Lindsay Weinberg, a clinical assistant professor and Director of the Tech Justice Lab at Purdue University, dives into the complex realm of technology in higher education. She discusses how student surveillance compromises autonomy and privacy, and critiques the risks tied to automated decision-making and predictive analytics. Weinberg highlights the corporate influences that shape educational policies and the need for structural reforms to protect student rights. A riveting look at the intersection of technology and justice in academic spaces!
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insights INSIGHT
Smart University Definition
Smart universities integrate digital technologies for efficiency and control.
They promote specific visions of higher education's future, often driven by administrators and vendors.
insights INSIGHT
Administrator Appeal
Administrators are drawn to smart universities for cost savings, efficiency, and control.
Data-driven governance and predictive analytics promise to manage resources and student behavior.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Gaming the System
Michael LaMagna advised his children to interact with university websites and emails.
This was done strategically to improve their chances of college acceptance.
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Lindsay Weinberg's "Smart University" delves into the increasing integration of digital technologies into higher education. Weinberg examines the use of predictive analytics, AI, and data-driven governance, highlighting their impact on student access, autonomy, and the overall learning experience. The book traces the historical context of these technologies, revealing how they often perpetuate existing inequalities. Weinberg critiques the assumptions underlying these initiatives, emphasizing the need for critical engagement and equitable solutions. Ultimately, the book calls for a more just and equitable future for higher education.
In Smart University: Student Surveillance in the Digital Age(Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024), Lindsay Weinberg evaluates how this latest era of tech solutions and systems in our schools impacts students' abilities to access opportunities and exercise autonomy on their campuses. Using historical and textual analysis of administrative discourses, university policies, conference proceedings, grant solicitations, news reports, tech industry marketing materials, and product demonstrations, Weinberg argues that these more recent transformations are best understood as part of a longer history of universities supporting the development of technologies that reproduce racial and economic injustice on their campuses and in their communities.
Mentioned in this episode is this piece that Dr. Weinberg wrote in Inside Higher Ed:
Lindsay Weinberg is a clinical assistant professor and the Director of the Tech Justice Lab in the John Martinson Honors College at Purdue University.
Dr. Michael LaMagna is the Information Literacy Program & Library Services Coordinator and Professor of Library Services at Delaware County Community College.
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