How many times have you clicked the ‘I read the terms of service and agree’ checkbox without actually reading the terms of service? I am sure that answer would be more than half of the people on any given website. I will admit, I am one of them. We live busy lives and terms of service can be long and daunting essays of legal jargon, but they are truly important for our ever-changing interconnected world. Especially for teachers and schools.
Teachers use so many web tools every day in their classrooms and they all come with their own terms of service, age restrictions and privacy settings. While many districts have people in charge of blocking sites and checking FERPA and COPA compliance, it’s important for teachers to understand these laws and restrictions as well. When it comes to some of the sites commonly used by me and my students, I definitely learned some new things while researching terms of use. As a high school teacher, I’ve realized it’s much easier to comply with age restrictions because a lot of sites require users to be 13 years old - which high school students are. As a former middle school teacher, though, I was shocked that I may have not been compliant when I was teaching 8th grade. Instagram and YouTube all require users to be at least 13 years old in order to create an individual account. This was not surprising because they are video/picture sharing sites that will often include identifying information about students to the public. Classcraft, a gamification website I use in my class requires members under 18 to have signed parent permission. I’ll be honest, I did not have written permission from all parents before I began using the site and allowing students to create accounts. Upon reflection, this was a mistake and one that I will correct when I begin next school year with a new set of students. Flipgrid, not surprisingly also requires members to be 18, but because it has been heavily used by educators, it allows those under 18 to join as long as they are students and their videos stay private within a teacher’s grid. It is up to the teacher to be responsible and to protect students using Flipgrid.
Going forward, I will be more diligent in reading and understanding terms of use for sites that I use in class especially those that I ask students to sign up for. It’s so easy nowadays with 1-click sign up through Google accounts, but that doesn’t mean the students should just sign up without a thought! On a bigger scale, I think school districts need to tackle this issue in a more straightforward way. I think districts should be instructing and guiding teachers about these laws and providing information about the most commonly used sites. The only reason I’m aware of these issues is because I have gone out of my way to learn about it - most teachers don’t have the time to do this! Districts should also provide parents and families with more information. There are many students signing up for social media before they are legally old enough. Are parents aware of the terms of use of many of these sites? If they are, are they aware of the repercussions of their children being on the sites? It would benefit many parents to have school admin and experts present this information in a straightforward way.
The Citizen educator standard put forth by ISTE states that educators should “model and promote management of personal data and digital identity and protect student data privacy.” Through bringing in these practices to my everyday routines, staying aware of terms of service and discussing them with colleagues, students, parents, and administrators I am promoting student privacy and modeling responsible internet usage for those around me.
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