This year of learning in a pandemic has seen new devices and other hardware brought to the schoolhouse, new learning platforms and applications provided to support instruction, and, for many students, new types of engagement with curriculum and classmates. The devices and applications intended to manage students’ learning experience bring a surveillance stance that exists in uncomfortable tension with the environment needed for students’ exploration, creativity, and digital literacy and fluency to grow. 

In his book, Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity, author Scott Galloway shares thoughts on the ways the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the pace of change in several fields — including education. For schools leading hybrid learning this year, an entire industry swiftly evolved to provide swiveling iPad stands, 360-degree classroom webcams that respond to students’ voices, and other unique audio and video set-ups for this unique moment in educational time. In addition to a hardware boom, the rapid pivot from face-to-face to remote learning necessitated by the arrival of COVID-19 prompted a rapid rise in the use of Zoom, Nearpod, Seesaw, and dozens of other applications. As educators’ familiarity with technology platforms increased, so did their questions about the management of these apps and the…