Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

CHICAGO — Colleges are increasingly using Big Data to monitor students, control their access to information and set them on learning paths they may not have chosen, argues Chris Gilliard, a professor at Macomb Community College, who says the practices add up to “digital redlining.”

“I don’t think education is a predictive task,” said Gilliard, criticizing the use of data systems that allegedly forecast student success or failure. “I’m seeing a whole lot of wreckage in the process that people aren’t considering.”