| | JAN - FEB 20268EUROPEEUROPETECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS THAT DRIVE EDUCATION SECTORIN MY OPINION APPS AND IDENTITIES: YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND MAYBE TOMORROWBy Jason Dunk, Chief Technology Officer, Saskatoon Public SchoolsThere are few immutable maxims in technology. "No one was ever fired for buying IBM" is a classic. Seasoned IT pros are less likely to issue such credos; we have seen so-called 'absolutes' come and go. Yet I have tried to maintain a few rules of thumb throughout my career. One of the most challenging has been upholding the requirement that all software adheres to single-sign-on (SSO). Unlike the corporate world, which might have an approved software count in the single digits, K12's software footprint is often astounding. Back when the software was traditional installs, SSO was not as big a factor. The real problem back then was getting 60+ titles installed and playing nicely together while waist-deep in the registry to make sure everything was saved to a custom-mapped drive. Fun times and I still enjoy the occasional registry flex. The traditional software sprawl has been slowly replaced with an online app sprawl. On the upside, techs will not get tripped up by mistakenly editing HKLM when they are supposed to be in HKCU (insert registry flex), but it has made it harder to stay true to SSO. The scenario is common, getting an email from the EdTech department, the superintendent, or straight from the director. There is a new online app/website/service that we need to look at. The vendor will be in touch, and we will be asked to investigate. Hopefully, you have been given some background information, such as what problem is being solved with this tool, or what new value is being achieved. A recent personal experience follows this typical script. An online assessment tool is being considered for every 1-6 teacher, approximately 550 staff. The website is well-designed, the tool seems ideal, and the reporting is genuinely nice. Everyone on the EDU side is excited, and the licensing is reasonable. The problem? The vendor does not offer SSO. When brought to the vendor's attention, it is clear they have heard it before. The assurances come quickly, of being able to provide them with a spreadsheet to easily onboard all the users. The reality is teachers move and staff lists at the beginning of September ebb and flow to June. But the bigger red flag is asking staff to remember a separate password and redirecting them to a vendor when they forget it. We should be beyond unique accounts and passwords for each resource.To their credit, more vendors are offering SSO than not. OAuth has been around long enough to develop, and most schools are already using a directory that plays friendly with SSO. But with progress comes new challenges, and we are starting to see it in the consumer market. This new sprawl is a game of 'Sign in with' button roulette. This time, the usual suspects are competing to verify us with 'Sign in with Google' or 'Sign in with Facebook' or 'Sign in with Microsoft' or 'Sign Jason Dunk
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