When I launched the K-12 Cyber Incident Map earlier this year, I wrote: “For all the data and evidence we have about K-12 school-related privacy and security incidents, we might as well be having arguments about whether the Earth is flat or round.” My hope was that by systematically tracking public reports of information technology (IT)-related incidents specifically affecting K-12 students, teachers, and schools that more attention would be devoted to these issues, and that this increased attention would ultimately lead to better school IT security and privacy practices. I did not imagine, however, that within three months of its launch that the effort’s findings would be cited in Congressional testimony – and without my foreknowledge or assistance at that.
Technology-related IT security issues will only continue to grow until there is a concerted effort to address them. This week alone, there has been a spate of reported news and incidents:
- CCISD: employee information inadvertently made visible online
- Texas Association of School Boards suffers security breach
- High school hacker who changed grades pays for his actions, now studies cybertech
- Manatee County School District could face lawsuit in wake of data breach
- Hackers target Ventura County’s Office of Education web system
- Calallen ISD networks hit by ransomware attack
- St. Lucie School District Twitter account compromised, district says
- 19 Boston school employees fall victim to phishing scam
There is a lot at stake in addressing the root cause of these issues – and building support to address them should be in everyone’s interests.
Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and privacy…the view from Alan Westin in 1979:
Otherwise, here’s what caught my eye this week – news, tools, and reports about education, public policy, technology, and innovation – including a little bit about why. No endorsements; no sponsored content; no apologies for my eclectic tastes.
Strong opinions may be weakly held.
A Thinking Person’s Guide to EdTech News (2017 Week 26 Edition)
China Breakthroughs: Clicking on computer education for rural schools | CCTV.com →
The best "solution" is not to hand over huge government subsidies to local farm villages, which could get misused, but a better strategy would be to improve rural schools and provide "digital learning" programs to fill the void.
Tagged on: July 2, 2017
An explosive report Thursday from the Government Accountability Office shows that despite efforts to rein in abuse of the sprawling Lifeline program, which serves 12.3 million subscribers on Medicaid, food stamps or other benefits, many recipients of the $9.25-a-month credit are violating program rules.
Tagged on: July 2, 2017
Since 2015, the Los Angeles Unified School District has poured $30 million into intervention programs such as online and compressed “credit-recovery” courses to give students more, and often much speedier, ways to pull their grades up from failure. But it’s hard to know whether students in these classes are getting the same level of education as they would in a regular class, or even as their peers in other credit-recovery courses.
Tagged on: July 2, 2017
The Sleight of Hand of “Free” vs “Affordable” | iterating toward openness →
David Wiley writes: When someone starts talking about how small the difference is between free and affordable, just turn the conversation to permissions by asking a question like, “Am I free to make as many copies of the material as I like?” “Can I make word or paragraph-level changes to the content so that it speaks more directly to my students?” “Can I give away free copies of the material to my students?” “Can my students and I engage in the collaborative co-creation of new knowledge as we jointly revise and remix your materials with others?”
Tagged on: June 30, 2017
Colleges' "competency badges" for students are a terrible idea | Ask a Manager →
A hiring manager writes: "It’s yet another a silly idea from schools."
Tagged on: June 30, 2017
Google’s Elite Hacker SWAT Team vs. Everyone | Fortune →
Google’s Project Zero is securing the Internet on its own terms. Is that a problem?
Tagged on: June 30, 2017
Baltimore County school superintendent lands new job | Baltimore Sun →
Dallas Dance, the 36-year-old superintendent, said he will become a senior vice president at MGT Consulting Group, a large Florida-based consulting company with offices around the country. Dance also recently got a part-time consulting job with the Center for Digital Education, where he will be giving advice to technology companies creating new educational products and programs.
Tagged on: June 30, 2017
Just how inclusive are “inclusive access” e-textbook programs? | Rajiv Jhangiani, Ph.D. →
“Inclusive access” programs trade away both free and freedom in exchange for an arbitrary discount and restricted access (not to mention increased surveillance). A sly attempt at defining-by-naming, “inclusive access” programs strip away agency and represent a major step towards the corporatization of higher education.
Tagged on: June 29, 2017
Chan-Zuckerberg to Push Ambitious New Vision for Personalized Learning | Education Week →
The billionaire couple intends to support the development of software that might help teachers better recognize and respond to each student’s academic needs—while also supporting a holistic approach to nurturing children’s social, emotional, and physical development.
Tagged on: June 29, 2017
The Rise of the Thought Leader | The New Republic →
While public intellectuals traffic in complexity and criticism, thought leaders burst with the evangelist’s desire to “change the world.” Beware the 'thought leader.'
Tagged on: June 29, 2017
Google Still Doesn’t Care About Your Privacy | Fortune →
Joseph Turow writes: The other morning I looked at the pudgy personal assistant that sits on my kitchen counter and asked, “Hey, Google: Please read me the Google privacy policy.” It responded, “Sorry; I don’t understand.”
Tagged on: June 28, 2017
There's A Fight Brewing Between The NYPD And Silicon Valley's Palantir | BuzzFeed News →
Implications for educational institutions that outsource data analytics to private firms: "Big data helped New York's cops bust Bobby Shmurda. But as the NYPD's contract with tech giant Palantir comes to an end, things could get messy."
Tagged on: June 28, 2017
See How Easy It Is To Cheat on San Diego Unified Online Courses | Voice of San Diego →
Across the district, online courses are enabling thousands of students to get caught up on classes they previously failed. But students also have access to the web as they take quizzes and tests, making it possible to find answers to the exact questions that appear on tests.
Tagged on: June 28, 2017
Why ‘Personalized Learning’ Can Feel So Impersonal | EdSurge News →
There is clearly a gap between how educators and entrepreneurs perceive “personalized learning” and many other technology-infused terms in education
Tagged on: June 28, 2017
A trove of internal documents sheds light on the algorithms that Facebook’s censors use to differentiate between hate speech and legitimate political expression.
Tagged on: June 28, 2017
Benetech, a nonprofit firm that develops technology for social good, announced the launch of Global Certified Accessible, a program that allows publishers to verify how well their e-book files meet the standards for use needed by students with poor or no vision, dyslexia or other disability.
Tagged on: June 28, 2017
Progressive Dems oppose educational experiment on RI students | RIFuture.org →
Rhode Island’s Progressive Democrats (RIPDA) commend the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) for its courageous opposition to “Personalized Learning” in public schools. Although the definitions are fuzzy, Personalized Learning is related to Blended Learning, Competency-Based Learning, and Proficiency-Based Learning. All are grounded in digital activity or content.
Tagged on: June 28, 2017
Major education shake-up as schools shift to digital focus | Newshub →
In New Zealand, there will be a major shift toward digital literacy in what the government is calling the biggest changes to the education curriculum in a decade.
Tagged on: June 28, 2017
How Silicon Valley Pushed Coding Into American Classrooms | The New York Times →
Via Natasha Singer: Code.org has emerged as a new prototype for Silicon Valley education reform: a social-media-savvy entity that pushes for education policy changes, develops curriculums, offers online coding lessons and trains teachers — touching nearly every facet of the education supply chain.
Tagged on: June 27, 2017
What Happened to Amazon Inspire, the Tech Giant’s Education Marketplace? | EdSurge News →
Last summer the world’s largest online retailer launched Amazon Inspire, touting it as a hub for educators to exchange lesson plans and other Open Education Resources. But a year later, the site remains in limited, invitation-only beta.
Tagged on: June 27, 2017
The Top Five Tech Rivals Join Forces to Shape Policy—and Fight the Government | Bloomberg →
Here’s how Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft strategically push back against the U.S. on data privacy and other big issues while slugging it out in the marketplace.
Tagged on: June 27, 2017
June 30th: National Student Data Deletion Day For K-12 Public Schools | Shear on Social Media Law →
Bradley Shear writes: As a parent and privacy advocate, I have come to the realization that more needs to be done to raise awareness about these issues and to effectuate change. Therefore, I am calling for all K-12 public schools and their vendors to automatically delete student data each and every June 30th after the school year has ended.
Tagged on: June 27, 2017
Department of Education looking to hire new CISO | EdScoop →
The U.S. Department of Education is on the hunt for a new chief information security officer.
Tagged on: June 26, 2017
I decided to disable AMP on my site | Alex Kras →
Google has a lot of engineers who care about the open web. I am really surprised that I don’t hear more of them speaking out against AMP. I am guessing it’s a project that is blessed from the top and it is politically dangerous to make big waves. Those of us who don’t like AMP, however, must fight back.
Tagged on: June 26, 2017
Would You Bet on This ‘Next Big Thing’ in Education Reform? | RealClearEducation →
The new paradigm would rely on technology to personalize learning. Students would proceed at their own pace via computer keystrokes, and they would master sets of programmed competencies while also sharing information about their feelings and concerns. (To traditionalists, all that smacks of de-personalization. Technocrats disagree.)
Tagged on: June 26, 2017
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