30 Posts from April 2021

Kean University 2021, The Network

Institutional responsibility & #againstsurveillance

mzamora on April 17, 2021April 17, 2021

Thanks to all of you for another thoughtful evening with excellent conversations, covering some heavy hitting issues for the post-pandemic university: proctoring technology and software, as well as the institutional role in ensuring equitable and just environments for higher education. Despite the open admittance that your collective hearts felt burdened on Thursday evening (and that you have considerable challenges on your plate – both medical and stress-related), you all “showed up” with a thoughtful engagement of this work. Thanks to […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Introversion amidst Lockdown

hgatica on April 15, 2021April 16, 2021

For the final week, I wanted to set my focus on the effect of COVID-19 on introverts, as I feel I relate to this topic the most. To do so, I spent some time focused on reading For introverts, the COVID-19 lockdown has an upside. “Could the online teaching and learning space be the buffer that introverted students needed in order to quietly get on with the job?” That question stuck out to me the most as I’ve read through. […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

The Need to Move Forward

vickbwrites on April 15, 2021

This week I will be the tour guide for Brenna Clark Gray’s “Digital Detox #6: Build Back Better.” I will be focusing on Gray’s mention of the lack of care at the institutional level. With the current ongoing pandemic, it should come as no surprise that students have encountered difficulties with schooling. Through the quick shift from face-to-face instruction to virtual learning, students are exhausted but let’s not only think of them. Educators are the ones presenting these new technological […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Take Me Down To Surveillance City!

thesunthatruns on April 15, 2021April 15, 2021

Everything shut down except for one thing. There was no sound of the TV on in the background. My parents sat across from one another in a completely different room, trying their best to not even let their spoons clink against their bowls. Every window in the house was slammed shut. There was no gentle hum of the dishwasher. Our family home had almost turned into a metered parking spot; sure, this wasn’t going to be permanent, but at the […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Proctor Software

krock5228 on April 15, 2021

In this new world that we are living in, we are evolving and finding new ways for us to do things. WIth this wave of online instruction in classrooms at all levels, we are seeing an emergence in all new types of technology. Some of it is very useful and important to the classroom setting. Other forms of technology leave some room for questions. Specifically, I question the need and importance of proctoring technology in the context of online schooling. […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

The Mechanics of Care

M.E. O'Neill on April 14, 2021

This week’s readings show how much harm institutions can cause when they ignore the voices of teachers and students. First, there’s Jason Kelley’s “Students Are Pushing Back Against Proctoring Surveillance Apps,” which describes how students in various universities are fighting against restrictive and inequitable test-proctoring software such as Proctorio. Before I get into too much detail about the pitfalls of this software, I want to mention that I think asking students to take exams at all during this pandemic is […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Push Back

blueknights on April 14, 2021

The invasive proctoring apps have not only been a danger to privacy groups but also students. Jason posits that numerous petitions have been signed across the nation and world where students have been pushing teachers and school administrators to consider what the app is creating. Schools have to consider this degree of organized activism where students from different universities keep pushing against proctoring surveillance apps. For instance, students from the University of Texas, Dallas, have been petitioning their college to […]

#unboundeq, Kean University 2021, The Network

Admin … Oye.

teacheng on April 13, 2021

Brenna Clark Gray said, “Our institution is in the middle of a discussion about adopting a new technology, and it’s very clear that the folks in charge thought they were just purchasing a logistical solution to a problem.” This is also the main idea as to what Hugo’s piece entitled, Students Are Pushing Back Against Proctoring Surveillance Apps, is really all about as well. Jason Kelley spoke about in great detail how one university and institution after another is petitioning […]

collective action, Kean University 2021, The Network

The Way Forward

agently on April 13, 2021

The readings this week present a way forward. In Kelley’s article “Students Are Pushing Back Against Proctoring Surveillance Apps” we get a jumping off point from which we can follow a trail of hyperlinks on how to address issues of surveillance and privacy in education. The emphasis is on raising awareness, asking questions, rallying with others who are impacted, and holding those in authority accountable for making the necessary changes policy-wise. “Digital Detox #6: Build Back Better” serves as an […]

Ch 11: #Againstsurveillance, Kean University 2021, The Network

Us vs. Them

jessielb928 on April 12, 2021April 12, 2021

In a world where internet has taken over the majority, if not everyone’s lives, there is still discussion about privacy. Privacy on a platform where once something is put up, will most likely be available for people to see (depending on who they are of course). Tracy Zhang led the research and writing on the article Students Are Pushing Back Against Proctoring Surveillance Apps, presenting information that focuses on how huge populations of university students fighting for their right to […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Thinking about race and technology in #NetNarr

mzamora on April 10, 2021April 10, 2021

As we delve deeper into the realm surveillance in the age of big data and algorithms, we also Connie to consider implications for the post-pandemic university. Here are the agenda slides from class last time we met. What a pleasure to kick off our #netnarr class time with a special Studio Visit conversation with scholar/researcher Chris Gilliard. He really opened up an understanding of what is at stake regarding surveillance technologies, and we were able to hear a bit more […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Against Surveillance

hgatica on April 7, 2021

For next week’s class, I’ve looked into and will try and present information regarding students fighting back against surveillance apps in their classes. I knew a bit of what went into these programs, but I also found myself falling down a rabbit hole learning about what more is there. Most of what I found is alarming, and something that shouldn’t be a thing when it is something that is benefitting virtual schools in a time where we really need it. […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Catching our Breath

krock5228 on April 1, 2021

I am going to be honest, I am very much looking forward to this week’s class to discuss the “Catching our Breath” reading, because I just did not understand it all that much. I get that we are talking about race, but adding in the technology angle muddied things a little bit for me. Just to briefly point out some things that stuck out to me, is this notion of technology being a metaphor for race. It is just another […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Searching for Hope

vickbwrites on April 1, 2021

Ruha Benjamin’s “Catching Our Breath: Critical Race STS and the Carceral Imagination” continues last week’s conversation regarding the biases and discrimination one faces due to technology. The question “Why didn’t sociologists foresee the explosion of collective action of Negro Americans toward immediate and full integration in American society” struck me. When reading classmate’s blogs, it was mentioned that Benjamin “makes a strong point against sociologists who did not pay enough attention towards fights for racial equality. If sociologists want to […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Right Foot Yellow, Tech Is Not Mellow

thesunthatruns on April 1, 2021April 1, 2021

Well, it’s been quite the week in every which way so far! Between the developments in the worlds of the Mets and Devils and the macrosystems of the MLB and NHL, and not to mention the personal milestones I hit this week, I feel like I’m in a never-ending game of Twister, and oh would you look at that my left hand needs to go to green! So, this week is going to be shorter. Nevertheless, I’m going to compartmentalize […]