Dive Brief:
- Parents, teachers, and privacy law scholars have mounting concerns over behavior tracking apps, such as ClassDojo, according to the New York Times.
- The Times reports that behavior tracking apps allow teachers to document sensitive data on students without parent consent — and with unclear knowledge of where that data can eventually land.
- While ClassDojo, one of the most popular behavior tracking systems, has recently updated its privacy policy to say it won't “sell, lease or share your (or children’s) personal information to any third party” for advertising or marketing purposes, the Times points out that it can still make money off of student data since another section of the policy states that ClassDojo can show advertisements “based in part on your personally identifiable information.”
Dive Insight:
The focus on ClassDojo feels a bit like the focus on InBloom last year. Both were tools meant to create ease in classrooms, but resulted in much fear over privacy. InBloom, a Gates-funded nonprofit that housed student data in the cloud, eventually had to shut down after too much pushback over privacy concerns.
While the New York Times article on behavior apps focuses on privacy concerns with ClassDojo, it also brings up questions about a possibly antiquated "carrot-and-stick method" for classroom discipline. ClassDojo is an app that teachers can download to their phones or iPads or even access via computer, and it allows educators to mark how students are behaving in class.