Sarah and I were born in the year of Beyonce. We’re old enough to remember Oregon Trail as a reward for keeping our desks clean. The pitch for edtech then was that it would help kids learn faster, better, more affordably, and more humanely.

A generation later, edtech is the default mode of learning. Playing the Oregon Trail was like having a dessert at school. For my daughters, learning via software is almost the whole meal.

I have all kinds of concerns about the status quo. Now, a class action lawsuit against Curriculum Associates (maker of i-Ready software) raises a new one: data collection and student privacy.

Links:

* The history of learning, instructional design, and educational technology (EdTech Books)

* Martin Weller, twenty years of ed tech (EDUCAUSE Review)

* How to tell if an ed tech product is working (The 74)

* Teachers on Chromebooks in the classroom (NY Times Upshot)

* The ed tech industry’s post-pandemic evolution (Softices)

* The class action complaint against Curriculum Associates (edtech.law)

* Curriculum Associates’ motion to dismiss (edtech.law)

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