Spyware Meets Education

LongBlade · March 16, 2015, 08:24:28 PM

Pearson is one of the largest publishers of educational material. They have worked on materials relating to Common Core and they are apparently monitoring social media for instances of cheating on their material. Apparently they recently got a hit.

QuoteWord that Pearson was monitoring social media posts for students commenting on the exams was first reported on the blog of Bob Braun, a former education reporter for The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey.

On Friday, Braun published a copy of a letter sent to the staff of the Watchung Hills Regional High School District in the town of Warren by Superintendent Elizabeth Jewett about the social media monitoring.

"...my testing coordinator received a call from the NJDOE [New Jersey Department of Education] that Pearson had initiated a Priority 1 Alert for an item breach within our school," read the letter from Jewett. " ...they suggested the student took a picture of a test item and tweeted it."

More at the source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/03/16/spying-on-students-education-publisher-pearson-monitoring-social-media-activity/

bayonetbrant · March 16, 2015, 08:31:30 PM

Spyware? Really? C'mon - the kid posted a comment on a public feed using a specific term that a company was monitoring.

It's like the local school system here shutting down a high school campus b/c they saw a tweet threatening violence at the school. You made a public statement in a medium that can easily be keyword-searched and monitored, and you left enough of your PII to track back to you as an individual.

The kid is probably learning a lot about what you say and where you say it, but I don't see anything illegal or nefarious in what the company did. I am seeing a lot of reflexive over-reaction by parents who have thus far turned a blind eye - unwittingly or not - to just how much these kids say and how publicly they say it until it suddenly bites the kid in the ass, and then somehow it's the fault of the company for monitoring and trying to protect their brand?

LongBlade · March 16, 2015, 08:52:58 PM

I'm not saying they did anything wrong or illegal.

I also condemn cheating.

Just found it curious that we've reached this level of Big Brother. I don't like the fact that one cheater can reach so many wannabe cheaters in a hurry. And I don't like the fact that a company has to monitor Twitter for cheaters. It sucks all the way around.

Mr. Bigglesworth · March 17, 2015, 01:09:10 AM

How is a kid able to photograph a test? Do kids take exams with smartphone calculators now?

LongBlade · March 17, 2015, 05:34:40 AM

Quote from: Mr. Bigglesworth on March 17, 2015, 01:09:10 AM
How is a kid able to photograph a test? Do kids take exams with smartphone calculators now?

They're not supposed to, however, almost everyone has a smart phone these days. Just as with forever the teacher's eyes cannot be everywhere always. And, yes, calculators on phones are used - I'm pretty sure they're used during tests, too, but both my high schoolers are presently unavailable so I'll have to get back with you if you want confirmation on that.

airboy · March 17, 2015, 08:55:27 AM

I ban the use of calculators with internet capability during my exams. I write my own exams and tests are all different (easy when you have calculations), but with internet connections you could set up a text network to pass along answers real time during the exam. That is such an obvious dodge, that I banned the technology during tests.

If someone posts something embarrassing or illegal on public social media - they lack common sense. People get in trouble for doing this all of the time.

Companies now routinely monitor their brand names on social media. Lots of reasons for this. You can spot service or quality control problems. Spot alternative uses for the brand. And also spot misuse of the brand - especially theft/intentional mislabeling (status goods), or people intentionally slandering your company. Monitoring social media/internet is becoming standard operating procedure.

airboy · March 17, 2015, 08:56:06 AM

Quote from: LongBlade on March 16, 2015, 08:24:28 PM
Pearson is one of the largest publishers of educational material. They have worked on materials relating to Common Core and they are apparently monitoring social media for instances of cheating on their material. Apparently they recently got a hit.

QuoteWord that Pearson was monitoring social media posts for students commenting on the exams was first reported on the blog of Bob Braun, a former education reporter for The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey.

On Friday, Braun published a copy of a letter sent to the staff of the Watchung Hills Regional High School District in the town of Warren by Superintendent Elizabeth Jewett about the social media monitoring.

"...my testing coordinator received a call from the NJDOE [New Jersey Department of Education] that Pearson had initiated a Priority 1 Alert for an item breach within our school," read the letter from Jewett. " ...they suggested the student took a picture of a test item and tweeted it."

More at the source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/03/16/spying-on-students-education-publisher-pearson-monitoring-social-media-activity/

Monitoring public information is also not spyware.

LongBlade · March 17, 2015, 10:04:37 AM

Quote from: LongBlade on March 17, 2015, 05:34:40 AM
And, yes, calculators on phones are used - I'm pretty sure they're used during tests, too, but both my high schoolers are presently unavailable so I'll have to get back with you if you want confirmation on that.

I checked with Daughter #2 - my information was wrong. Smart phones are *not* allowed during testing.

Mr. Bigglesworth · March 17, 2015, 10:35:52 AM

Thx LB.