Identity provider Okta has announced South Australia's Department for Education is using Okta Workforce Identity Cloud to power its educational passport, known as EdPass.

Okta Workforce Identity Cloud reduces the time teachers, students, and staff spend accessing the networks, services, and applications required for teaching and learning. 

"Prior to EdPass, our teachers had to log in to up to 15 systems and services to deliver the curriculum, and the students' experience was similar," says South Australia's Department for Education Chief Information Officer, Daniel Hughes. 

"The Okta platform is integrated at the school and department level, so that teachers or students can log in once using a single set of credentials and access relevant applications and services," he says.

"Okta has enabled us to reduce the time we spend identifying and resolving identity issues by more than 20%, allowing our service desk team to focus on value-added services," says Hughes. 

"In addition, the toolset is considerably easier to use and navigate than our previous system, enabling us to respond faster and more effectively to site, student, or teacher issues."

All Department for Education employees including the chief executive, corporate services teams, teachers, principals, and preschool directors access digital resources using single sign-on enabled by Okta's identity platform. 

Okta Workforce Identity Cloud also helps the Department for Education gain visibility of applications and rationalise their usage by schools and centres across the state. 

"Year 8 students across South Australia use at least 35 different maths applications," says Hughes. 

"We are building a centralised portal within Okta to identify applications used for different activities and promote those applications most likely to make a difference to student learning. This will also help us make more systemic deals with application providers." 

Identity-based access with Okta also supports the introduction of fast-moving technologies such as generative AI into the classroom for student use. The Department for Education is developing a generative AI product to help students experiment and use the technology in meaningful ways. 

"With Okta, we can implement guard rails and security parameters while accounting for end-user experiences," says Hughes. 

The Department for Education engaged systems integrator Insync Solutions to deliver the EdPass project. Using Okta's Workforce Identity Cloud, Insync Solutions has delivered a 'hub and spoke' system that provides seamless authentication and access to applications for all Department for Education staff and students, regardless of location. 

The partnership with Okta and Insync Solutions is key to the department's mission of providing quality digital technologies to the state's 900 schools, pre-schools and children's centres to enable them to deliver superior learning results. 

"A world-leading education system requires world-leading technologies and platforms to ensure that we're delivering better outcomes for our teachers and students," says Hughes. 

Insync Solutions director Paul Williamson says, "We take immense pride in playing a pivotal role in the delivery of EdPass, a remarkable innovation that has revolutionised the landscape of education in South Australia. 

"By seamlessly connecting teachers and students with world leading technology, EdPass has effortlessly dismantled barriers that once hindered teaching and learning, fostering an unparalleled environment of possibilities," he says. 

According to Phil Goldie, vice president and managing director, Okta ANZ, Okta's partnership with South Australia's Department for Education and the implementation of the EdPass educational passport marks a significant milestone in revolutionising the education system. 

"By leveraging the power of Okta Workforce Identity Cloud, we enable seamless access to digital learning platforms, reducing the time spent on identity issues and improving the learning targets for students," he says. 

"Our collaboration with Insync Solutions has delivered a hub and spoke system that ensures teachers and students can log in once and access relevant applications and services, regardless of their location," Goldie says. 

"This transformative solution simplifies the user experience and paves the way for introducing fast-moving technologies like generative AI into the classroom," he says. 

"Together, we are driving innovation, fostering a superior learning environment, and delivering a world-leading education system in South Australia."