In this anxious era of bullying, teen depression, and school shootings, tech companies are selling software to schools and parents that make big promises about keeping kids secure by monitoring what they say and write online. But these apps demand disturbing trade-offs in the name of safety.
This is a great episode of the Rework podcast looking at the dangers of using increasingly sophisticated technology in schools as part of programmes to “protect” children. What they really amount to are very superficial surveillance systems that can do a lot less than what the venture-backed companies say they can. If you’re a teacher or if you have kids at a school using these systems, this is a topic worth learning more about.
The show notes include a ton of links to excellent resources and also a complete transcript of the episode.