Person: Plunkett, Leah
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Plunkett
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Leah
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Plunkett, Leah
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Publication Student Privacy: The Next Frontier - Emerging & Future Privacy Issues in K-12 Learning Environments(Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 2015) Haduong, Paulina; Wood, Zoe Emma; Cortesi, Sandra; Plunkett, Leah; Ritvo, Dalia; Gasser, UrsBuilding off several prior working meetings which mapped and considered the implications of the new and rapidly evolving ecosystem of networked technology being used with education (“ed tech”), the Berkman Center for Internet & Society’s Student Privacy Initiative convened a conversation in May 2015 among multiple stakeholders, including, but not limited to, K-12 educators, district administrators, academics, policy makers, and industry representatives. This working meeting was envisioned as one in a series of conversations which deepens our understanding of emerging and future privacy issues in K-12 learning environments, both formal and informal. Future conversations may focus on specific topics within the broader spectrum of issues relating to student privacy; this particular working meeting prioritized practicality over theoretical discussion, emphasizing the evolving experiences of K-12 administrators, educators, and students. In order to evaluate the challenges and opportunities fostered by the next generation of ed tech, participants were asked to consider the following four layers of the ed tech ecosystem, each of which informs the others in myriad ways: Technological Infrastructure: What kind of technology can be considered “ed tech”? This layer encompasses cloud infrastructure, the Internet of Things, sensor networks, and other new technologies that facilitate connected learning environments (which transcend the traditional classroom set-up, disturb hierarchies, and foster peer-to-peer interactions) and other educational innovations within brick and mortar classrooms, thereby shaping the collection and use of student/educational data. Data: What kinds of data are being collected, and how/by whom are they being used? This layer includes the opportunities afforded by learning analytics (the aggregation of data about learners, offering the potential benefit of individualized learning trajectories and the potential challenge of limiting or discriminatory “tracking”), as well as other uses by educators, administrators, and other stakeholders of individual and cohort-wide student data previously unimaginable in both its breadth and depth. Organizational Structures: Where does learning take place today? This layer maps the institutional forms of current and future educational institutions, from traditional schoolhouses to informal learning environments, which can be situated within the context of schools, cities, libraries, and elsewhere -- and are perhaps best understood as part of the connected learning ecosystem. Norms and values: How do we want ed tech to be used in the classroom, and what are our expectations for/desires of privacy? This layer reflects those principles, policies, pedagogies, and practices that do or should animate the goals, implementation, and stakeholder experiences of twenty-first century digital education in its various iterations. Keeping these layers in mind, discussion ranged widely across numerous themes, reflecting the participants’ diverse backgrounds and perspectives. This report seeks to summarize the conversation’s main themes and highlight suggestions for future action. In the following section, the main themes and observations are considered, including issues dealt with explicitly and at length, in addition to those that more quietly (and perhaps implicitly) surfaced at multiple points during the day. And although the third section concerns suggested areas for moving forward, these are meant to be understood as key highlights, and not a comprehensive summary.Publication Student Privacy and Ed Tech (K-12) Research Briefing(Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, 2016) Plunkett, Leah; Gasser, UrsFoundational changes at the intersection of technology, society, law, and behavior are disrupting and energizing large institutions, impacting the educational technologies and student privacy landscape at lightning speed. Greater levels of connectivity and participation are raising questions about how best to navigate new types of learning environments, how best to engage in data-driven decision-making, and how best to ensure channels for positive collaboration in decision-making. This research briefing builds upon student privacy research and activities, and aims to translate these into practical take-aways. The briefing provides a map of the current digital learning ecosystem in the U.S. primary and secondary space, surveys at a high-level critical issues in the ed tech and student privacy space, and outlines key tools and opportunities for decision-makers.Publication Education Contracts of Adhesion in the COVID-19 Pandemic(University of Illinois College of Law, 2021-02) Plunkett, Leah; Lewis, Michael S.Stuck inside our house with our young children during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a newfound appreciation for the vital role that elementary, middle, and high schools play in youth development and the successful functioning of both the home and workplace. At this moment, primary and secondary (K-12) schools and local school districts in the United States hold the key to workforce re-entry for parents. These school systems are positioned to impose an exacting price if they re-open for in-person instruction. Some are doing so by attempting to shift legal responsibility for student campus safety to parents using a device that we call an “education contract of adhesion.” Grounded in terms that are non-negotiable and arcane, this device demands that parents waive their rights to bring suit if their minor children become ill or die due to COVID-19 acquired through school participation. In this article, we examine this device, we call it the “education contract of adhesion,” in the context of K-12 public and private schools re-opening partially or fully residentially during the current pandemic. Our hope is that this essay will bring greater attention to the problematic dynamic that “education contracts of adhesion” pose in this context; in general, a “contract of adhesion” describes so-called “contracts” prepared by one party, to be signed by the party in a weaker position, with the weaker party having little to no choice about the terms. We see these “education contracts of adhesion” as driven by motives in conflict with the core, traditional, and advertised aims of school: to nurture and cultivate students and to prepare them to become members of a liberal democracy facing serious and growing threats from authoritarian forces, both private and public.