Echo Show 8 and similar type devices

[panderson]

Just wondering what people's thoughts are on devices like the Echo Show 8 or smiliar devices.  Do you allow them, block them, etc.

[robbabiak]

You mean allowing a device that is always listening to exist in a classroom where any student's voice can be recorded and uploaded to a server without the parent having given permission?

Without voice functionality the usefulness of such devices was not determined to be high enough for the manual process of configuring our network to accept them.

[SteveHarmon]

Due to privacy concerns and terms of use, consumer smart speaker devices are not allowed in our district. If a teacher wants such a device, you can look at ones that are made specifically for education, such as Merlyn Mind.

[MarkLoundy]

Forbidden, for both adult and student privacy reasons in my district.

[mickiemueller]

Huge privacy concerns with these devices. We do not allow them.

[panderson]

Thanks, Everyone, All the replies help to convince people why we do what we do.

[B-Lieberman]

Absolutely not permitted at my district.  If it helps build your case, even Amazon doesn't believe they should be in classrooms.  The blurb below is more than a few years old from where I found it, but for what it's worth, the following was posted directly from an Amazon employee in a CoSN community forum:

I thought this might be helpful to the group. Amazon only permits personal and non-commercial use of Alexa. Alexa is currently not intended for use in classrooms (particularly where students under 13 years of age are using the device). If you want me to put you in touch with the team exploring future and potential use cases I am happy to do that. We do have a process internally to gather that feedback from schools.
Thanks,
Chad A. Stevens, Ph.D.
Strategy Lead | K-12 Education
Amazon Web Services

[kaned]

https://awsa.memberclicks.net/update-article--hey-alexa---are-you-allowed-in-my-classroom-

Consider FERPA, COPPA and CIPA compliance.  As a general rule, we do not allow these devices in our district.