Rethinking EdTech After Canvas | Claire Bond Potter | FreshEd #425

--- In this episode, Claire Bond Potter examines the massive Canvas learning management system hack that paralyzed 9,000 educational institutions and affected 275 million students worldwide. The attack, which occurred during critical exam periods, exposed universities' dangerous over-dependence on digital infrastructure and raised fundamental questions about technology's role in education. Potter argues that universities have blindly followed the "yellow brick road" of technological adoption without questioning its impact on learning, student wellbeing, or institutional resilience. She traces how budget pressures and efficiency demands drove institutions to embrace learning management systems, ultimately creating a fragile ecosystem where a single hack can bring global higher education to its knees. 📚 KEY TOPICS DISCUSSED: • What Canvas is and how learning management systems transformed education • The difference between cloud-based and locally-run educational platforms • Details of the ShinyHack ransomware attack and its strategic timing • How universities became dependent on digital infrastructure since the 1970s • The hidden costs of technological adoption and staff replacement patterns • Research evidence on technology's negative impacts on student learning and stress • Data privacy concerns and the commodification of student information • Strategies for unwinding technology dependence while preserving useful applications ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction and Canvas hack overview 01:12 What is Canvas and learning management systems 04:47 Cloud-based vs. local digital platforms 05:45 The ShinyHack attack details and impact 08:03 Data breach affecting 250 million users 09:52 How universities became technology-dependent 13:18 IT staffing changes and academic disconnect 16:58 Research on technology's impact on learning 21:50 Future directions and strategic unwinding 👤 ABOUT THE GUEST: Claire Bond Potter is a professor of history emeritus at the New School for Social Research, author of the Political Junkie Substack, and creator of Why Now, a political history podcast. Her recent article "Kill Canvas Now" in the Chronicle of Higher Education sparked widespread discussion about higher education's over-reliance on learning management systems. Potter has extensive experience with educational technology adoption, having witnessed the transition from early systems like Blackboard to modern platforms, and brings both historical perspective and practical insight to debates about technology's role in teaching and learning. --- 🎙️ LISTEN TO FRESHED: 🌐 Website: https://freshedpodcast.com/potter/ 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4w9r6KB... 📱 CONNECT WITH FRESHED: Twitter: @FreshEdPodcast Website: https://freshedpodcast.com --- 💡 ABOUT FRESHED: FreshEd is a weekly podcast exploring critical questions in education research, policy, and practice. With 400+ episodes featuring leading scholars from around the world, FreshEd examines comparative education, higher education policy, international development, critical pedagogy, and educational futures. Hosted by Will Brehm. #Education #EdPodcast #HigherEducation #EdTech #Canvas #Cybersecurity #DigitalLearning --- FreshEd is an editorially independent podcast. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or producers.