Giving Compass' Take:

· According to EdSurge, Apple plans to roll out new digital student IDs that will be used at six different universities in the US in 2018. Although this is an interesting use of technology, it raises concerns over privacy and security. 

· Is Apple providing a secure network for these schools? What responsibility does the company have to ensure security?

· More and more schools are turning to technology for its ease and use for educational purposes. Read more about tech devices in schools.

Apple is rolling out digital student IDs.

The company is working with two other companies, Blackboard and Assa Abloy, to bring the technology to Duke University, the University of Alabama and the University of Oklahoma, which will deploy it this fall in time for their incoming classes, and to Johns Hopkins University, Santa Clara University and Temple University, which will deploy it by the end of the 2018 calendar year.

Rather than using physical ID badges, students will receive student ID cards on their iPhones (6 or above) and Apple Watches. The cards will be stored on the same secure chip currently used for Apple Pay.

According to CR80News, an outlet that covers campus card technology, the new ID card service makes use of so-called “near-field communication,” or NFC, the same technology that undergirds Apple Pay. The outlet states that this is the first time NFC is being opened up to enable campus ID cards.

Phil Hill, an edtech consultant and blogger for e-Literate, tells EdSurge in an email Apple’s move is part of a major shift toward wearable devices, and digital student IDs are just one part. Apple, he writes, made its WatchOS a “big part of strategic focus” at its recent keynote at WWDC, a developer conference, speaking on the theme of “shifting from smart phone to wearable.”

Read the full article about rising security concerns by Tina Nazerian at EdSurge