4 questions parents should ask about educational tech during COVID-19

• About 1.5 billion children globally are out of school due to COVID-19.
• Many parents are turning to online education technology, but is it safe?
• Here are four questions to ask, including: does the technology prioritize privacy?

With 1.5 billion children globally out of school due to COVID-19, many parents with access to technology and internet are increasingly turning to online education technology, smart toys, and video games to keep their kids learning at home. Kids are using Zoom for classes and video calls, YouTube for education and leisure, online EdTech to learn, and videogames for entertainment.

Yet little governance is in place to regulate these tools and services. When children begin to use an online learning tool or smart toy at home, their parent or guardian consents to the Terms of Service, but few parents read the Terms of Use in detail, and even fewer have the time and legal or technical knowledge required to understand the lengthy document.

With children and youth extremely vulnerable to risks posed by technology, ethics and governance are urgently required during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. When deciding whether technology is safe and educational for their children, parents and guardians should ask four questions about education, safety and privacy, responsible use, and inclusion and fairness.

What is the World Economic Forum doing about the coronavirus outbreak?

A new strain of Coronavirus, COVID 19, is spreading around the world, causing deaths and major disruption to the global economy.

Responding to this crisis requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forum’s mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

The Forum has created the COVID Action Platform, a global platform to convene the business community for collective action, protect people’s livelihoods and facilitate business continuity, and mobilize support for the COVID-19 response. The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.

As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched – bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.

1. Does the technology have a strong educational foundation and encourage creativity?

The technology should have a clear pedagogical foundation for teaching children and provide data to demonstrate its educational value and impact. Not every EdTech product like the app Bedtime Math will have a peer-reviewed study to support it, but they should provide quantitative analyses of their impact. Parents can also look for research-based evaluations from third parties, like Common Sense Media.

Simply teaching skills is not enough: The technology should also encourage creativity and independent thought. Technology can enhance and not hinder creativity, and students who have creativity incorporated into their curricula have better learning outcomes, according to a Gallup Education study. EdTech should leverage technology to promote creativity and critical thinking, and not limit children to think within the constraints of a program or game.

2. Does the technology protect the child, prioritize privacy, and safely store the child’s data?

The technology should have clear safety policies in place to protect children from potential bullying, harassment, exploitation or other security risks. If children can communicate with other users on the platform or within a game, they are extremely vulnerable, and parents might find it challenging to track their online activity and communications.

The technology should also have a well-defined privacy policy and allow parents and guardians to opt-in to data collection for children and youth – both younger and older than 13. The technology should exceed the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which gives parents control over information collected about their children. COPPA requires websites to provide privacy and information policies to parents and receive their verifiable consent before collecting personal information about their children younger than 13. Common Sense Media provides privacy ratings for education apps and websites, and curates a list of resources with “solid privacy policies.”

If parents choose to allow the technology to gather data, it should have clear safeguards in place to protect the data and anonymize it for internal use and to prevent potential hackers from identifying children if the data is stolen. Parents should also check to ensure that the technology does not sell children’s data to third parties unless parents provide consent, which they should carefully consider with the understanding that personal data is sold widely within the private sector.

3. Is the technology designed for responsible use and to prevent addiction?

Many technologies are designed to maximize use, and many smart toys and games are inherently addictive. The technology should have limits in place to discourage children from overuse. Parents should encourage children to moderate their use of technology and should lead by example. Children ages 2 to 5 should spend no more than one hour of screen time per day and parents of children over 5 should have “consistent” limits on screen time, according to the Academy of American Pediatrics.

But COVID-19 makes these guidelines challenging—if not impossible—for many families. Even UNICEF is rethinking their screen time guidelines. Jenny Radesky, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan and author of the AAP guidelines, tweeted AAP’s current advice during COVID, which included, “Challenge your children to practice ‘tech self-control’ and turn off tech themselves.” But as a mother herself, she admits that during COVID this advice is challenging and explains, “I’m making this up as I go, too!”

4. Is the technology inclusive, fair and unbiased?

The technology should make clear that it is designed for a broad base of diverse children to use. Some technologies are designed for a specific child consumer in mind, but all technologies should be designed to promote accessibility for all potential users regardless of ability, language, or potential visual, auditory, or other impairments.

If the technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning such as facial recognition, parents must also ensure that it is fair and unbiased. Many AI models struggle with bias against certain groups. The technology should make clear that it treats all children fairly and prevents bias or discrimination based on age, gender identity, ethnicity, or any other demographic characteristics.