Pupils and parents failed by the “mess” of education apps

Low-quality apps with security flaws are being foisted on schoolchildren, Stewart Mitchell discovers

Education admin apps are being imposed on pupils and parents with little regard for quality, privacy or choice, according to experts in the sector, who describe this unregulated apps ecosystem as a “mess”. The admin apps are used by schools to communicate with parents and pupils, logging attendance, recording homework and often containing bundles of personal information. But the landscape has become a worrying free-for-all, exacerbated by a pandemic that’s forced schools to react quickly to home learning. Anyone can set up any app and sell it to schools, and therefore have access to thousands of children’s personal, sensitive data without any independent oversight or assessment of safety, quality or pedagogy,” explained Jen Persson, director of Defenddigitalme, a children’s rights group. “The education technology sector is a mess.” At the heart of the…

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PC Pro (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 2021

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