For our Group Inquiry Project, Esther, Mat, Derek and I decided that we would spend our time figuring out how to use Google Classrooms. Knowing how widespread the use of Google apps has become in classrooms across North America, we figured that this would be a worthwhile inquiry that would prepare us for the inevitable.

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Through discussions in EdTech class this year and through resources like the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, I have come to learn that whenever an application or software offers its product for free, in reality, you have become the product. It is your data, the digital information that makes up your interaction with the internet, that is being bought and sold by companies that have commodified human futures and decisions (from The Social Dilemma). I have always considered targeted advertising to be a sort of harmless, convenient way for brands to tailor ads directly to me. Of course I would rather be bombarded with ads about video games, music gear, and other products that actually interest me, right? I have had this creeping feeling that this is not right. As tech companies climb higher and higher and have increasingly more influence over all social aspects of society, we have to consider how this affects our world.
Google Classrooms is no exception, and there is no doubt that they are collecting and storing student data.

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The allure of the Google Suite of apps is undeniable. Cloud-based information can be accessed from any device, broken devices do not mean lost work, and teachers are given unprecedented abilities for collaboration and information retrieval (Ahlfeld, 286). Students are also drawn in at younger and younger ages, with students as young as second grade using the apps. The integration of Google apps into all aspects of education has made it nearly impossible for parents to opt out of using a device entirely. In choosing Google as a “free” option for students, the education system is “a generation of loyal customers to the cloud in general, and to Google in particular, as they migrate their school accounts to personal Google accounts upon graduation.” With all of this information that Google is collecting, when students graduate they are already a part of the target market for their products.

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In New Mexico, USA, as well as in many other places, officials like attorney general, Hector Balderas, are filing lawsuits and conducting investigations into how Google tracks student data. His revelations are terrifying: “my investigation has revealed that Google tracks children across the internet, across devices, in their homes, and well outside the educational sphere, all without obtaining verifiable parental consent,” Balderas wrote. “Google has used this access to collect massive quantities of data from young children not to benefit the schools you have contracted with, but to benefit Google’s own commercial interests,” (Climer). Many government officials have expressed concerns that Google is building market profiles of children that will be manipulated when they hit maturity.

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Given the troubling questions that this cloud-based, google-driven educational platform presents, there aren’t any clear solutions. Any administration using Google’s platform should focus on educating students and staff about the inherent privacy risks and how companies are using our private information and internet activity to build market profiles for each individual in society. Students should be very familiar with how “free” translates to value in data for the companies that offer these services. I think educating students on the dangers and potential for market manipulation is critical. I also believe that if companies can offer competitive alternatives to Google’s cloud-based software, the competition in the market could make a significant difference in protecting student data. However, given the educational response to Covid-19, school systems are more reliant on Google Classrooms than ever. It will be interesting to see if the future markets for cloud-based technology will become more competitive, or if Google remains the clear, dominant, data collection superpower in the industry.

Resources:

Matthew Lynch. “How Does Google Classroom Manage Student Data and Privacy?” The Tech Advocate, 2020. Online. https://www.thetechedvocate.org/how-does-google-manage-student-data-and-privacy/?fbclid=IwAR05D89SzYOd6vo5xWAx0Ps-8vWvSmJaPVAz-16hCcBZEb3P3mOAVr5Aaj4

Siobhan Climer. “Privacy With Google Classroom: Use Rises, Critics Claim Risks.” Mindsight, 2020. Online. https://gomindsight.com/insights/blog/privacy-with-google-classroom-education-industry-news/

Kelly Ahlfeld. “Device-Driven Research: The Impact of Chromebooks in American Schools.” International Information & Library Review vol. 49, no. 4, 2017. 285-289