Immerse yourself in the future with this news article highlighting yet another time where technology moves so quickly that it develops controversy.
This new app, the Geo-Untethered Classroom, gives teachers control over students’ devices. Great for class control, distance education, and monitoring BUT is it an overstep of privacy? Has school taken too much control of our students’ personal lives?
In the article, be sure to check out the app’s introduction video.
Would this tool be useful to you as teacher? Would you feel strange as a teacher having this control? Would screen time limited by teachers, instead of parents, reduce family tension? Is this a future you want to live in?
https://adriaaaan.wixsite.com/hello/has-school-taken-too-much-control
Hi Adrian,
Your “fake” newspaper is an interesting way to present this.
The global pandemic did provoke a lot of thinking, including education. Actually, when I read your topic I found it funny that it’s almost the opposite occasion in China where parents want the school to take as much control as possible. And their traditional idea is that only when the students are in school and being monitored by the teachers or school can the students really learn. Most Chinese high ranking middle schools and high schools are boradibg schools. Students are required to stay at the school at least 6 days a week (high school), and they have to attend night study (a self study time at night, usually from 7:30pm-10:00pm). And the parents won’t complain if the school made the students come to school and do extra classes on Sunday.
Tyler Graham’s A3 – Taskmania, is about an app popping out alert to the students’ mobile devices when they the teachers monitor the students behaviour during classes. It is interesting how diverse these two ideas are. However, I do think it’s inevitable that the technologies will continue to apply more surveillance and intrude more privacy to everybody. And if there’s something to help the teachers to keep the students on task, in my opinion, the benefit outweighs the cost.
Hi Jane,
Thanks for your comment – I find it so interesting how each culture has such a different perspective! As technology continues to cross borders, this could become more and more of a pressing issue.
My only worry about making sure students stay on task is how prepared will students be when someone isn’t around anymore to ensure they are on task?
Hi Adrian,
Thanks for putting this together, it was both highly informative and very fun! I really appreciate the creative approach you took by presenting it as a newspaper article and also embedding a short video to help us visualize the concept.
One thing that caught my attention was when you noted that schools would be supplying devices to students free of cost. I think policies such as this have very wide-reaching implications even outside of education and they’ll be a driving force behind the mobile cultural shifts of the future. Many employers have been providing mobile devices for their employees for quite some time now, and it really begs the question- if your device is provided by an institution (job, school, whatever) how much freedom do you have to utilize it for personal use? In this case, is it the student’s device or the school’s? The obvious answer might be that it’s school property, and this is reinforced by the fact that they can “lock” the device remotely when school isn’t in session. But kids are resourceful, and I don’t think it would be long at all before they start jail-breaking devices.
It’s a bit dated, but here’s an excellent article from 2013 on the subject: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/students-are-hacking-their-school-issued-ipads-good-for-them/280196/
I think the linked article poses some very good questions that are relevant to your assignment. Who’s goals are these devices meant to meet? Apple’s? Samsungs? The school boards? Students? If the students are altering the devices they’ve been given, is that a good indication that the program is not really designed with student’s learning potential in mind?I think the closing paragraph does a good job of summing up the issue nicely: “In the days since the story broke about the Indiana and California students’ “hacking” their iPads, the districts’ poor planning and preparation has been roundly criticized. But more important perhaps than pointing a finger at any one security or administrative issue here, we should recognize that the real failure may be more widespread and more insidious: a profound lack of vision about how students themselves could use—want to use—these new technologies to live and to learn at their fullest potential.”
And this line of thinking could and should be extended to mobile devices in the workplace as well! To what extent should your employer be able to dictate the proper use of a device that they supply you with as part of your job? Personally I use my work phone for all sorts of different functions, including some that are job related but still required me to download apps or software that didn’t come with the device when it was originally given to me.
Long story short, I think supplying students with technology is a worthwhile initiative, but I think if the end goal is to help students learn to their full potential, we should be mindful of placing too many restrictions on the use of these devices. As educators it’s up to us to ensure that students are actively engaged in their own learning, and I think it’s easiest to do so if we allow them the freedom to utilize technology in a way that best meets their own individual needs.
Hi Jordon,
That is hilarious that students hacked the iPads! I guess they will always find a workaround.
You bring up a great and current discussion. It seems that each institution has the power to set whichever rules they want. Not so dissimilar are the terms you must agree with in using a service (ex. facebook). There are many instances where there could be breaches of privacy, etc. but in order to use the service or be a part of the institution, they must be accepted. It can put the user in a strange situation which could ultimately lead to quitting and whistle-blowing.
I very much agree with your closing sentence: “As educators it’s up to us to ensure that students are actively engaged in their own learning, and I think it’s easiest to do so if we allow them the freedom to utilize technology in a way that best meets their own individual needs.”
Hi Adrian,
Thank you for a very presenting such a thought-provoking potential technology. I have to say, the first thing that came to mind when the screen-control feature was mentioned was the same thing mentioned by both Jonathan and Juliano, that of teacher-controlled computer labs. During classroom work periods where my students use their own personal laptops, I’ve often wished that I could use a similar program to ensure that they’re focused on the proper things. Actually, I have used a math program that guides students through a series of tasks, and there is functionality to control which task students all have displayed on their screen (though it isn’t really individualized).
Anyways, I think your presentation is a great conversation starter, but I do wish there was a bit more to it. I know it wouldn’t necessarily fit well with the presentation style of an online news article, but it would have been great to have heard about the closest comparisons (like the teacher-controlled computer labs or other apps that track what students are accessing), or your personal feelings on the matter. You’ve posed quite a few questions, and suggested significant pushback to such a technology, so what are your thoughts on all of this? Also, do you really think we’re moving towards technology of this nature?
Thanks again for the presentation (solid video, btw), and for hosting a solid discussion.
Hi James,
Thanks for your comments.
Adding to the topic similar techs is a great piece of feedback – Jonathan and Juliano’s posts on the teacher-controlled computer labs were actually the first time I’ve heard of such a thing. Another thing being used right now for exams is the lockdown browser: discussed by Lyon https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2020/08/02/a3-examining-exams-proctoring-in-a-mobile-world/
I have also heard of instances where employers track everything that an employee does on their device.
My feelings on this matter are still to be determined. There are so many pros and cons to both sides. I personally prefer to give student autonomy – BUT my background with formal education is teaching adults, I expect with children or young adults, things would be tougher.
Monitoring device usage I view as a real problem – apps are often designed to be addicting. Like the thread below on Juliano’s post, currently all the responsibility is on the parent – is that right?
I do think that such control is enticing and a couple people here have confirmed that, so I wouldn’t be surprised if such a technology will be used in the future.
Hi Adrian,
I enjoyed the presentation style of your page. It was very creative and looks professionally done. While I see the benefits of having the teacher be able to monitor and control the devices of their students, having that occur outside of school seems like it could become onerous for the teacher. This can already been seen with students and their social media use where activity that is being done outside of school, presumably under the watch of the parents, becomes a problem within the school and the teachers and admin need to investigate to resolve the issue. If now, teachers are fully responsible for how students use their devices whether in school or outside of school, then parents can remove themselves from the problem and claim it as a “school issue” for the teacher to deal with and take zero responsibility. However, like Jonathan, my school also had a teacher station in our computer lab which gave me the ability to take control of a student’s computer or even restrict their internet connection, and it did come in handy to keep the students on task. I needed to use it often in the first month of school, but once they saw the extent of my powers, they just gave up and did their work and I rarely needed to use it afterwards. Once they knew they could be monitored, they were much more likely to be on task and not fool around so there are pros and cons to monitoring and finding that balance is difficult.
Thank you for providing such an interesting topic and a real possibility for what future education could look like!
Hi Juliano,
Thanks for sharing your experience in using the teacher station of a computer lab. That is pretty great that you only needed to use its powers in the first month and then students just focused.
To answer your first comment – on extra teacher time: I didn’t propose any concrete methods but some I am thinking of don’t require a lot of extra time such as: imposing a detention (ex. didn’t complete homework -> device is off for x hours) or learning analytics can be imposed for it to happen automatically.
This kind of setup would indeed shift the problem of screen time from the parent to the institution. However, maybe that is a good thing – Gabor Mate, a psychologist, wrote in his book Scattered Minds, that a parent endangers their relationship with their child by imposing punishments and highlights homework in particular stating that it is the school’s responsibility to impose punishments not the parents. Gabor Mate, comes from a background where a parent-child relationship is paramount which might not always be the case in education. I am curious as to what you think.
Thanks for your response Adrian,
I believe that a team approach needs to be taken when caring for the student so the parent and the teacher should be on the same page. When speaking about the parent endangering the relationship with their child and the school being responsible for the punishments, I feel that it is not the parent’s responsibility to be the child’s friend, it’s their responsibility to be their parent. Parenting is not a teacher’s responsibility. This means that parents should also give consequences when their child misbehaves and can’t always be the “good cop” in situations and make the school the “bad cop”. Anecdotally, I found the students who have parents who try to be their best friends to be the students I have to manage the most in my classroom. They are under the impression that they run the household since the parent lets them do whatever they want so they think they can do that in school as well. When punishment is given, they go to their parents who then don’t support the teacher’s actions. I’m not saying that the parent needs to be the “bad guy” all the time but they can’t just let things slide for fear that they will damage their relationship with their child.
Hi Juliano,
Thanks for sharing your personal experiences!
I do agree with what you are saying, there definitely needs to be a comprise and parents shouldn’t be the child’s friend.
Parent/teacher roles is a tough thing to navigate and currently there appears to be a huge divide – there’s definitely space for technology to at least bridge communication. One large issue is that this whole ‘good cop’ ‘bad cop’ situation emerges because of a lack of communication – It’s hard to be on the same team when you rarely talk..What are your thoughts on this?
Communication is definitely key and I agree that it has been a barrier for teachers/parents to be in a united front due to the lack of it. In elementary schools, communication is often done through a planner which is a very outdated process and leaves the responsibility on the student to show their parent their planner. Mobile technology can help with this, especially with how e-portfolio programs are now promoting three-way communication between teachers, parents, and students. By updating the way we communicate, hopefully the ‘good cop’ ‘bad cop’ situation is reduced and more communication occurs between the parent and the teacher. The one drawback is having too much communication be available and teachers become expected to be available to talk long after working hours.
Adrian,
This A3 stirs up a ton of very interesting ideas and conversations. I think one of my central questions becomes whether teachers will still be in the position of ‘controller’ in the next 10 years of mobile and open education? Whilst technology DEFINITELY has the capacity to take us to this type of future, I think much of the ethos of mobile and opening learning steers towards a different direction in which the role of the teacher is no longer front and centre.
The current concerns around data privacy, and protection of children in online spaces, is already luckily quite a prominent topic so I hope this isn’t where we end up in the next while!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jamie,
Thanks for your comment and sharing. I am SO grateful for privacy standards especially when it comes to minors.
I find that younger children lack self-control and in a mobile context, who will ensure they are focused? What I have noticed during this epidemic, with kids learning remotely, is that the parents enforce school. The standards for such an education are extremely variable and then how can teachers be sure learning objectives are met?
The teachers not being in the position of the ‘controller’ is a great central question. Already there is the need for teachers to not be the holder of knowledge. Where will the role go I wonder.
Hi Adrian,
Your news article on Times looks so real and professional. Loved your design which features “Recommended Articles”, and the fact that the last line of your article naturally brings us back to the mobile forum. Your approach is definitely creative! Personalized learning supported by deep learning, historical data and teacher input sounds like a teacher’s dream; however, how much space the Geo-Untethered classroom has given to students regarding their own voices and privacy is my question. I agree with Johathan that there should be separate devices for school and for personal use in the scenario you described.
Hi Ceci,
Thanks for your comment! I’m glad you found the article ‘real’ 🙂
The question of space to students is a great one and I think one worth exploring. In my experience, teacher’s and instructor’s have a lot of freedom in their class control (** I interpret ‘space’ as synonymous to class organization/schedule/autonomous time/class control – am I on the same idea as you?) So I would imagine each teacher would implement the tool to a different extent.
Hi Adrian,
Yes, we’re on the same page. I believe we just need to find the balance between students’ voice and teacher’s control 🙂 Please also see our discussion at https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2020/07/31/a3-eduspace-app-for-education/#comment-2447
Hi Adrian,
Regarding the question, I have two wonderful resources that I came across in another MET course to share with you.
In Howard Rheingold’s “Learner Interest-Driven Curriculum” from Connected Learning Alliance, he introduced the Inquiry’s innovative Curriculum where “personal learning paths for each student are co-created between learners and teachers” (Rheingold, 2014). In such learning environments, learners inquire while teachers, or designers, nudge instead of assign. In addition, through Delorme’s decolonization project, we perceive teachers, or designers, as members of the learning community. They build rapport and attend to the perspectives and preferences of the learners (Delorme, 2018, p. 168).
References
DeLorme, C. M. (2018). Quilting a journey: Decolonizing instructional design. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 14(2), 164-172. doi:10.1177/1177180118769068
Rheingold,H. (2014). Learner Interest-Driven Curriculum. Retrieved from Connected Learning Alliance website: https://clalliance.org/blog/learner-interest-driven-curriculum/
Hi Adrian,
While the video and topic have a distinct dystopian flare to it, I found myself wanting a lot of these metrics and controls. When I worked in a private school, the computer labs had a teacher station where the teacher could black out screens and force-open websites on student computers.
Of course, the drawback is that this is not setting up students to become lifelong learners with freedom of choice. Having separate devices for school and for pleasure could help some students transition into work mode, especially when they are not in a physical classroom. Distinct devices would remove the threat of a notification derailing concentration. This could be done through software as described in your OER where it essentially blacks out everything not directly related to the lesson but I would imagine parents might have issues if they are not school-owned devices. You touch on both sides of the debate and pose an open question which allows us to build our own meaning and expectations for this very-real possible future.
Well done.
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for sharing your comment and sharing your experience.
I find that so interesting that you worked in a computer lab that had part of this feature. How often did you use the powers of the teacher station?
I didn’t often use the computer lab there, but from time to time I did and the distribution of links was handy. The whole school was in a weird situation at the time and many students were disengaged (offshore BC school) so I did black out some screens when some students were gaming instead of working, but it all felt pretty impersonal.