Post 9sLGfjdnq8uERYfTIu by Kat@pleroma.topcat.io
(DIR) More posts by Kat@pleroma.topcat.io
(DIR) Post #9sJlJetNWXRFbizDge by shahaan@mastodon.social
2020-02-23T04:12:51Z
2 likes, 4 repeats
I felt so disappointed recently when I found out through my niece and nephew who are in grade 8 and 7 in Halton, Ontario, that their schools use Google Classroom as their primary digital learning and classroom interaction platform. Even more disturbing was their complete dependence on Google Search for anything and everything to do with the internet. They do not understand that Google Search is just one search engine among many. For them, the internet begins and ends with Google.
(DIR) Post #9sJlJg6sznpzNuJWNc by shahaan@mastodon.social
2020-02-23T04:12:51Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
I find this to be very disturbingly irresponsible teaching of technology and internet education to young children.My niece sent me a link to a digital escape room she made using Google. When I told her I couldn’t access it because I didn’t have a Google account she didn’t understand what that meant. In her mind, everyone has a Google account because otherwise they cannot use the internet.Seems I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me to reverse all this unhealthy tech learning.
(DIR) Post #9sJv82WYplkay2PbyC by shahaan@mastodon.social
2020-02-23T05:59:07Z
1 likes, 3 repeats
The thing that’s really infuriating about the kids having been set up with Google accounts is that the parents were never asked for consent. Do they really think pre-teens understand the extent to which their privacy is being invaded by the data collection? Whichever committee fell for Google’s sales pitch and said this is a good idea obviously is incompetent and has no clue what they’ve done for thousands of unsuspecting students.I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lawsuit headed their way.
(DIR) Post #9sKpgpIdabMnWL41Mu by FuckOffGoogleZurich@mastodon.social
2020-02-23T08:51:25Z
2 likes, 0 repeats
@shahaan It's so disgusting when schools trade kid's privacy for convenience.Maybe it is time to create a "Fuck Off Google" union in Canada and in the US?Parents should pressure their government to ban Google and Microsoft from schools like it is happening Switzerland:https://mastodon.social/@FuckOffGoogleZurich/103336168743221923https://mastodon.social/@FuckOffGoogleZurich/103467191774840688#FuckOffGoogle #Education
(DIR) Post #9sLFchguX7eFZb71Mm by Kat@pleroma.topcat.io
2020-02-23T21:29:35.339565Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@shahaan From my experience, almost all schools are like this. In my school, we use Google Classroom, Google Docs/Slides/Drive, Chromebooks, and the Google search engine.On Google Classroom, we're sometimes given assignments which can only be completed on Chromebooks, and most of the school's printers will only work on a Chromebook too (unless you mess with the printer's settings, which the teacher will not let you do).If you turn in an assignment as a file instead of a Google Docs/Slides document, the teachers will sometimes refuse to read it until you turn it in "correctly". If you use an alternative search engine and/or NoScript, the other students will look at you like you're a weirdo (which isn't great if you already stand out a bit).And, on top of all of this, the school has a firewall software which censors ~60% of the internet, including many sites which can be legitimately useful. Also, the firewall will kick you off for 2 hours if you do anything considered "suspicious activity", such as using anything which isn't HTTP or HTTPS. At least it's not as bad as my last school, which MITM'd all HTTPS connections.
(DIR) Post #9sLFnKMTc1rwP3cVVY by mewmew@blob.cat
2020-02-23T21:31:51.321132Z
2 likes, 1 repeats
@Kat @shahaan What kinda dystopian school do you go to?The censorship of information in schools, a place meant for learning, is really fucked up.
(DIR) Post #9sLG50rYqXxR8qao7c by Kat@pleroma.topcat.io
2020-02-23T21:34:58.201481Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@shahaan Also, from experience, almost all the students are okay with this. They don't know/care about alternatives, and prefer using a Chromebook instead of a Windows/Mac computer (none of them know about Linux). They don't like the school's firewall, but that's mostly because of the fact that it blocks Instagram/Snapchat/whatever social media they use.
(DIR) Post #9sLGfjdnq8uERYfTIu by Kat@pleroma.topcat.io
2020-02-23T21:41:28.835174Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@mewmew @shahaan Well, it's mostly censoring any sites which can potentially be used to talk to other people, play online games, view NSFW content, or bypass the firewall, they aren't trying to censor certain views.However, the firewall can be a bit heavy handed, and can block sites which very vaguely fit into those categories.
(DIR) Post #9sLGfseqJe5MPODvfs by kazuma@blob.cat
2020-02-23T21:41:43.337490Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Kat @shahaan well they had to offset the cost of all these cheap chromebooks somehow :blobcatthinkingglare:
(DIR) Post #9sLGgABN9xCulCZeEq by frosch@edolas.world
2020-02-23T21:41:47.165935Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@mewmew @Kat @shahaan just wow, that's really creepy :blobfox0_0:
(DIR) Post #9sLGmnZLdLaueZx6Aa by mewmew@blob.cat
2020-02-23T21:42:57.622971Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Kat @shahaan I still consider that censorship. Sadly, people aren't willing to recognize that NSFW content isn't inherently bad or harmful and there are better ways of dealing with it than outright blocking it.
(DIR) Post #9sLHMQmroVxQQCGaQa by covered-in-pillows@fedi.absturztau.be
2020-02-23T21:49:05.783717Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@mewmew @Kat @shahaan This is what my high school was like, too. Not quite as bad, but similar. Chromebooks for everything, because the alternative was old macs that took 5+ mins to boot. Assignments only accepted as stuff shared through Google Drive. Assignments given as stuff shared through GDrive. Automatically created Google accounts. Entire classes spent explaining how to use GDrive and GDocs. Not to mention all the Macs and the Magic Mice™ that have one button and a mind of their own...This is what it's like even in the best schools in the country. I was privileged enough to be raised in a state that is, arguably depending on the metrics, within the top 5 best-educated states in the US.Just another reason I'll be yeeting myself outta here as soon as I can.
(DIR) Post #9sLKHQjKtj36ewvDvc by Galena@gameliberty.club
2020-02-23T22:22:08Z
5 likes, 2 repeats
@mewmew @shahaan @Kat Welcome to the modern schooling system. Schools are not places meant for learning anymore. They're places where the next generation of cattle are indoctrinated into happy little slaves, mindlessly worshipping the state and their corporate overlords.
(DIR) Post #9sMknViAhmFXLEILgG by ewaf@ewaf.club
2020-02-24T14:53:58.514118Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Kat @shahaan omg. you care about privacy? arE yOu a fUcKinG PeDopHile oR sOmEthiNg?