IT IS TIME COUNTY PARENTS CREATE A PARENT TECHNOLOGY GROUP B/C TECHNOLOGY IS HERE TO STAY. WE SHOULD NOT STAND BY THE SIDELINES THINKING MCPS HAS TAKEN CARE OF PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN'S PRIVACY AND SECURITY MATTERS. PLEASE LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS AREA IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN CREATING SUCH A WORKING GROUP.
As you review the PARCC pros and cons, here are some articles expressing many issues, such as:
1. The lack of applicability to non-STEM subjects (such as language, arts, music, entrepreneurship, etc…)
(STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
2. Privacy – test company Pearson asks for personal information beyond name, age, and grade. Special education needs, health issues, etc… Data mining.
3. The cost of test
4. The ability to administer the test
5. The lack of typing skills of the students will impact their ability to type within the time frames provided.
(For instance: Typing teaching was not part of preparation for the test. The test requires students to write sentences and reasoning, in the math section, on how they arrived at the answer.)
Links:
Privacy issues: http://www.bethesdanow.com/2015/02/26/mcps-says-parents-have-no-need-to-worry-about-classroom-chromebook-privacy/#disqus_thread
Washington Post:
For comic relief, watch this PARCC parody video by BCC high students on YouTube:
Have you seen this from NJ? https://twitter.com/pierreroderique/status/576475703652184064/photo/1
ReplyDeleteAnother MD parent saw that and emailed MSDE and got this in reply:
Delete"Yes, Ms. XXXXX. PARCC has a very sophisticated system that closely monitors social media for pretty much everything (comments like the one you shared, test item questions that students use cell phones cameras and take) . We get those reports daily.
Henry R. Johnson, Jr., Ed.D
Assistant State Superintendent
Maryland State Department of Education
Division of Curriculum, Assessment and Accountability
200 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
(410) 767-0315"
The PARCC system is a FRAUD. The MSDE does not have the expertise to recognize the FRAUD.
DeleteThe MSDE leadership should resign because of their failure to provide the leadership to educate and protect the students. The PARCC system and associated policies abuses the students. This should be used as a teachable moment. All the material associated with the testing of students and collection of information about students should be destroyed. The testing and associated processes are abusive. The students and their parents need to be advised of the problems and proper assistance provided.
Delete< http://blog.hotspotshield.com/2014/12/02/chromebook-google-spyware-machine/ >
DeleteQUOTE
A lawsuit filed in 2014 against Google has reignited the debate over the company’s controversial email-scanning practices. Represented by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), two of the suit’s nine plaintiffs accuse Google of data-mining student emails sent and received through Google Apps for Education on Chromebooks.
They contend that Google violated student privacy laws by using email scanning to compile secret profiles of students and target them with ads. The plaintiffs seek class certification to recover damages for all Gmail users subject to the allegedly illegal practice.
The lawsuit raises concerning questions about the propriety of Google’s privacy policies as a whole, but the thorniest question is whether Google’s Chromebooks — affordable, web-based laptops that run Google Apps for Education — compromise students’ cyber security. Google’s sworn admissions in the lawsuit have many questioning whether Chromebooks are really just a snooping wolf in sheep’s clothing, compromising the privacy of millions of users around the world. Read on for answers to this question as well as details about the lawsuit.
END
What are the next steps after the meeting?
DeleteThey monitor social media? What does this mean?
ReplyDeleteThey monitor anything to do with test by students and parents that can give other students an unfair advantage
ReplyDeleteThe test is a FRAUD. The monitoring is only a way to hide the FRAUD. The MSDE FAILED to recognize the FRAUD.
DeleteReviews of the test found that the tests are poorly constructed with ambiguous questions and alternative answers. Many of the questions are poorly formulated indicating a failure to understand the material.
DeletePEARSON testing, technology, monitoring is a FRAUD and should be terminated in the US.
ReplyDeleteHi.
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone understands that the problem is not just with Pearson and the PARCC.
You also have signed agreements (or the school proceeded as if you had) allowing Google to mine all your students information so that your child could do the work they have to do on the Chromebooks at school. Parents have complained to the General Counsel of MCPS that this is inappropriate, but so far he has done nothing and MCPS has done nothing. They make bland assurances that they care about privacy, but meanwhile families are forced to waive their rights to privacy and agree to let private, for-profit companies own their children's data, in order that the children can participate in the day-to-day activities of school.
The General Councel does NOT understand the issues and should resign because of the failure to properly protect the students. The Chromebook aggreement is an example of the failure. The Chromebooks should be returned after properly erasing all their content. All data collected by Google should be destroyed and certified as destroyed with penalties for any usage. Google does not protect the privacy of any users!
ReplyDeleteThe General Counsel behavior appears to focus on covering up the failure of the MSDE to properly educate and protect the students.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like that he is performing his duties.
DeleteA knowledgeable and responsible General Counsel would not have strongly advised against the Chromebooks and would have strongly advised against using the PARCC system. What did the General Counsel advise?
DeleteWhat? The Chromebooks were nothing more than a way for Google to get access to the students! The General Counsel should have advised against their use and the associated agreements!
DeleteIt sounds like that an expert in the wrong field was assigned to provide advise on the matter.
DeleteThe MDSE leadership should have experts on these issue.
DeleteThe Internet was several decades ago.
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet ]
The World Wide Web emerged in the 1980 based on ideas
that emerged in the 1940s.
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memex ]
The 1991 the "High-Performance Computing Act of 1991" was passed.
See "Sec. 2. Findings".
[ https://www.nitrd.gov/congressional/laws/102-194.pdf ]
A wide variety of activities and reports followed organized by NITRD.
[ https://www.nitrd.gov ]
[ https://www.nitrd.gov/Publications/index.aspx ]
Given the history and significance the MDSE leadership should be aware
of the history, technology, and policy issues for the education of students!
At a time when we Americans are defending ourselves against the use of internet to destroy our nation, and at a time when our heroes are giving life and limb on the front lines so as to not let the enemy come over here, weak leaders on the home front appear to be undermining the rest of us by possibly exposing our young ones personal information by others who are looking for weakness in our system. Our Vets have been hacked more than once so google interference in our children's lives and exposure to google security leaks will have its weakness as well. Everything today in this country is a security issue. Let us not let anyone put our children at risk .
ReplyDeleteLet's go back to the paper and pencil days.
DeleteGoogle is monitoring this blog ...
ReplyDeleteAlong with a whole lot of other entities.
DeleteAll the alphabet soup entities are monitoring it for intelligence mining.
Delete