which allows access to 1 book each day outside of school hours, or purchase a subscription to the Epic Unlimited plan. These would be private accounts unless the parent registered using the student's Google account from school or shared home account information with the teacher. Visit the Epic website for more information about subscriptions. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Parents also have the option to sign up their child for the free Basic plan, which allows access to 1 book each day outside of school hours, or purchase a subscription to the Epic Unlimited plan. These would be private accounts unless the parent registered using the student's Google account from school or shared home account information with the teacher. Visit the Epic website for more information about subscriptions. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Flipgrid is a video conversation app where students can post short video responses to topics created by the teacher. Teachers create a "Grid" or group of users in the service using the students' pseudonym Google accounts through Google Classroom. Access to the Grid can be accomplished through a browser or a mobile app and is closed to outside viewers. Students' video submissions can be moderated for review first by the teacher and then released for class viewing. Students can comment on each other's videos. Flipgrid is a subsidary of Microsoft. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Flipster is a digital magazine newsstand service from EBSCO. St. John's librarian can curate a selected list of these digital magazine and make them available to students' through the school's EBSCO account. "Users of all ages can quickly download magazines using the enhanced Flipster iOS and Android apps." Flipster is contained in EBSCO's privacy policy which is COPPA compliant. "If a user under 16 years of age wants to use our personalization features, we ask the user to register with their first name (not considered personal information by the US Federal Trade Commission) and a unique identifier only." Cookies are not used for advertisement targeting purposes. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Gizmos are inquiry-based, interactive math and science simulations for grades 3-12. Teachers can integrate these simulations into assignments and use them to explore concepts. The teacher sets up an online class and adds student accounts. A student first name, last name, and identification number is required, although the student's school account can be used for the username. The students join classes using a class code. Student data is only used for the service and is not shared with any third-parties. Gizmos is certified by iKeepSafe for student privacy. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Kahoot is a game-based polling app that teachers can use to assess students' understanding through questions or informal quizzes. A student account is not required to play; they will access a Kahoot anonymously with a teacher provided PIN code. Teachers will not use the "player identifier" options. If the parent permits their child to download the free Kahoot mobile app, students may use their St. John's Google account to register. Be advised that with a registered account, students could create their own Kahoots as well as access third party content. Kahoot can be played within a computer's browser, so the mobile app is not required. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Khan Academy is a free online platform for learning different subjects. They have instructional videos and a series of practice exercises. Teachers can assign specific exercises and track the students' progress. An account is needed to keep track of progress through the lessons. Khan Academy is a Student Privacy Pledge Signatory. They collect personal information (name, email, & birthdate) for accounts; students' Google pseudonym addresses from school will be used to create the account. Children under the age of 13 are prevented from posting information about themselves; however, be aware that YouTube is the platform used for their videos. YouTube videos allow comments; some comments posted by users may be inappropriate for young students. Students' Khan Academy accounts will be deleted at the end of the school year. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Nearpod is a platform used to create interactive, online lessons. It also has a large collection of premade lessons from educational partners and expert educators, including Google integrated lessons, virtual reality, 3D, and gamefied learning. Students access the service through accounts that are created by the teacher through Google Classroom using the students' Google account pseudonyms. Students are directed to use an alias for a username. Students' access and performance on lessons can be monitored by the teacher.
Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Prodigy.com is an online platform for students in grades 1-8 to practice math. Through self-paced exercises and games, students practice curriculum-alligned math skills with adaptive levels of proficiency. The service is free, but has additional costs for premium memberships. Student accounts utilize an avatar name after the initial registration by a parent or teacher of the student's first name and last initial. Registration requires a parent's email address, and parents can create accounts themselves to track their child's progress, set goals and give rewards. Prodigy follows the iKeep Safe Harbor program for privacy protection surrounding the collection, use, maintenance and disclosure of personal information from children. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
QuaverMusic.com is an online learning curriculum for music education. It includes customizable, standards-based lessons and a variety of interactive content for each grade level. Accounts will be set up by the music instructor for students in grades PreK-5 using their pseudonym Google account names and integrated with Google Classroom. Student accounts can be passed forward in the next school year. Accounts will be deleted when a student leaves St. John's or at the end of 5th grade. QuaverMusic does include assessments and a gradebook feature that the teacher may utilize. It also includes a chat feature which the children will be discouraged from using. Quaver does not require personally identifiable information, share student data, and does not allow third-party companies to solicit or advertise on their platform. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Quizlet is a flashcard app that can be used for practice or studying. Teachers can create sets of learning materials or employ material created by Quizlet or its partners. Students can use their St. John's Google account to sign up for the service. Quizlet has been awarded PRIVO's Kids Privacy Assured COPPA Safe Harbor Certification. Quizlet requires a parent's email address for children under the age of 13. Quizlet will share a user's personal information with his/her consent for marketing or advertising purposes. Quizlet does contain opportunities for purchasing "premium content" and membership upgrades. This should only be done with permission from a parent. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
With Scratch, students use block coding to create interactive games, stories and animations. It uses a programming language developed at MIT's Media Lab for young learners. Students can share their creations and learn from others in the Scratch online community - a monitered collaborative space. The teacher will create a Class in Scratch and share a Join link with students. Students are directed by Scratch not to use their real name when creating an account. Their account names and passwords are collected and tracked by the teacher. Students' activity can be monitered and moderated in the service by the teacher. Other than data collected by cookies or server information - such as IP addresses, no personally identifiable information is collected by Scratch. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
SeeSaw is an online learning platform designed for young learners. Teachers create a SeeSaw Free class group using the students' Google accounts. Students can interact with materials the teacher created, or added from SeeSaw's activity library, using built in tools for drawing, dragging, and video recording. Parent accounts can also be created for access to their child's work. SeeSaw is a Student Privacy Pledge Signatory. All content stays within the classroom group and it doesn't include advertising or share students data.
Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
StoryJumper is an online platform where students can create digital books. They can collaborate with others and publish their work to the web or into a paper form. Teachers create and manage an "Educational Account" for their classes. The students' Google accounts are paired with StoryJumper through Google Classroom. Any links to 3rd party or "External Web Sites" are not included in the agreement, and therefore are not used. StoryJumper is a Student Privacy Pledge Signatory. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Typing practice and assessments for keyboarding skills. Accounts are created and managed by the teacher through Google Classroom using the students' Google account pseudonyms. The free, ad-supported version is used. Online accounts are needed to track students' progress on typing exercises and assessments. Contains a link to Nitro Type, a typing game that is not part of Typing.com. Access to this game from Typing.com is turned off by the teacher. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Vocaroo is a simple, online voice recording service. It does not require an account to use but users must give it access to his/her device's microphone. Recordings can be downloaded to the computer and then shared with a teacher through Gmail, Drive, or Google Classroom. It contains Google Ads and uses cookies. Any past recordings would be saved in a browser cookie; the best practice would be to immediately download recordings and then delete them from the service. Privacy Policy
Zearn Math is a curriculum for mathematics that blends learning in the classroom with digital reinforcements. It starts at school in concrete activities and advances from pictoral to abstract representations. The digital content can be self-paced and is supported with personalized feedback and remediation. Student accounts are set up using the students' Google accounts and pseudonyms. Student accounts are deleted at the end of Fifth grade or upon departure from the school. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
