NANCY BAILEY: Play-Based Learning Isn’t Free Play and May Be Connected to Online Learning

Play-Based Learning Isn’t Free Play and May Be Connected to Online Learning

Play-Based Learning Isn’t Free Play and May Be Connected to Online Learning

The term play-based learning is increasingly used to reference play in school, especially during the past year. Sometimes it’s called purposeful play. Play-based learning is not the same as free play, even though sometimes it is described as such. It also might be used to transform classroom learning to screens.

It’s critical to understand the difference between play-based learning and free play.

One parent blogger says, The term ‘play-based learning’ now evokes in me a much different feeling than it once did. Something like nails on a chalkboard perhaps? Not because I don’t believe in children learning through play, no. But because it appears that the term has been hijacked.

Since No Child Left Behind and high-stakes testing, Race to the Top and Common Core State Standards, play for kindergartens and some preschools has declined. Many teachers have felt pressured to remove classroom play kitchens and the toys children enjoyed. Kindergartens and some preschools have expected children to do more CONTINUE READING: Play-Based Learning Isn’t Free Play and May Be Connected to Online Learning

CURMUDGUCATION: What An Education Uber Actually Looks Like

CURMUDGUCATION: What An Education Uber Actually Looks Like

What An Education Uber Actually Looks Like

Betsy DeVos is among the many education disruptors fond of imagining a world in which education is handled Uber-style; but we don't have to imagine what a gig-economy education system would look like. It already exists.

Outschool was founded in 2015 by Amir Nathoo (he cutely lists his title as "learner" in his LInkedIn profile), and while he looks like he's about twelve, he's been at work for a while. He got a Master's Degree from the University of Cambridge in 2002, worked in software development for IBM, founded a couple of companies, invested in a few other, and then launched Outschool. The company is based in San Francisco.

Nathoo was interviewed by Rick Hess back in 2019 in an interview that Education Next just dusted off because, as you might imagine, Nathoo's distance learning micro-credential marketplace is having a strong pandemic moment. In it, Nathoo describes Outschool this way:

Outschool offers live online education experiences that connect teachers with learners in small-group settings to explore everything from Minecraft, Pokemon, and cooking to chemistry, algebra, and literature.

Nathoo also talks a lot about fun and passion, and his story always mentions how he got a computer when he was five and that sparked an interest in games and programming and his technology career, leading him to create this marketplace for "fun and social learning experiences." Others have characterized it with less sparkle, like the Techcrunch article that characterized it as "a platform for CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: What An Education Uber Actually Looks Like

For Data Privacy Day — take our Survey: online apps used by districts and their privacy provisions | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

For Data Privacy Day — take our Survey: online apps used by districts and their privacy provisions | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

FOR DATA PRIVACY DAY — TAKE OUR SURVEY: ONLINE APPS USED BY DISTRICTS AND THEIR PRIVACY PROVISIONS

Today, January 28th is Data Privacy Day, the international annual day of action and awareness to promote the privacy of our personal data.

The Parent Coalition for Student Privacy is researching which ed tech apps schools are asking students to use and whether they are sufficiently protective of children’s privacy.

Since the pandemic hit, school districts across the nation have purchased many commercially-produced online apps and programs to implement remote learning. Even before last spring, districts had been using a large number of programs, many of which have access to personal student information. Many of these apps collect and use personal student data in ways that are not transparent and we do not understand.

More recently, this past December, the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) warned about “malicious cyber actors … targeting kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) educational institutions, leading to ransomware attacks, the theft of data, and the disruption of distance learning services.” This follows another warning the FBI put out in 2018 that the use of ed tech apps in schools posed a serious threat to children’s privacy and safety.

Please let us know what online apps and programs your district or school is using, and check to see if they have been transparent about their privacy policies. Your name and district will be kept confidential.

Click here to take the survey.

On Data Privacy Day and every day, it is important to protect children’s information. Below are a few resources to help.

The 2019 State Student Privacy Report Card lists and rates state laws based on Transparency, Parental and Student Rights; Limitations on Commercial Use of Data; Data Security Requirements; and Oversight, Enforcement, and Penalties for Violations. https://studentprivacymatters.org/map/map.html

Federal Laws enabling parents to protect their Children’s Privacy: FERPA, PPRA and COPPA https://studentprivacymatters.org/ferpa_ppra_coppa/ . Read how FERPA was weakened here and how to request to inspect your child’s education record maintained by your school or the state here.

Parent Toolkit for Student Privacy https://www.studentprivacymatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Parent-Toolkit-for-Student-Privacy.pdf

Top 10 back to school privacy tips and resources https://studentprivacymatters.org/top-10-back-to-school-student-privacy-tips-and-resources-for-parents/

For Data Privacy Day — take our Survey: online apps used by districts and their privacy provisions | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy