#edtech
3 posts3 participants0 posts today
School Districts Unaware BoardDocs Software Published Their Private Files via @mkeierleber https://www.the74million.org/article/school-districts-unaware-boarddocs-software-published-their-private-files/ #edtech #edusec #boarddocs @PogoWasRight @brett @funnymonkey
www.the74million.org · School Districts Unaware BoardDocs Software Published Their Private Files
Our kids are under #surveillance: The hidden #privacy crisis in #EdTech
Proton · Our kids are under surveillance: The hidden privacy crisis in Ed Tech | ProtonRoughly 90% of Ed Tech apps and websites were found to have trackers. We explain how you can protect your child’s privacy from this surveillance.
A BIG IDEA to help address budget shortfalls/cuts in #HigherEducation.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:7337826289610866689/
www.linkedin.com#colleges #universities #learningmanagementsystem #lms #brightspace… | Patrick MassonA BIG IDEA: Charge Software Vendors for the Privilege of Brand Loyalty
In these austere times of shrinking IT budgets, deferred maintenance, and “do more with less” mandates echoing through every cabinet meeting, higher ed may be overlooking its most underutilized revenue stream: corporate marketing. Specifically, the endless, unpaid, and unsolicited advertising that #Colleges and #universities generously provide to proprietary software vendors. Campuses wouldn’t let a sneaker brand sponsor their stadium without a check, so why are institutions branding their classrooms for free?
Every time a campus press release enthusiastically announces its “strategic transition” to a new #LearningManagementSystem (#LMS: #BrightSpace, #BlackBoard, #Canvas, etc.) or productivity suite (#MicroSoft365, #Google)—complete with branded logos, gushing quotes, and cheerful photos of students smiling next to generic laptops—we are handing over precious marketing real estate. Free. Worse yet, these announcements often double as sales pitches to students: “Sign up for Intro to Digital Media and get your very own discounted license to [insert overpriced proprietary software suite here]!” That's right: institutions of #HigherEducation, struggling to make ends meet, are working pro bono as regional sales offices for billion-dollar #HIgherEd software firms. And what do we get in return? T-shirts for the IT department, invitations to the customer success lunch at an #EdTech conference? It's time to rethink the business model.
Imagine a world where #education software vendors paid campuses to plaster their names across announcements, workshops, and syllabi. Where #IT departments could recoup costs every time a student downloads an app “required for class.” Where marketing departments billed per mention, like product placements in a Hollywood film. We’re not just offering access to a captive user base—we’re building lifelong customers, starting with that first login during orientation. Shouldn’t that be worth something? Of course, this will never happen, but perhaps that’s the point. Until then, let’s keep pretending these vendor launches are just about “enhancing the learning experience” and not quietly turning the academy into the showroom floor.
That's why we're focusing on Kagi for Education. Educators see the value of a search tool that aligns with schools, students, and learning, prioritizing genuine education over ads, tracking and excessive data collection.
https://proton.me/blog/ed-tech-trackers
If you're interested: https://form.kagi.com/education
Proton · Our kids are under surveillance: The hidden privacy crisis in Ed Tech | ProtonRoughly 90% of Ed Tech apps and websites were found to have trackers. We explain how you can protect your child’s privacy from this surveillance.
Continued thread
The #edtech status quo in Aotearoa has huge inertia & plenty of tech support staff who mostly have very narrow expertise, limited to those two US corporate monocultures and a smattering of other things around the edges. So whatever transition is proposed needs to be gradual & carefully-managed. Ultimately, a transition to a #ThirdWay will be mostly political & there'll be a stiff opposition to it from the many vested interests involved. We need to agree the status quo is not acceptable.
5/n
Hoping those familiar with #LaTeX can give me some advice here. I've started using it to create my assignments for school. I'm not writing technical papers yet, but I find using LaTeX with #Zotero in #VSCode more #accessible with a #ScreenReader than most other setups I've tried.
Since my discussion posts have to follow #APA style, I’m using LaTeX for those as well as full papers. That part is going well—but I’m running into trouble when I need to actually post what I’ve written.
My school uses Brightspace, which allows discussion posts in either rich text or #HTML. I have #Pandoc installed, so I tried converting my LaTeX source to HTML and pasting the code. But Pandoc didn’t include my references section in the output.
I also tried copying from the PDF, but that stripped all formatting.
Does anyone know how I can get a clean HTML version of my work—with references included—that I can paste into Brightspace?
Here’s the command I’ve been using:
pandoc main.tex \
--bibliography=references. Bib \
--csl=apa.csl \
--standalone \
-o main.html
It creates the HTML file, but the references section is missing.
Any tips?
#Accessibility #AssistiveTech #Pandoc #APAstyle #Brightspace #EdTech #AcademicWriting #InclusiveTech #BlindTech #HigherEd #CitationTools #OpenSource #WritingWorkflow
That viral photo of a girl doing homework outside Taco Bell during COVID wasn’t inspiring—it was a red flag
#EdTech claims to fix #inequality, but really just hides and profits from it. Tech companies have taken over classrooms, collecting student data and enforcing control.
Globally, EdTech often imposes Western ideas, sidelining local knowledge. But there’s resistance—teachers, communities, and activists pushing for #education that’s human, just, and actually public.
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/edtech-neocolonialism-and-the-digital-divide/
Lower Merion School District says a data breach was caused by a computer glitch.
"Glitch" with BoardDocs or human error on the district's part or...?
Thanks for all the feedback on my German post about AI & critical thinking! I’ve just published the English version: »AI makes us humans unlearn how to think — and we mistake it for progress.«
If you care about culture, education, and how convenience can quietly erode our judgement, give it a read and let me know what you think. 
https://www.kuketz-blog.de/ai-makes-us-humans-unlearn-how-to-think-and-we-mistake-it-for-progress/
www.kuketz-blog.deAI makes us humans unlearn how to think – and we mistake it for progressHow AI is changing our thinking — and why we risk unlearning it. An analysis of cultural shift, education, and convenience.
Join educators, students, and #IT pros at iSITE 2025 in Aklan, Philippines, June 13–14.
Visit the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) booth to grab free merch, explore partnership opportunities, and attend a session on how #Linux and #opensource certifications boost your #tech career. 
Learn more: https://lpi.org/ng0e
What's down the road for @apereo?
If you're an Apereo individual member (including Friends of #Apereo, current and previous Project Management Committee members, or current or Apereo Board alumni),
- or -
the representative of one of Apereo's member organizations (institutional or commercial members),
please check your email for your 2025 Board of Directors ballot.
Voting closes this Friday!!! Help shape the future of #OpenSource in #HigherEd, #EdTech.
PyCon AU is now accepting proposals for specialist tracks!
This is your chance to present, inspire, and connect with the Python community. 
Submit your proposal before June 15th (AoE)
https://pycon.org.au/program
Let’s make this year’s PyCon unforgettable! 
Kiwix 3.9.0 for #iOS and #macOS has been released!
It's a minor release of our offline reader. It comes with many fixes around stability and usability.
Check the full changelog at https://github.com/kiwix/kiwix-apple/releases/tag/3.9.0
Available on iTunes https://apple.kiwix.org or via DMG at https://download.kiwix.org/release/kiwix-macos/kiwix-macos.dmg
School District of Philadelphia paid nearly $700,000 to bad actors in cyber fraud scheme
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/school-district-of-philadelphia-cyber-fraud-scheme-scam/ #edtech #edusec @PogoWasRight @brett @funnymonkey
Goodbye, Gimkit. Gimkit is betraying their community and engaging in unethical practices, so I have chosen to leave the Gimkit community.
https://hexaheximal.com/blog/goodbye-gimkit
I normally don't ask for this (this may actually be the first time in fact), but please do boost this and spread the word if you can. I have seen few people outside of the Gimkit community regulars discussing the unethical things happening.
hexaheximal.comGoodbye, GimkitGimkit is betraying their community and engaging in unethical practices, so I have chosen to leave the Gimkit community.
We've extended the deadline to Sunday, May 18th at 11:59 PM EST!
We’re seeking an experienced developer passionate about open-source, technical leadership, and community-driven development. The Processing Project Lead will manage software maintenance, the roadmap, documentation, and contributor support.
Read more and apply at: https://processingfoundation.org/employment/processing-project-lead
Full-time, fully-remote, $95K
NYTimes: A.I. Starting in Pre-K Would Be an ‘Unmitigated Disaster’ #edtech
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/opinion/trump-ai-elementary.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HE8.cxgJ.4M2zTjZJr98l∣=nytcore-android-share
Students with
access to generative A.I. did much better on practice tests for which they could use the A.I. But when all of the students were given an exam with no access to A.I., the control group with old-school study resources outperformed the group who studied with A.I.
The New York Times · Opinion | A.I. Starting in Pre-K Would Be an ‘Unmitigated Disaster’
Some useful advice here: PowerSchool Data Breach Developments https://www.edtechirl.com/p/powerschool-data-breach-developments #edtech #edusec #powerschool @PogoWasRight @funnymonkey @brett
EdTech IRL · PowerSchool Data Breach Developments
Today's reminder why NOT to pay criminals' extortion demands to delete data:
PowerSchool paid a hacker’s extortion demand, but now school district clients are being extorted anyway
NOTE: I subsequently edited my post to clarify that the ransom demand to the state (North Carolina) claimed to be from ShinyHunters. I haven't yet seen any ransom notes to individual districts and I do not know how those were signed or claimed. Stay tuned, I guess....
#PowerSchool #hack #EduSec #EdTech #extortion #databreach
@douglevin @funnymonkey @mkeierleber @brett @euroinfosec @jgreig