Smartsearch enables live and predictive searches in

• Announcements,
• Assignments,
• Calendar,
• Courses,
• Course Syllabus,
• Discussions,
• Files,
• Modules,
• Module Sub-Headers,
• Pages,
• People,
• Quizzes
• Submissions.

The Absence of a Search Tool

— And The Negative Overall Institutional Impact

The absence of a search tool in an educational institution's LMS can lead to a range of negative impacts that collectively undermine the institution's efficiency, effectiveness, and reputation. Here's the negative overall institutional impact:

• Operational Inefficiency: Without a search tool, the institution's operations become inefficient as educators, administrators, and students struggle to locate resources, people, and events. Valuable time is wasted, leading to decreased productivity and hindered progress.
• Diminished Student Experience: The absence of a search tool negatively affects the student experience. Students face challenges in finding course materials, assignments, and event information. This results in frustration, reduced engagement, and a less fulfilling learning journey.
• Inconsistent Learning Environments: The lack of a search tool can lead to inconsistent content organization across courses. This disrupts students' ability to navigate course materials and contributes to confusion about where to find resources.
• Accessibility Implications:  Lack of search means content needs to be found through menu navigation. Search functionality can serve as an alternative means of navigation and content discovery, which aligns with the general principles of accessibility within WCAG 2.1.
• Limited Collaboration: Faculty members may struggle to collaborate effectively with colleagues and students due to challenges in finding people and resources. This hampers the exchange of ideas and impedes collaborative projects.
• Inefficient Resource Utilisation: The absence of a search tool can lead to resource duplication or underutilisation. Educators may unknowingly create content that already exists, wasting time and institutional resources.
• Frustration and Disengagement: Frustration among educators, students, and administrators due to the lack of a search tool can lead to disengagement from the LMS altogether. This undermines the institution's efforts to create a cohesive and engaging digital learning environment.
• Challenges in Meeting Mission and Goals: The overall mission of the institution—to provide high-quality education, foster innovation, and support student success—can be hindered by the absence of a tool that facilitates efficient access to learning resources, people, and events.

In summary, the negative overall institutional impact of the absence of a search tool is multifaceted, affecting operations, student experiences, collaboration, compliance, institutional image, and the institution's ability to fulfill its educational mission. It underscores the importance of implementing effective tools to support a seamless and engaging educational environment.

Privacy

GDPR Compliance. Smartsearch is compliant with EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Smartsearch extracts and process no data outside Canvas and only holds the information necessary to function as an LTI App, according to the open LTI standard.

Addendum Schrems II. On 16 July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a ruling (the “Schrems II” ruling). In this ruling, the CJEU ruled that the EU-US Privacy Shield was no longer a valid mechanism to transfer personal data from the EEA to the United States. Smartsearch uses AWS from Amazon, a US based incorporated company, and is accordingly affected by the ruling, even though only AWS servers in Europe are used for EEA customers. After the ruling AWS has announced strengthened contractual commitments that go beyond what’s required by the Schrems II as an addendum. Further, the EDPB has released recommendations 01/2020 on measures that supplement transfer tools to ensure compliance with the EU level of protection of personal data, a 6-step roadmap. In practise regrading Smartsearch, all data at rest or i transit is encrypted, which according to EDPB in satisfactory for GDPR compliance.

Accessibility

WCAG 2.1 Conformant. Smartsearch is conformant with the accessibility standards under US GCA’s Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and WCAG 2.1. As well, Smartsearch is conformant with the Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

More info Read the Smartsearch Accessibility Statement and WCAG 2.1 Conformance Report.