Dinowitz questions YouTube policy and Play Prodigy app

Do you all have a specific policy around YouTube?

Scott, would you like to talk about YouTube?

Yeah, the policy on YouTube is it is not available for use.

Generally, it's blocked unless a particular school asks for it to be opened up for educational purposes at the principal level, and we do that when that's requested.

Okay.

We have heard concerns from parents that there is instruction that includes, you know, go watch this YouTube video on X, Y, and Z.

So we want to have clarity around those type of instructions.

I don't know if you have any feedback on that, but we have heard that from parents.

I mean, I am aware and have seen where YouTube or some video link, you know, is helping bring a lesson to life, tapping into children's like immediate engagement in that.

That's part of the work that we're thinking about even on screens and screen time that might lead there.

But I have not seen an example of just, you know, independently go watch a YouTube video.

That would be under those cases where we're saying that's the kind of work that is in either a whole class or a small group and certainly under the direction of a teacher in the space.

Okay.

The other thing I wanted to ask, we heard from some of the parents about this app, and I'm forgetting the name, that basically tells students that if they pay,

Like if you enter a credit card and you pay, you gain some powers.

You know the name?

I don't know the name.

Play Prodigy.

Can you discuss if that is an approved application or program that the DOE has approved?

Thank you for that question.

I believe Play Prodigy is not an approved app.

Am I remembering that correctly?

Well, it actually is.

Oh, it is?

It is.

The free version is approved.

Okay.

It's been through our process.

There are other applications that have been approved that sometimes have that feature of pay for more things.

That's not approved, nor is it encouraged.

This particular app is only used in a few, very few schools.

Okay.

It would be interesting to figure out which schools and for us to see that information.

Obviously, there's concerns there, given the breaches and everything else that has occurred, you know, putting credit card information and all of that stuff at risk, but also making sure that that is not something that we're encouraging.

Can I just clarify one thing and correct me if I misunderstood you?

So there is the version that's free, but we would never require our families to move into the pay.

That would be a choice that they made, and I would not want to see our schools requiring that or encouraging that.

Okay.

More on that.

I'm going to pass it back and then...

We'll come back for round two.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.