According to recent research by EdTech Strategies, more than 25 percent of school district websites embed user tracking tools that report sensitive user data back to Facebook. In the wake of a high-profile data-privacy scandal involving the social media company, schools and education organizations are taking a closer look at how and why they engage with Facebook.
Student data privacy advocates say the storm clouds around Facebook from the evolving Cambridge Analytica scandal are a reminder that schools, educators, and students should be asking tough questions about the third-party services on which they rely.
While OER typically reside in the public domain or have an alternative license that specifies how a resource may be reused, adapted, and shared, the use of an open license is in itself insufficient to addressing the broader sustainability and ethical questions facing the OER movement. It is for that reason that I and my co-authors (Lisa Petrides of ISKME and Eddie Watson of AAC&U) are pleased to introduce the CARE Framework for OER Stewardship.
In the three weeks since “Tracking: EDU” officially launched, a growing number of news outlets, associations, and organizations have highlighted the findings and significance of the work. Yet, what matters most is that SEAs, LEAs, and schools take what steps they may need in order to improve their website security and privacy practices.
And, no matter your role or interest in school technology issues, we all have a stake in that outcome.
The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers has responded to an 8th-grader’s complaints about the intellectual property provisions of their signature student awards program.
Amidst the conversations about the importance of imparting information literacy and ‘digital citizenship’ skills to students, isn’t it time that we help them turn a more critical eye to the intellectual property and privacy provisions of commercial terms of service?
According to a new study released today by EdTech Strategies, “Tracking: EDU,” state and local education agency websites were found to lack important security and privacy protections for students, families, and educators.
A reflection on the state of educational technology media coverage (circa 2017-18), concluding with an expression of gratitude to those sharing new stories about the stories we are being told about educational technology.
The FCC is about to vote to kill Net Neutrality. Only Congress can stop it. Take action at: https://www.battleforthenet.com/
To be fair, I don’t have a particular dog in this fight. No matter what some may say about me and my work (“gasping,” really?).
