Student Privacy Not Just About Identity Theft
At the National Student Privacy Symposium two weeks ago in DC, (written about on MEW here), Bill Fitzgerald of Common Sense Media, who writes the blog FunnyMonkey, was a panelist for the discussion of Potential Risks of Student Data Collection and Use. Up until that point in the symposium, most of the focus had been on student data collected and used by researchers, and the concern addressed was the identification of an individual student as if the only concern parents had was for identity theft. Fitzgerald mentioned other concerns parents had with the use of technology in the classroom and the Terms of Service agreements that students and/or teachers are asked to sign. Far more data can and is collected by the software used in the classroom and its use is much less well understood, but no less troubling.
Fitzgerald took on one of these Terms of Service (TOS) agreements for a product called Classroom Dojo, which offers a system where students’ behavior can be monitored throughout the day. Teachers can use an ipad, Smartphone, or computer and continuously adjust a student’s behavior points within the program. If someone is off task, the teacher can take points away. If they begin to focus, they get points and move up. The points are collected by the software which can then beam an up to the minute status report of all students scores to a white board.
I will step aside from the TOS review for a moment to comment on the concept mentioned above, sharing individual student data with an entire class in real time. We didn’t used to share all the grades with other students in K-6. We didn’t make their student record available for other students to see and make fun of. The public shaming of the dunce cap was eliminated decades ago, but apparently the creator of Dojo, who was a teacher, thought it was a good idea to bring that back and arm students with information about their classmates that can be used to bully and intimidate. This is just one example of the misuse and risks of data collection.
A Brief Review of ClassDojo Privacy Policy and Terms of Service by Fitzgerald does a good job of taking the specific language of the TOS and Student Privacy Not Just About Identity Theft » Missouri Education Watchdog: