By: Elizabeth Hart
As the old phrase goes,
“With great power comes great responsibility”, technology is no
different. Regardless whether we agree with it, technology has forced its
way into the modern classroom and is here to stay. One of the gray areas
regarding educational technology seems to be how much information about our
students is being harvested when utilizing digital resources. The
buzzword “data” seems to define education. Any chance teachers,
administrators, and now, companies, can gather information about our students
educational habits is seen as a “prize”
The article I have cited dives deep
into the fact that, although there are a variety of individualized and digital
learning apps available, many of these harvest student data and use them to
develop more programs, thus turning a greater profit. These adaptive
programs are found in many schools, but are administrators and tech specialists
doing enough research in order to protect our students’ information?
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| Are we sacrificing our students' privacy? |
As our classrooms grow
more diverse, it is critical that we provide a variety of different programs in
order to meet the needs of all learners. With this in mind, we also must
make sure that educators are doing enough research on these programs. We
teach students about online safety in terms of Facebook and other forms of
social media - but are we letting an even worse form invade our students’ lives
without them knowing? Overall, if we are to embrace a digital system of
differentiation, we must make sure we are doing our research to keep our
students safe. What are your thoughts?
To see the article that inspired this post:
It really seems the teachers are kind of out on their own here. The schools are just so slow to adopt new technology. I think, as long as the software developers do not have any personal or private information about the students, then it is okay. Maybe they are collecting usage data to help design better software in the future.
ReplyDeleteDon,
DeleteYou do have a valid point. There have been times when webpages have asked for feedback about improvement or what did you like about using their site. I am assuming/hoping that might be the case as it would be a benefit to the users.
You have some great points about the new issue with technology we are facing. Not only is it important for the teachers and schools to be aware of the fact that students information is being used for companies to make money off of, it is important for parents to know this is going on also.
ReplyDeleteTeaches need to be educated on how to figure out a website is safe for their students to use, and this is a job for the schools and their technology specialists. We need to keep our students, and their information, safe.
Bennett,
DeleteI think it is more of a job for the administrators and technology specialists to research and check what sites they want us to use for these individualized programs. Us teachers have enough to worry about and do. I think this can be handled by the higher ups that are making us and requiring us to use these individualized programs.
Francesca, I agree with you when it comes to programs provided by the district. There are other instances when you are doing collaborative or creative work in which you suggest sites to your students. In those cases, some research might be warranted, especially because many require free registration to use them. I am making the assumption that sites shown to us in our classes at NYIT have been deemed safe to use; but in exploring other sites, we must be careful.
DeleteLast year in a Parents Club meeting, we had someone from the tech department address data harvesting on a state/district level from the point of view of current requirements. It is scary how much data is reported before we even approach a website!
This freaks me out just knowing that 'big brother' is watching. Is it the responsibility of the teacher to ensure ALL the time that they are safe? Are parents even aware? My thought is that many parents are just happy knowing that their child is in a school that has all the bells and whistle in technology. Their last concern is how their child's information is by companies to make money. Would parent take a different approach to technology use in school? I do not have an answer for that.
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
DeleteIf I was a parent and I am not so my opinion might change. I do have a bunch of nieces and nephews. I think as long as they are not giving out personal information like address and phone number they should be fine. I know we provided our students with school emails that are heavily guarded and secure and do not allow outside use for these programs. I would not be worried but I do think parents should be aware of what the programs entail and what information is required.
I agree with you, Francesca. It is difficult to think in the form of a parent when you do not have children of your own. Parent's are often expected to sign "safe internet" sheets, they really do not know what is happening.
DeleteElizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI never really thought of it all from this different perspective that you bring up. I know our district is very into the individualized computer programs that gauge and keep track of the students' progress. The companies can really just use the students and schools as their test labs and keep selling us the "amazing new" programs that can really make a difference and benefit our students. Not only did you bring up a good point about the privacy of our students but what about the amount of money we are spending on these programs and tests? Or all the information we are giving out about our school?
I definitely think that looking at the situation from this perspective we all need to take a little time and research what we are doing with our students and not just jumping on the wagon with everyone else.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteThis was a real eye opening article. The thought of tools teachers/school districts use to help keep track of student records being breached is something I had never experienced. It is a real issue that could cause major controversy over not only the technology being used but the school as a whole. Being a new teacher I just assume the site I use to store my students records electronically is secure and safe, but with cyber attacks you never know whose getting access to what. Very interesting article and analysis Elizabeth.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI like your opening quote, it is so true. Student data storage is a huge responsibility, and it is scary. If places like Target can get hacked, what about our school data storage?