We do not claim that data has no place in higher education. We are interested in the wider consequences of surveillance practices and the often uncritical ways they have been adopted into higher education.
Risks
- learners and learning relationships
- academics and professional staff
- reinforcing the extractive economy
- increasing inequalities
Examples
- Students Are Pushing Back Against Proctoring Surveillance Apps, EFF
- Teach-In Against Surveillance, A Fundraiser in Defence of Ian Linkletter
- Turnitin To Be Acquired by Advance Publications for $1.75B, EdSurge
- UK ditches exam results generated by biased algorithm after student protests, The Verge
” Without intervention, the overall impact of these practices in higher education will mirror those in the wider society: the rise of cultures of policing and carceral technologies, attacks on the dignity of human beings, and the algorithmic embedding and enhancement of biases that reinforce racism, sexism, and structural inequality.”
Beetham, H., Collier, A., Czerniewicz, L., Lamb, B., Lin, Y., Ross, J., Scott, A-M. & Wilson, A. (2022) Surveillance Practices, Risks and Responses in the Post Pandemic University. Digital Culture & Education, 14(1), 16-37 URL: https://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/volume-14-1
Provide an overview of the challenges that problematic surveillance practices pose to the academy, and why it is important to understand and respond to them (10 minutes).