Gates Foundation Launches Giant Database on School Children 'inBloom'
Gates Foundation Launches Giant Database on School
Children 'inBloom'
Private information for over 11 million students is being
collected
2.24.2014 Trey
Sanchez
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave $100 million
to fund a giant database to collect private information of American school
children starting in early education and extending all the way through high
school.
Promoted as a technological tool to help teachers tailor
education to the individual needs of students, inBloom is a database that
stores student's scores, attendance, special needs, disabilities, etc. The
intent is to exploit the technology that is available today to replace
antiquated paper records.
Launched in February of 2013, inBloom is working with
nine states representing over 11 million students. The nonprofit organization
was launched to help educators keep up with the ever changing standards of
state Common Core education.
So far, the states include Colorado, Delaware, Georgia,
Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York and North Carolina.
Security concerns have been addressed in the FAQ section
of the website. However, many parents are still concerned that very personal data
of their children could be vulnerable or fall into the wrong hands. Over
privacy concerns, MoveOn.org began a petition to stop the New York State
Education Department from collecting this information without parental consent.
So far, over 4,000 signatures have been attained. And in at least one school
district of New York, a delay was issued in schools releasing student
information to the inBloom database.
More states will indeed sign up to participate in
inBloom's goal of educational success.
"To succeed in today’s global economy, students need
learning experiences that meet their individual needs, engage them deeply and
let them learn at their own pace. This requires teachers to have an up-to-date
picture of a student’s progress; an understanding of where he or she needs
extra attention; and access to materials that will help progress their
students’ learning."
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