iPad coercion in schools; social exclusion through WhatsApp
Script: “iPad coercion in schools”
Scene 1
[Teckids present - a Luanti-Film – Brave New iPad-World]
A classroom: the teacher enters and stands in front of the class
Teacher: Good morning! Starting next month we will work with iPads. You have to buy them youselves, then we will install a special software so that we can control that you’re not doing any nonsense.
Lea: What? How much do they cost?
Teacher: They start at 350 €. But you probably shouldn’t use them for private things, because I can see all that, too.
Lennart: And still we have to pay for them ourselves? That’s not fair!
Pierre: But why Apple? I thought advertising at schools was forbidden?
Lea: This is even worse than advertising. It’s a compulsory purchase!
Tülin: In Denmark and Finland they’ve binned this already, because you actually learn better with pen and paper.
Teacher: I’m sorry, but it is a mandate from the ministry of education.
Lennart: They really fell for the Apple marketing!
Teacher: I understand your concerns. I am also wondering how we should convey a critical view towards digital technology, if we are given such tight and problematic requirements.
Tülin: I already have square eyes from looking at the smartphone, and a stiff neck. And now eight more hours at school staring at a screen? Mighty unhealthy.
Teacher: But the fact is that you must buy the iPads now.
Pierre: Great. So our parents have to pay, but nothing will improve in class.
Scene 2
Classroom: The teacher is sitting at her desk. Pupils are working on their assignments with the iPads.
Tülin: Wow! Did you actually read the terms and conditions? “Apple may terminate or change the service at any time without prior notice.” Wonderful! We’ll have a day off from school whenever Apple wants to!
Teacher: Doesn’t matter. Just click on “Accept”.
Tülin: My mom always preached to me that I should never sign a contract I haven’t read completely. (continues reading)
Lea: And what happens if you find something you don’t like? You must accept the terms anyway. Did you ever hear of something called compulsory school education?
Lennart: Hey, my iPad has frozen. Can you help me?
Teacher comes over and looks at the iPad
Teacher: Sorry, but I really don’t know anything about that.
Lennart: Wonderful! And how am I supposed to work on the assignment?
Lea: That is totally impractical! How can anyone do research and make notes at the same time on the same device?
Teacher: I’m sorry. I was supposed to get some training for that, but there was no money available.
Pierre: I guess that was all spent on the expensive hardware.
Tülin: How about we only use the things when it’s really useful?
Lea: Didn’t you hear the the minister on the news yesterday? [mimicking] “Digitalisation at schools is progress! We cannot afford to discuss whether it is useful.”
Everyone laughs
Piere: Seriously, though, we put all our data on it: assignments, photos, sick notes, and everything. Does Apple have access to all of that?
Lea: No idea. Anyway, it is really scary to know that they might have. Especially since Apple is a US-based company. If Trump wants to, he can look at everything.
Pierre: Do I have to be mindful in political education what I write in my essays, because otherwise I may not be able to enter the USA?
Lennart: But the main thing is that we have fancy digital classes!
Script: “social exclusion through WhatsApp”
Chat history
Leon: Hey, let’s do something together today!
Maik: Great idea, how about basketball?
Miriam: cool! Should we meet around 5, perhaps?
Leon: Sure. See you soon!
Maik: 👍
Maik: Oh no, now I have to write to Jan again about us meeting up.
Miriam: Just don’t. It’s his own fault that he doesn’t have WhatsApp.
Leon: Right. He can’t expect us to send him an extra message.
Maik: I guess you’re right. But we shouldn’t exclude him …
Maik: You know what? This one time I will tell him. But if he hasn’t installed WhatsApp the next time, he’ll just have to live with it.
On stage:
Maik: Hey Jan! We are going to meet at 5 pm on the basketball court. Would you like to come?
Jan: Normally I’d love to. Thanks for letting me know. But I can’t make it at 5. Could we meet later?
Maik: No, we already made that date in the chat group. Just get WhatsApp, then you could have told us directly.
Jan: I already told you several times, I don’t want that. We could use another messenger service.
Maik: What is your problem with WhatsApp, anyway?
Jan: I don’t want a big corporation such as Meta, who is behind WhatsApp, to know who I send texts to. That is nobody’s business.
Maik: But I don’t mind. Why should I care who whether or not they have my data?
Jan: Data like that can be used against you some time later, for example. When a friend of yours commits a crime 10 years from now, then Meta can forward your data to the authorities, showing that earlier you chatted a lot with him. And then you might become a criminal suspect, too, without justification.
Maik: Okay, you have a point there.
Jan: Just try to convince the group to use a more privacy-friendly messenger.
Maik: Okay, I’ll try.
Chat History
Maik: Hi, I talked to Jan, he suggested that we could use a different messenger.
Leon: Really, just because of him we should use a different app?
Miriam: Why would he not want to use WhatsApp, but would be fine with another messenger?
Maik: He said there are other messenger services that better protect personal data.
Leon: Ugh. Why should I care?
Miriam: Exactly, Jan should learn that not everyone does what he wants.
Leon: It’s also quite annoying when we have group assignments, we can never make any arrangements because he doesn’t have WhatsApp.
Maik: But he does have good reasons. Let’s at least try.
Leon: Oh come on, don’t you start as well.
Leon: I have to catch the bus. See you soon.
Miriam: See you!
Maik: See you!
Video
Maik: Couldn’t we at least try this other messenger for Jan?
Leon: Nah, I don’t really want to!
throws the ball at the camera
