Privacy

A recent hack of the educational platform Edmodo compromised tens of millions' user records and led to the revelation that the company was not only using ad trackers to monitor student and teacher behavior, but then forwarding the data to data brokers. The company issued a statement saying it is investigating the security breach and it has removed the "problematic" ad-tracking code from its platform. Edmodo is a platform that 78 million teachers, students and parents use to communicate about homework and lesson plans, and more.

Bullying in schools is on the decline, but still, 1 in 5 middle- and high-school students reports being bullied, according to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department. Data show a higher rate of bullying among some student groups including thirty-four percent of students who identified as LGBT complaining of bullying, compared to 19 percent who identified as heterosexual. David Osher, vice president at the American Institutes for Research

noted that campaigns to raise awareness can only help so much in helping to fight all kinds of bullying. He called for programs that build empathy and self-awareness, provide support for students who have mental health problems, and foster a positive climate in schools.

Bullying in schools is on the decline, but still, 1 in 5 middle- and high-school students reports being bullied, according to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department. Data show a higher rate of bullying among some student groups including thirty-four percent of students who identified as LGBT complaining of bullying, compared to 19 percent who identified as heterosexual. David Osher, vice president at the American Institutes for Research

noted that campaigns to raise awareness can only help so much in helping to fight all kinds of bullying. He called for programs that build empathy and self-awareness, provide support for students who have mental health problems, and foster a positive climate in schools.

Four students in California are suing their school district after they were suspended for "liking" racist posts on Instagram. At issue is whether the action infringed on students' free-speech rights since the responses to the posts were input off campus. Schools have broad authority under federal law to limit speech at school that they consider disruptive, according to First Amendment scholars, but courts have disagreed about whether schools can punish students for off-campus speech that causes disruptions at school. As critics also point out about this generation, “Likes” are ambiguous and could signify agreement, but also just as likely, disagreement, with a nod to the right to speak freely, making this yet another topic to discuss with your children.

Four students in California are suing their school district after they were suspended for "liking" racist posts on Instagram. At issue is whether the action infringed on students' free-speech rights since the responses to the posts were input off campus. Schools have broad authority under federal law to limit speech at school that they consider disruptive, according to First Amendment scholars, but courts have disagreed about whether schools can punish students for off-campus speech that causes disruptions at school. As critics also point out about this generation, “Likes” are ambiguous and could signify agreement, but also just as likely, disagreement, with a nod to the right to speak freely, making this yet another topic to discuss with your children.

Teaching children not to plagiarize is sometimes not as easy as just having a discussion. It is a crime as old as the first pictograph and to kids, it often seems a victimless crime or one they don’t completely understand because there are so many different kinds of plagiarism . What other persuasions can you add to your argument beyond “just don’t do it?” Take a look at the 15+ Unobvious Consequences of Plagiarism in Academia on the PlagiarismCheck.org site to see what teachers from all levels of education have to say on the subject.  Some remind kids that the loss of reputation is everything. Others talk about how it is a killer of creativity, and that students should learn to value their own thinking and learning. The final remarks of one commentator reminds kids that broken trust between students and teachers is very hard to repair.

Teaching children not to plagiarize is sometimes not as easy as just having a discussion. It is a crime as old as the first pictograph and to kids, it often seems a victimless crime or one they don’t completely understand because there are so many different kinds of plagiarism . What other persuasions can you add to your argument beyond “just don’t do it?” Take a look at the 15+ Unobvious Consequences of Plagiarism in Academia on the PlagiarismCheck.org site to see what teachers from all levels of education have to say on the subject.  Some remind kids that the loss of reputation is everything. Others talk about how it is a killer of creativity, and that students should learn to value their own thinking and learning. The final remarks of one commentator reminds kids that broken trust between students and teachers is very hard to repair.

Leaked documents from Facebook's team in Australia allegedly show the social giant's ability to identify teens who feel "worthless," "useless," "stressed," "silly," "stupid," and "defeated" and then, at least in one case, help advertisers to target ads to them. The leaked documents, the subject of an article in an Australian newspaper, also detailed how advertisers could use Facebook's algorithms to find teens who were interested in "working out and losing weight" and promote health products. Facebook's team in Australia was reportedly looking to capitalize on the 6.4 million teens that use the social network in their geographic region. Facebook denied the allegations and called the article's premise "misleading". 

"Facebook does not offer tools to target people based on their emotional state," the social network said in its official response on Sunday. "The analysis done by an Australian researcher was intended to help marketers understand how people express themselves on Facebook.” According to the response, the research results were never used to target ads and were based on data that was anonymous and aggregated. Critics, however, worry that the emotional state of those who use the social network may now become a new commodity to be bought and sold.

Leaked documents from Facebook's team in Australia allegedly show the social giant's ability to identify teens who feel "worthless," "useless," "stressed," "silly," "stupid," and "defeated" and then, at least in one case, help advertisers to target ads to them. The leaked documents, the subject of an article in an Australian newspaper, also detailed how advertisers could use Facebook's algorithms to find teens who were interested in "working out and losing weight" and promote health products. Facebook's team in Australia was reportedly looking to capitalize on the 6.4 million teens that use the social network in their geographic region. Facebook denied the allegations and called the article's premise "misleading". 

"Facebook does not offer tools to target people based on their emotional state," the social network said in its official response on Sunday. "The analysis done by an Australian researcher was intended to help marketers understand how people express themselves on Facebook.” According to the response, the research results were never used to target ads and were based on data that was anonymous and aggregated. Critics, however, worry that the emotional state of those who use the social network may now become a new commodity to be bought and sold.

A recent EdTech article titled 3 Basic Digital Citizenship Standards All Educators Should Know and Teach, is a great read for both educators and parents. The article reminds adults that children look to them for media literacy tips, which is especially important in today’s news climate, with information posing as reliable not always being accurate. Parents and other significant adults also need to remind young people of the consequences of their digital actions and that a key part of digital etiquette is the understanding of copyright laws and plagiarism. In addition, both parents and students need to also understand the regulations that schools must follow to protect student data and privacy.