Imagine a pupil at primary school who is given school books and an iPad on the first day of school. The book in the bag will be defined as a teaching aid and covered by the Education Act, but the iPad, or the learning board as the schools call it, will not. Grete Hovde Parr is department director at the State Administrator in Oslo and Viken. Photo: Kjetil Solhøi / news This comes out in a response after a father at Lørenskog complained about what he believes is a lack of security in the school iPads. “An iPad, PC or Chromebook, on the other hand, are not teaching aids, but digital devices, and their use is not regulated in the Education Act or the regulations.” This is written by Grethe Hovde Parr, department director at the State Administrator in Oslo and Viken. (See the full answer in the fact box). The State Administrator’s response The State Administrator supervises that the municipalities and county authorities fulfill the obligations arising from the Education Act and regulations to the Act. The topics you raise are not directly regulated in the Education Act and regulations. iPad in school Digital skills are one of five basic skills in the Curriculum Agency for Knowledge Promotion, on an equal footing with reading, writing, arithmetic and oral skills. The municipality, as school owner, is responsible for ensuring that the pupils receive training in line with the curriculum, but has a lot of room for maneuver when it comes to how the training is to be carried out. The Education Act and the regulations regulate requirements for textbooks and other teaching aids. Teaching aids mean all printed, non-printed and digital elements that have been developed for use in training, that have been developed for use in training and that alone or together cover the competence objectives. An iPad, PC or Chromebook, on the other hand, are not teaching aids, but digital devices, and their use is not regulated in the Education Act or the regulations. There are nevertheless some provisions in the law that are relevant when it comes to the use of iPads. The right to a safe and good school environment that promotes health, well-being and learning also applies when pupils use the internet and digital devices and teaching aids in their training. The government’s measures regarding digitization in schools are mainly about measures to increase digital competence, and enable the municipalities to handle both the opportunities and challenges they face. This is done, among other things, through overall strategies and action plans where advice and recommendations are given. In the Norwegian Directorate of Education’s guide “How to protect children against harmful online content?”, which both you and the municipality have mentioned, there is a bit about school owners’ responsibilities. Here it is stated that school owners have a responsibility to ensure the student’s safety and privacy when they use digital devices. Several recommendations have been made on how school owners can prevent, protect and manage access to harmful online content. There is no doubt that it is the municipality that is responsible for safeguarding the pupils’ right to a safe and good digital learning environment when they use digital devices in their education. Technical solutions such as access restrictions will be an absolutely essential means of reducing the risk of pupils being exposed to content that is not suitable for children on the internet. We support you in that the municipality cannot leave it up to parents to activate restrictions on access to the internet and apps. We also believe that the municipality and/or the individual school must both inform and involve the parents when it comes to the use of digital tools. This applies especially to the youngest students. We see that you have already been in contact with both the municipality’s head of school and the data protection officer. If you wish to proceed with the matter, the municipal director will be the right person. The personal data regulations When schools process personal data, the personal data regulations apply. The Personal Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Personal Data Act apply in addition to the Education Act. These regulations make extensive and detailed requirements for the municipality as a business, and give corresponding rights to the students as individuals. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority has the authority to supervise compliance with the privacy regulations. The conclusion is that this is therefore nothing for the state administrator. – So who responds to this complaint then? – There is no appeal body against the municipality for this, replies Parr. The Ministry of Education does not necessarily agree with this. See what they answer further down in the case. Fears children are exposed to porn and violence Ola Melbye Pettersen is the father who complained to the state administrator. He says the municipality did nothing despite warnings about harmful content for children, such as the display of porn websites and videos of serious violence. Pettersen had taken this up with the teacher, principal, IT contact in the municipality and the school head. – When I didn’t get any wiser or reassured, I sent a notice to the state administrator, says Pettersen. But then Pettersen was sent back to the municipality. Save the Children: A blind spot Kaja Hegg in Save the Children believes that children are not protected well enough. – When iPads, PCs and Chromebooks are not defined as teaching aids, but digital devices and thus not regulated in the Education Act and regulations, it leads to a kind of blind spot, writes Hegg to news. – The digital devices are not neutral when it comes to the kind of information and content children are exposed to. It can lead to a disclaimer when it comes to children’s right to protection against harmful media content, she continues. Kaja Hegg in Save the Children believes that school iPads must be better secured. Photo: KJETIL GRUDE FLEKKØY / news Save the Children has previously been critical of personalized advertising that comes with digital devices. Do you think a complaint can be lodged? news has asked the Ministry of Education what it means that school iPads (learning tablets) are not defined as teaching aids in the Education Act. – The pupils must, of course, as far as possible, be shielded from unwanted and harmful content. So I understand that it may sound strange that students’ PCs and tablets are not defined as teaching aids. But that does not mean that the use of students’ digital devices should not and cannot be regulated, writes State Secretary Sindre Lysø in an email to news. He does not agree that the state administrator cannot intervene in such cases. – Schools must use digital tools well, and only when it is in the best interests of the pupils’ learning. If parents feel that the use of the school’s digital devices leads to an unsafe school environment, they can and should take it up with the school and, if necessary, lodge a complaint with the state administrator, writes Lysø. – Do you then disagree with the state administrator that it is not a complaint they can decide on? – I will not jump into the proceedings of an individual case, but we believe it is absolutely clear that students must be protected from harmful content on the school’s digital devices, replies Lysø. Turning off the internet Although the State Administrator in Oslo and Viken did not want to intervene, they believed that the man who alerted had some good points. “We support you in that the municipality cannot leave it up to parents to activate restrictions on access to the internet and apps,” the response letter says. DIFFERENT RULES: A textbook is considered a teaching aid in the Education Act. But it is not the iPad, or the learning board, as many schools call it. (ILLUSTRATION PHOTO) Photo: Paul Kleiven / NTB Ola Melbye Pettersen contacted the municipality again. Now it seems that the protests are gaining traction. In January, the municipality throttled internet access for the very youngest. For the 1st and 2nd classes, the internet is practically closed. Only a few pages will be available to them. This will apply regardless of whether it is at school, at home or elsewhere. The settings are managed centrally. Internet access will increase gradually with age, says the municipality. – I don’t take credit for this alone, but it seems that they have had more of a spotlight on this. In any case, it is not good that eight years have passed with iPads in the Lørenskog schools before this is done, says Pettersen. Have listened to the parents School manager Morten Hagen in Lørenskog municipality says input from parents such as Ola Melby Pettersen and the politicians has been a driver for the new measures to come. – Yes. You can say that. It is an independent assessment, but at the same time the result of input from Ola and other parents and politicians. And we have given feedback that we value those inputs, says Hagen to news. – But this has taken eight years? – It’s probably been eight years since the first pupils got an iPad. But the focus on what harmful content students can access via the iPad has become clearer recently. – Have you received help from the authorities in this work? – No we have not. This is something we have had to find out ourselves in collaboration with other employees in the municipality. We have not received help on how this can be done, says the head of school. – Would it have been an option not to have an iPad? – Yes, you can say that. But then the students had lost many opportunities. It works well in many areas, but we see that we must have a balanced use of digital and analogue teaching aids, concludes Hagen.
ttn-69
School tablets are not considered teaching aids – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
