Why Smart Bosses Let Employees Turn Off Their Cameras During Zoom and MS Teams Meetings
The pressure to perform for the camera is draining–and distracts from pursuing meaningful outcomes.
https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/why-smart-bosses-let-employees-turn-off-their-cameras-during-zoom-ms-teams-meetings.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/738496626781038/
Almost never did everyone feel that everyone else in the meeting was looking at them — or at the very least could be looking at them — at all times.
And then there’s the pressure to respond quickly: A 2014 study showed that delays in replying to a question or prompt as short as 1.2 seconds made other people in a teleconference perceive the responder as less focused.
Great bosses lead and manage by meaningful expectations and meaningful deliverables.
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more on webcam policies in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=webcam+policy
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/706123016685066/
Does your college/university have an official policy on webcams on/off during Zoom classes?
Do you, as faculty, have something written in the syllabus that addresses the issue?
I am a part of a college-wide sub committee, and we are looking for best practices. Personally, I feel uneasy teaching to black rectangles.
https://higheredpraxis.substack.com/p/tip-dont-require-cameras-on
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more on webcams in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=webcam
Our Bodies Encoded: Algorithmic Test Proctoring in Higher Education
https://hybridpedagogy.org/our-bodies-encoded-algorithmic-test-proctoring-in-higher-education/
While in-person test proctoring has been used to combat test-based cheating, this can be difficult to translate to online courses. Ed-tech companies have sought to address this concern by offering to watch students take online tests, in real time, through their webcams.
Some of the more prominent companies offering these services include Proctorio, Respondus, ProctorU, HonorLock, Kryterion Global Testing Solutions, and Examity.
Algorithmic test proctoring’s settings have discriminatory consequences across multiple identities and serious privacy implications.
While racist technology calibrated for white skin isn’t new (everything from photography to soap dispensers do this), we see it deployed through face detection and facial recognition used by algorithmic proctoring systems.
While some test proctoring companies develop their own facial recognition software, most purchase software developed by other companies, but these technologies generally function similarly and have shown a consistent inability to identify people with darker skin or even tell the difference between Chinese people. Facial recognition literally encodes the invisibility of Black people and the racist stereotype that all Asian people look the same.
As Os Keyes has demonstrated, facial recognition has a terrible history with gender. This means that a software asking students to verify their identity is compromising for students who identify as trans, non-binary, or express their gender in ways counter to cis/heteronormativity.
These features and settings create a system of asymmetric surveillance and lack of accountability, things which have always created a risk for abuse and sexual harassment. Technologies like these have a long history of being abused, largely by heterosexual men at the expense of women’s bodies, privacy, and dignity.
Their promotional messaging functions similarly to dog whistle politics which is commonly used in anti-immigration rhetoric. It’s also not a coincidence that these technologies are being used to exclude people not wanted by an institution; biometrics and facial recognition have been connected to anti-immigration policies, supported by both Republican and Democratic administrations, going back to the 1990’s.
Borrowing from Henry A. Giroux, Kevin Seeber describes the pedagogy of punishment and some of its consequences in regards to higher education’s approach to plagiarism in his book chapter “The Failed Pedagogy of Punishment: Moving Discussions of Plagiarism beyond Detection and Discipline.”
my note: I am repeating this for years
Sean Michael Morris and Jesse Stommel’s ongoing critique of Turnitin, a plagiarism detection software, outlines exactly how this logic operates in ed-tech and higher education: 1) don’t trust students, 2) surveil them, 3) ignore the complexity of writing and citation, and 4) monetize the data.
Technological Solutionism
Cheating is not a technological problem, but a social and pedagogical problem.
Our habit of believing that technology will solve pedagogical problems is endemic to narratives produced by the ed-tech community and, as Audrey Watters writes, is tied to the Silicon Valley culture that often funds it. Scholars have been dismantling the narrative of technological solutionism and neutrality for some time now. In her book “Algorithms of Oppression,” Safiya Umoja Noble demonstrates how the algorithms that are responsible for Google Search amplify and “reinforce oppressive social relationships and enact new modes of racial profiling.”
Anna Lauren Hoffmann, who coined the term “data violence” to describe the impact harmful technological systems have on people and how these systems retain the appearance of objectivity despite the disproportionate harm they inflict on marginalized communities.
This system of measuring bodies and behaviors, associating certain bodies and behaviors with desirability and others with inferiority, engages in what Lennard J. Davis calls the Eugenic Gaze.
Higher education is deeply complicit in the eugenics movement. Nazism borrowed many of its ideas about racial purity from the American school of eugenics, and universities were instrumental in supporting eugenics research by publishing copious literature on it, establishing endowed professorships, institutes, and scholarly societies that spearheaded eugenic research and propaganda.
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more on privacy in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=privacy
Are your phone camera and microphone spying on you?
Dylan Curran Fri 6 Apr 2018 09.11 EDT
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/06/phone-camera-microphone-spying
Apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Viber
Felix Krause described in 2017 that when a user grants an app access to their camera and microphone, the app could do the following:
- Access both the front and the back camera.
- Record you at any time the app is in the foreground.
- Take pictures and videos without telling you.
- Upload the pictures and videos without telling you.
- Upload the pictures/videos it takes immediately.
- Run real-time face recognition to detect facial features or expressions.
- Livestream the camera on to the internet.
- Detect if the user is on their phone alone, or watching together with a second person.
- Upload random frames of the video stream to your web service and run a proper face recognition software which can find existing photos of you on the internet and create a 3D model based on your face.
For instance, here’s a Find my Phone application which a documentary maker installed on a phone, then let someone steal it. After the person stole it, the original owner spied on every moment of the thief’s life through the phone’s camera and microphone.
The government
- Edward Snowden revealed an NSA program called Optic Nerves. The operation was a bulk surveillance program under which they captured webcam images every five minutes from Yahoo users’ video chats and then stored them for future use. It is estimated that between 3% and 11% of the images captured contained “undesirable nudity”.
- Government security agencies like the NSA can also have access to your devices through in-built backdoors. This means that these security agencies can tune in to your phone calls, read your messages, capture pictures of you, stream videos of you, read your emails, steal your files … at any moment they please.
Hackers
Hackers can also gain access to your device with extraordinary ease via apps, PDF files, multimedia messages and even emojis.
An application called Metasploit on the ethical hacking platform Kali uses an Adobe Reader 9 (which over 60% of users still use) exploit to open a listener (rootkit) on the user’s computer. You alter the PDF with the program, send the user the malicious file, they open it, and hey presto – you have total control over their device remotely.
Once a user opens this PDF file, the hacker can then:
- Install whatever software/app they like on the user’s device.
- Use a keylogger to grab all of their passwords.
- Steal all documents from the device.
- Take pictures and stream videos from their camera.
- Capture past or live audio from the microphone.
- Upload incriminating images/documents to their PC, and notify the police.
And, if it’s not enough that your phone is tracking you – surveillance cameras in shops and streets are tracking you, too
- You might even be on this website, InSeCam, which allows ordinary people online to watch surveillance cameras free of charge. It even allows you to search cameras by location, city, time zone, device manufacturer, and specify whether you want to see a kitchen, bar, restaurant or bedroom.
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more on privacy in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=privacy
more on surveillance in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=surveillance
My Favorite Screencasting Tool Now Works on Chromebooks
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2018/02/my-favorite-screencasting-tool-now.html
There is a free version and a paid “pro” version of Screencast-o-Matic. The free version will let you record for up to 15 minutes, record as many videos as you like, save to your Google Drive or local drive, and use your webcam while recording a screencast. The pro version removes the time limit, removes the Screencast-o-Matic watermark, enables cursor highlighting (that yellow circle you see on my screencast videos), enables drawing tools, and enables access to the offline editor.
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more on screen capture and screencast in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=screencast
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=lecture+capture
Steve Hoover, Counseling class – best options for recording coaching sessions
Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technology to provide clinical health care from a distance. It has been used to overcome distance barriers and to improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural communities. It is also used to save lives in critical care and emergency situations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemedicine
https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/telemed/index.html
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Video recording:
- camera / phone
- desktop (webcam)
- SCSU supportted
- third party
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2015/10/21/handout-videos-on-mobile-devices/
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2016/08/26/quality-videos-quickly/
You’ve Been Hacked! Explaining Cybersecurity to Students in an Interconnected Era
By Jacob Batchelor 06/01/17
https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/06/01/youve-been-hacked-explaining-cybersecurity-to-students-in-an-interconnected-era.aspx
Here’s an easy way to explain IoT hacks to students:
- A hacker accesses a device, like a webcam, through its internet connection. Devices with weak security or easy-to-guess passwords make easy targets.
- The hacker can then infect the device with malware, a type of computer virus that takes control of a device.
- The hacker now has a number of options. He or she can use the device to spy, infect other devices or attack a target like the servers (centralized computers that store network data) targeted in the October 2016 attack.
- Research the manufacturer. Are they reputable? Have they previously been hacked? Big, established companies based in developed countries are usually the safest.
- Read up on security features. Is the device password-protected? Can you set your own password? If so, make it a strong password that uses numbers, letters and symbols — avoid common words or phrases.
- Regularly check for updates. Good companies will regularly update the software on their devices to protect against vulnerabilities.
- Ask yourself — do you need it? Make sure internet-connectivity is something you really need on the device you’re using. In many cases, internet-connectivity is not necessary for the device to function properly.
a few tips that students can use to protect their privacy while using smartphones:
- Research apps before signing up for them. Is it from a reputable developer? Has it had security issues in the past? Use the same approach as when researching IoT devices.
- Look over the terms of service. What information does it require? Does it track or store your data? Can the developer sell your information? All of these questions are important to consider.
- Be careful when linking apps to your social media accounts. Giving apps access to your social media accounts makes them vulnerable to hacking. Is there a good reason for the accounts to be linked? Can you sign up without linking to a social media account?
- Use two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication requires authorization beyond a password when using unrecognized devices such as entering a code sent to your cellphone. As apps allow, be sure to use two-factor authentication which will make it more difficult for hackers to access the information stored in your apps.
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more on hackers in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=hacker
Future Trends Forum with Special Guest Paul Signorelli
https://events.shindig.com/event/ftf-signorelli
February 23, 2:00 – 3:00pm (EST)
Future Trends Forum hosted by Bryan Alexander will address the most powerful forces of change in academia. The founder of the online blog Future Trends in Technology and Education has begun this weekly forum to enliven the discussion around the pressing issues at the cross roads of education and technology through weekly online video chat conversations where practitioners in the field can contribute and share their most recent experiences.
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Paul Signorelli, co-author of Workplace Learning & Leadership with Lori Reed, helps clients and colleagues explore, foster, and document innovations in learning to produce concrete results. He also is heavily engaged in supporting team-building and communities of collaboration. As a San Francisco-based writer, trainer, instructional designer, and consultant, he designs and facilitates learning opportunities for a variety of clients, helps others become familiar with e-learning, social media, MOOCs, mobile technology, innovations in learning spaces, and community partnerships (onsite and online) to creatively facilitate positive change within organizations. He has served on advisory boards/expert panels for the New Media Consortium Horizon Project documenting educational technology trends and challenges since 2010; remains active locally and nationally in the Association for Talent Development (formerly the American Society for Training & Development); and facilitates webinars for the American Library Association and other learning organizations. His most recent work remains focused on connectivist MOOCs (massive open online courses) and building sustainable onsite and online communities and partnerships. Signorelli earned an MLIS through the University of North Texas (with an emphasis on online learning) and an M.A. in Arts Administration at Golden Gate University (San Francisco); blogs at http://buildingcreativebridges.wordpress.com; and can be reached at paul@paulsignorelli.com.
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First-time users: upon entering the room, click “Allow” to the Flash prompt requesting access to your webcam. (Chrome users may need to click Allow a second time).
Note: The Shindig app currently only supports interacting with the featured speakers through text. To fully enjoy the Shindig experience and be enabled to ask video chat questions of the speaker or video chat privately with other participants, please log in from a computer with webcam and microphone capabilities.
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more on Bryan Alexander in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=bryan+alexander
Creating Collaborative, Interactive & Engaging Online Learning Environments with Shindig
Shindig Interactive Video Chat for Canvas LMS, February 6, 2:00 – 3:00pm (EST)
Shindig recently announced its integration with Canvas by Instructure, bringing the former’s video chat platform to the learning management system.
Attend this webinar to learn how instructors can instantly schedule, customize and launch Shindig sessions directly from within the Canvas LMS, as well as automatically add the video chat sessions to students’ schedules.
Learn about the positive impact of collaborative and interactive learning environments on student success first-hand from educators and instructional technologists from leading universities. This session will highlight different use cases Shindig can be utilized for, including course delivery, office hours, guest speakers, workshops and more.
Early adopters of the Shindig platform will also be sharing highlight videos of their use of the platform and answering questions attendees may have.
Shindig Early Adopter Guest Speakers:
- Michael Angilletta, Professor & Senior Sustainability Scholar, Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs, Arizona State University
Note: Watch the brief tutorial video, Canvas for Shindig
The Shindig Canvas plugin is available for free on a public GitHub Repo. Once the plugin is installed in the university’s LMS, IT administrators can contact Shindig for an API key to enable the creation of on-demand Shindig sessions in Canvas. The company is offering each Canvas client institution 10 free Shindig sessions of up to 1,000 attendees.
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First-time users: upon entering the room, click “Allow” to the Flash prompt requesting access to your webcam. (Chrome users may need to click Allow a second time).
Note: The Shindig app currently only supports interacting with the featured speakers through text. To fully enjoy the Shindig experience and be enabled to ask video chat questions of the speaker or video chat privately with other participants, please log in from a computer with webcam and microphone capabilities.