New York City Department of Education Forbids Use of ZOOM Due to Concerns about Privacy, Security
Many teachers are using the ZOOM videoconferencing tool for their online classes, but there have been numerous complaints about ZOOM classes being hacked, and intruders interfering with the class or expressing inappropriate comments.
Consequently, the New York City Department of Education is forbidding teachers from using ZOOM.
New York City has banned the video conferencing platform Zoom in city schools weeks after thousands of teachers and students began using it for remote learning.
The education department received reports of issues that impact the security and privacy of the platform during the credentialing process, according to a document shared with principals that was obtained by Chalkbeat. “Based on the DOE’s review of those documented concerns, the DOE will no longer permit the use of Zoom at this time,” the memo said.
Instead, the guidance says, schools should switch to Microsoft Teams, which the education department suggests has similar functionality and is more secure.
The change is likely to cause headaches for schools and families, as the use of Zoom became widespread after the city shuttered school buildings on March 16 and moved over a million students to remote learning a week later.
Not all schools use Zoom, though many have since the platform offers a free version and is relatively simple to set up. Last month, the city’s Panel for Educational Policy met via Zoom, a meeting that included schools CONTINUE READING: New York City Department of Education Forbids Use of ZOOM Due to Concerns about Privacy, Security | Diane Ravitch's blog