Anybody's kids been given school gmail/google accounts?

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#765812 19-Feb-2013 14:51

How is it any different to if they had a student email address hosted at the school. From memory mine used to be first.last@student.schoolname.school.nz and was hosted on site, we used Pegasus Mail!

mattwnz

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#765824 19-Feb-2013 15:11

The other thing to consider is how much private information google is getting from the child, and tracking. Also what is posted on google + could be there forever, and a child needs to understand what they post on it is regarded a publication. So are schools taking responsibility for anything that is posted? I think the laws on this however need a big overhaul to keep up with technology changes.
Not sure if google(being an overseas company) has to operate to NZs privacy laws. I work to the motto that nothing is really free.

Klipspringer

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#765825 19-Feb-2013 15:12

lxsw20: How is it any different to if they had a student email address hosted at the school. From memory mine used to be first.last@student.schoolname.school.nz and was hosted on site, we used Pegasus Mail!

Well I suppose its similar.
Except that the school is not only giving the kids email accounts. Its also giving them google+ accounts (against googles own policies).

So in my opinion its no different to the school supplying the underage kids with facebook accounts.

Glassboy

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#765828 19-Feb-2013 15:15

So in my opinion its no different to the school supplying the underage kids with facebook accounts.

A good proportion of primary school children already have Facebook accounts.

mattwnz

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#765829 19-Feb-2013 15:16

Glassboy:
So in my opinion its no different to the school supplying the underage kids with facebook accounts.

A good proportion of primary school children already have Facebook accounts.

I presume they would have breached to terms to get it though. eg entered in a fake age

Klipspringer

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#765834 19-Feb-2013 15:20

Glassboy:
So in my opinion its no different to the school supplying the underage kids with facebook accounts.

A good proportion of primary school children already have Facebook accounts.

Yes I know.

And thats against facebooks terms and conditions

Facebook requires everyone to be at least 13 years old before they can create an account (in some jurisdictions, this age limit may be higher). Creating an account with false info is a violation of our terms. This includes accounts registered on the behalf of someone under 13.

https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms

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Glassboy

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#765837 19-Feb-2013 15:21

mattwnz: I presume they would have breached to terms to get it though. eg entered in a fake age

Or their parents entered the fake age. US laws don't transfer into other countries sensibilities, and mechanisms like film censorship don't transfer well to computer based gaming.

Facebook doesn't care. Try getting a pre-13yo ToSed.

Kyanar

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#765838 19-Feb-2013 15:22

1080p: This is an interesting issue. If the Google accounts are managed by the school then I suppose the students lose them when they graduate. I wonder what the school policy for data retention is in this case.

Since every account costs money, it is highly likely the account is outright deleted upon graduation. And since retention is an expensive extra feature...

Klipspringer

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#765840 19-Feb-2013 15:25

Kyanar:
1080p: This is an interesting issue. If the Google accounts are managed by the school then I suppose the students lose them when they graduate. I wonder what the school policy for data retention is in this case.

Since every account costs money, it is highly likely the account is outright deleted upon graduation. And since retention is an expensive extra feature...

Google apps for education is totally free.

Hence the large uptake by many schools to use it.

mattwnz: I work to the motto that nothing is really free.

Agreed. If you not paying for It, then you the product.

Klipspringer

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#765849 19-Feb-2013 15:43

Glassboy:
mattwnz: I presume they would have breached to terms to get it though. eg entered in a fake age

Or their parents entered the fake age. US laws don't transfer into other countries sensibilities, and mechanisms like film censorship don't transfer well to computer based gaming.

Facebook doesn't care. Try getting a pre-13yo ToSed.

Facebook does care.

There is a form that you can use to report an underage child on facebook.

Google+ Does not seem to have the same thing.

boby55

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#765869 19-Feb-2013 16:47

My little Brothers (11) intermediate class were told by their teacher to Lie about their age when signing up for a gmail account.

I don't think a Google Apps account is a bad thing IF it is managed correctly by the schools Administrators E.g Disable Google+ on the accounts etc.

I think it comes down to alot of the primary schools only have technicians in x number of mornings a week and not full time so rely on the teachers knowledge (Or little of it) to manage these things.

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Bee

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#765872 19-Feb-2013 16:57

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/8322940/Man-faces-Facebook-photo-charges

I dont condone the crime but 11 year olds shouldnt be on facebook to start with!

If everyone obeyed the Facebook rules then things like this wouldn't happen.

Certainly wont allow my 8 year old daughter near email or facebook etc for a few years yet!

Doing your best is much more important than being the best.

naggyman

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#765882 19-Feb-2013 17:35

1080p: This is an interesting issue. If the Google accounts are managed by the school then I suppose the students lose them when they graduate. I wonder what the school policy for data retention is in this case.

At my high school (That doesn't use Google Apps for Education) our 'S' drives get emptied every year, we get no choice in it.

Morgan French-Stagg

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scuwp

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#765902 19-Feb-2013 19:08

Son started year 7 this year. While it was elective he has been enrolled in a 'laptop' class with the obvious tech connotations around that. Yes he has a Gmail account (needed it for his Android cellphone anyway) and my understanding is that they use Google Docs, +, and Drive at school. Use is heavily wrapped up in good behavior agreements signed by both parents and children, and the penalties for breaches are substantial and swift. Basically this is a privilege, abuse it and your ou-ta-here!

As for data they could easily back up their work to the C drive.

Personally I don't have any concerns. This is the way the world is moving, and the kids need to get on board pronto.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

mattwnz

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#765933 19-Feb-2013 20:10

scuwp:

Personally I don't have any concerns. This is the way the world is moving, and the kids need to get on board pronto.

True, but our laws haven't kept up. One example is that anything that is published on google + is treated as a 'publication' , so I wonder who is liable for any defamatory comments that maybe made. It does essentially give kids as much as a voice as adults. Also could be used against kids in future jobs, as checking peoples online footprint is what employers now do. A lot of kids do some pretty stupid things from time to time. Once something is online, it's out there forever.
Maybe they should have a google+ / facebook system just for kids, so only people under a certain age can view those posts.

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