Gopher Field Guide Privacy Disclosure
Last Updated: October 26, 2025
The Gopher Field Guide is an experimental prototype built by AugmentED as part of a pilot for educators, academic researchers, and product developers to co-design learning experiences. AugmentED is an initiative incubated within AERDF (Advanced Education Research & Development Fund), a nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California. AugmentED aims to combine the strengths of AI and human teachers so that every student can thrive in the age of AI.
Important: This tool is part of a pilot project in codesigning educational technology applications. The University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board has determined that this project does not meet the regulatory definition of human subjects research (Study ID: STUDY00026673). When you test this tool, you are helping us learn how to codesign and develop tools.
1. Types of Information We Collect
Personal Information You Provide
When you register, you can sign up with an email address or use Google Sign-In. If you use Google Sign-In, we receive your email address to create and manage your account.
Content You Create
When you use the Gopher Field Guide, you create projects, add resources, and write teaching notes. We will use the data you enter into it in order to understand whether it's working well and how to make it better. We do not use your content to train AI models, and we do not share it with anyone outside of AugmentED.
Student Activity Data
When students or teachers use the product, we may collect anonymized information about what they click on and which resources they view. This helps us understand how users are engaging with the features. Project owners (usually teachers) can see any data created by students participating in the project they created.
Analytics Information
We collect analytics data to help us understand how people use the tool and improve it. This includes information such as page views, interactions with features, and session logs.
2. How We Use and Share the Information We Collect
How We Use Your Information
We use the information you provide to iterate and improve discussion-centered educational technology tools that support students' critical thinking skills. This is part of a co-design pilot where feedback from users informs iterative improvements to the tools.
Email Communications
When you sign up to use the tool, we will send you a login confirmation. We may also email you if we need to notify you that your account and data are being deleted because the project is ending. We do not send promotional emails or newsletters. If you have questions or wish to request deletion of your account and data, you can email us at augmented@aerdf.org.a
Service Providers
We use third-party services to help run the Gopher Field Guide, including Supabase (data storage), Railway (infrastructure), and PostHog (analytics). These companies are required to keep your information secure and confidential.
AI Services
We may occasionally use Google's Gemini API to provide AI-powered features in the tool. Any information sent to the Gemini API for processing is under a paid Gemini plan, and under Google's terms for paid services, they do not use data from our API calls to train their models. You can review Google's terms at https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/terms.
We Don't Sell Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or share your information with other companies except for the service providers mentioned above.
Legal Requirements
We may need to share your information if required by law (like a court order) or to protect the safety of our users.
3. Your Rights and Choices
Accessing Your Information
As long as the tool is live, you can log in at any time to view and manage your projects, resources, and other content. Since this is an experimental prototype, some features may change or be discontinued over time.
Deleting Your Account
If you would like to delete your account and all associated data, please email augmented@aerdf.org. We will process deletion requests within a reasonable timeframe.
4. Security and Data Retention
Security
Only authorized AugmentED administrators and service providers who need access to operate the tool can view your information.
We work hard to keep your information secure, but no system is 100% secure. If we experience a data breach, we'll comply with all legal requirements to notify you.
Data Retention
Because the Gopher Field Guide is an experimental prototype, the tool may be discontinued at some point. If we decide to shut down the tool, we will give you reasonable advance notice and provide a way for you to export your projects, resources, and any other content you've created.
If you request deletion of your account, we will permanently delete your account and associated data within a reasonable timeframe.
5. Changes and Updates to This Privacy Disclosure
We may revise this Privacy Disclosure from time to time. When we update it, we will create a notice on the site and update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Disclosure periodically.
6. Contact Us
AugmentED welcomes your questions and comments about this Privacy Disclosure. If you have any questions or would like to exercise any of your rights described above, please contact us at:
Email: augmented@aerdf.org