I was in a meeting yesterday, and we were talking about the Toolbox Renewal, and trying to think of other analogies that may help folks understand the objective. Perhaps the relationship between a mobile operating system and mobile apps is a good analogy for our toolbox.

The educational tools we choose/use are to the toolbox, as mobile apps are to a mobile device (and OS).

But there’s also something in the middle – an app store – which checks to make sure that the app meets some (minimum) criteria to be included. In the case of Apple, for example, it’s quite an extensive review process, but generally it means that the end user can use the app with a certain level of confidence.

Of course, the criteria for having an app added to the app store are transparent, so the creators can plan their apps with compliance in mind.

So too with our Toolbox. The criteria we’ve been working on are meant to ultimately provide our community with the ability to put forward tool suggestions for inclusion and integration into the wider toolbox. And more importantly, it means that members of our community (including our students) can use the apps with confidence.

Let me know what you think