With the advent of interactive technology, children may have enhanced digital television experiences, but they also have more control over what they see. But the advocacy group Children Now says interactive technology "also opens the door to intrusive advertising practices on digital television, similar to those currently used on the Internet." Read more from Children Now.
When computer or video games incorporate advertisements, childrens' exposure time is drastically increased. How are children affected? The only study of "advergaming" was done the Kaiser Family Foundation.
eLearning Industry tested and made a review of Google Classroom, in which they highlighted many positive and negative aspects. Among Classroom's strengths, the review highlighted ease of use, universal device accessibility, use of
Google Drive as an effective way for teachers to quickly share assignments with students, the paperless process meaning the end of printing, handing out, and potentially losing work, and the fast feedback system between students and teachers.
Among Classroom's disadvantages, the review highlighted the service's heavy integration of Google apps and services with limited or no support for external files or services, lack of automated quizzes and tests, and a lack of discussion forums or live chats that can aid in feedback efforts.
Google has been criticized for allegedly data mining students' browsing history, searches, and another usage of services for advertising. In April 2014, Google announced that it would stop
scanning students' Gmail messages for advertising purposes,
following privacy concerns.
TechCrunch wrote that, while ads weren't included in the education program, data and information learned from users through the program was used to show advertisements at later times in other areas.
On December 1, 2015, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, alleging that Google "broke a pledge to honor student privacy with its educational tools". EFF staff attorney Sophia Cope stated that "We are calling on the FTC to investigate Google's conduct,
stop the company from using student personal information for its own purposes, and order the company to destroy all information it has collected that's not for educational purposes".
Google responded the following day: "While we appreciate the EFF’s focus on student data privacy, we are confident that our tools comply with both the law and our promises, including the Student Privacy Pledge, which we signed earlier this year".
The Foundation made new allegations against Google in April 2017, focusing particularly on the company's actions of "dumping millions of low-cost Chromebooks on U.S. schools, enabling the mass collection and storage of information on children without the consent of their parents".
Sell Things On eBayFor those looking to make some extra cash, getting an account on eBay is another good solution. What is interesting about it is that it’s free! It also provides sellers and buyers with operational control. This means that you can post and buy products online with no added fees.
There are also further requirements such as deciding on the products to sell, opening a PayPal account, etc. Remember to always start small. There are many things you can sell on eBay ranging from used electronics that you don’t need anymore to crafts that you’ve made such as art pieces. You could also talk to manufacturers of certain goods and have an online shop where you sell the merchandise for a profit. Some also sell eBooks. The possibilities on eBay are endless, just use your imagination!
- Luckerson, Victor (January 14, 2015). "Google Is Bringing the Paperless Classroom to Teachers' Phones". Time. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- "Privacy & Security Information". Google for Education. Google. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- Pappas, Christopher (August 20, 2015). "Google Classroom Review: Pros And Cons Of Using Google Classroom In eLearning". eLearning Industry. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
- Warren, Tom (April 30, 2014). "Google stops scanning student Gmail accounts following privacy concerns". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- Etherington, Darrell (April 30, 2014). "Google Stops Mining Education Gmail And Google Apps Accounts For Ad Targeting". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- Robertson, Adi (December 1, 2015). "EFF complaint says Google broke privacy pledge by tracking students". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- Olanoff, Drew (December 2, 2015). "Google To EFF On Student Privacy: “Our Tools Comply With Both The Law And Our Promises”". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- Dilger, Daniel Eran (April 19, 2017). "EFF: Google Chromebook is still spying on grade school students". AppleInsider. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
