Seattle Schools Community Forum

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. 

News of an "eavesdropping Barbie. "  News from Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood: At February's Toy Fair 2015 in New York City, Mattel unveiled "Hello Barbie," the Wi-Fi-connected doll that uses an embedded microphone to record children's voices—and other nearby conversations. Georgetown University Law Professor Angela Campbell, Faculty Advisor to the school's Center on Privacy and Technology, said, "If I had a young child, I would be very concerned that my child's intimate conversations with her doll were being recorded and analyzed. In Mattel's demo, Barbie asks many questions that would elicit a great deal of information about a child, her interests, and her family. This information could be of great value to advertisers and be used to market unfairly to children." Will you take a moment to ask Mattel CEO Christopher Sinclair to stop the marketing and production of "Hello Barbie"? Also from the CCFC:...

From the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood: If we don’t act now, Google could singlehandedly demolish long-standing rules that protect children from harmful commercialism. Research shows that young children have trouble distinguishing commercials from programming. That’s why there are laws that require clear separation between advertising and content on children’s television. But on Google’s new app YouTube Kids, it’s impossible to tell where the content ends and the ads begin. The app is rife with the types of ads that are illegal children’s television. Kids deserve protection from unfair marketing whether they watch videos on a TV, tablet, phone, or any screen. Please join CCFC and other leading advocates in urging the FTC to stop the unfair ads on YouTube Kids by adding your name below. Petition at the link; please consider signing.