Ask About Videotaping in the Classroom
Via my student data privacy network of colleagues (via Student Privacy Matters), I have learned that there are teachers doing edTPA teacher certification training who are videotaping their work with students. Some of the issues noted from my colleagues like Leonie Haimson:
Molly, a NYC parent, tweeted and emailed me this AM about the many videos exploding all over YouTube that were originally submitted through the edTPA teacher certification process showing students being taught by teachers in training. One in particular shows a student who the teacher is trying to train him not to hum during reading.
The video link provided has been taken down at YouTube.
From reader, Josh Hayes, at this blog in Feb. 2014:
It's worth pointing out that new grads, starting this year, wishing to obtain certification as a teacher in WA state, must submit a great big package called the "edTPA", or "Teacher Performance Assessment", and pass it, much like experienced teachers passing national boards.
From edTPA:
Secure appropriate permission from the parents/guardians of your students and from adults who appear in the video recording.
Teachers cannot:
Display the video publicly (i.e., personal websites, YouTube, Facebook) without expressed permission for this purpose from all those featured in the video.
Sample Release form.
Continuing with Haimson's e-mail:
I assume that the usual parent consent forms for edTPA do NOT include posting on YouTube and that an additional consent form would be required.
Absolutely true and that's why, if you don't see a permission form for this activity, in your parent take-home packet, you should ask your child's teacher(s). I will ask the district what kinds of permission slips will be in the take-home packet.
Additionally,
Kylie is including an objection to this in the Opt-Out letter she plans to submit to her school at the start of the year.
Consider a blanket opt-out letter (I can try to craft one) about activities you do not want your child participating in without your knowledge and permission.
Molly, a NYC parent, tweeted and emailed me this AM about the many videos exploding all over YouTube that were originally submitted through the edTPA teacher certification process showing students being taught by teachers in training. One in particular shows a student who the teacher is trying to train him not to hum during reading.
The video link provided has been taken down at YouTube.
From reader, Josh Hayes, at this blog in Feb. 2014:
It's worth pointing out that new grads, starting this year, wishing to obtain certification as a teacher in WA state, must submit a great big package called the "edTPA", or "Teacher Performance Assessment", and pass it, much like experienced teachers passing national boards.
From edTPA:
Secure appropriate permission from the parents/guardians of your students and from adults who appear in the video recording.
Teachers cannot:
Display the video publicly (i.e., personal websites, YouTube, Facebook) without expressed permission for this purpose from all those featured in the video.
Sample Release form.
Continuing with Haimson's e-mail:
I assume that the usual parent consent forms for edTPA do NOT include posting on YouTube and that an additional consent form would be required.
Absolutely true and that's why, if you don't see a permission form for this activity, in your parent take-home packet, you should ask your child's teacher(s). I will ask the district what kinds of permission slips will be in the take-home packet.
Additionally,
Kylie is including an objection to this in the Opt-Out letter she plans to submit to her school at the start of the year.
Consider a blanket opt-out letter (I can try to craft one) about activities you do not want your child participating in without your knowledge and permission.
Fred Klonsky, a
retired Chicago public school teacher who blogs posted: “Why edTPA is a
really bad idea. Stop the Pearson takeover of Illinois student teacher
certification” on August 22.
Somewhat buried in his post, is the following:
“The
videos submitted by student teachers contain student images, and
although parental permission is required, they are already showing up on
You Tube. Pearson also reserves the right to use submitted videos for
their own purposes. edTPA JEOPARDIZES STUDENT PRIVACY”
When I commented on this on facebook, a friend & IL parent/school activist Kylie Spahn posted the following:
“Just
did a search on You Tube - "EdTPA". A lot of videos popped up with all
sorts of kids. I don't want my children on You Tube. Also - not just
video but class assignments too. They are submitted to Pearson never to
be returned to the kids or parents.”
I
just went to youtube myself and found many videos shot in classrooms,
full of children and teenaged students, and this one of a teacher
working individually for 20 minutes with a special ed student who looks
about six or seven!
Again, the video was taken down from YouTube.
The best way to prevent this is two-fold. One, let edTPA know you don't want this for your child. (I'll give you a way to contact them soon.) Two, let SPS know you don't want this for your child.
Comments
I've been saying Pearson deserves an anti-trust suit for years. I can't be part as they can revoke board certification at any time if they feel like it, but I hope that it eventually will come to a head.
Glad I left Seattle
The teacher at the time was taking his national board certification and had done correct outreach by being certain no child was taped without parental permission - which our family had given, because neither the school name nor pupil names were to be put into the tape. In addition we wanted to support the teacher in his advanced studies.
Still, it was a shock to know that the tape 5 years later is widely available, and in a context - professional learning for teachers all over the U.S. - different than we had thought. We had thought it would only be available to our teacher's certification program staff.
No harm was done. But I see the day - facial recognition software - combined with circumstances - child exploitation, custody battles, etc. - that is fast approaching, if not already here, in which there could be rare but serious problems with such distribution.
The lesson, as always, is that if child privacy is important within a family, be very careful about signing forms as well as being sure your school and classroom are fastidious about permission around capturing images of your child.
Seattle mom
Reader
Reader, no one is saying no videotaping. But parents have the right to say no. I note that in many of these videos the students are called on by name which also seems to violate edTPA's policy.
sheesh
Privacy Please
That said, ALL that video was provided to Pearson, and once they have it, so far as I know (and I could be wrong about this; I have not read the minutiae of the legal agreements involved between Pearson and the schools sending students to complete the edTPA), they can do whatever the heck they want with it so long as it has some educational purpose.
We were instructed to avoid taping classes with more than one or two students opting out. If those students DID opt out, it would be best to film a) on days they were not there, or b) portions of the class period where they were not in the camera field of view. If students did wander across the camera field, and the footage was otherwise so awesome that an intern would really want to use it, there was tech available to blur the face and voice of the student, if it came to that. I had 100% opt-in for only one of my four sections, and so that's the one I used.
I still have that video on my laptop. Obviously, I don't share it with anyone, but I do still have it, in the absence of instructions to destroy it once I passed the TPA. Does anyone out there know if I'm supposed to destroy it?
I *hated* having to send videos of my class (and myself) to a corporate entity I don't trust, which informed us that they retained all rights to the videos and might use them in some form in the future. I don't want videos of my students out on the internet, nor do I want videos of myself out there. But I really didn't have a choice - to continue teaching WA requires you to do ProTeach or National Boards, and only the latter gives you a stipend - like most teachers, I really couldn't pass up that yearly stipend.
So I understand why people opt out, and I support them in doing so - but please know that it does make things harder for teachers (they're required to film their room, so opt-outs often means asking teacher friends on their prep period if the student can work in their classrooms during taping). If you feel strongly about this, I'd encourage you to try to draw attention to this issue and get Pearson to change - it's another area where students and teachers are both being screwed by the Corp.
-NB Teach
Also, I have a call into Pearson on this topic, Josh. I'll ask them that question.
HF
What would happen if an opt-out movement took root? Like is happening with CC testing now.
If all (or even most) of your students opted out of this ridiculous invasion of their privacy, how would you be expected to fulfill the requirements? Some kind of alternative would need to be explored.
I think this would be a great thing for someone to push, though it would likely take some effort.
Have you considered contacting the school principal? Not the way any teacher wants to start the school year, even if innocently/arrogantly convinced they are in the right.
If you do any of these please let us know the results.
JR
I am likely to try to tell edTPA before any principal. I was surprised at this teacher's answer.
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