You Think Halloween Is Scary?

On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider.

How many Terms of Service agreements do you think you have clicked, “I Accept”, on as part of the requirements of accessing a digital service?

How many times did you actually read the full agreement before selecting, “I Accept”?

If you did read it all (good for you), did you understand everything?

Terms of Service (TOS) agreements are notoriously difficult to understand and, although some platforms have made their information more accessible, most are full of jargon specific to that field. If you are guilty of not reading these agreements, you are not alone. In fact, NOT READING the TOS has almost become a socially accepted practice with it being the basis of many memes:

With that being said, understanding the TOS is vitally important so that you, as the end-user, fully understand what you are agreeing to. For educators, this becomes even more important if you are going to be utilizing a specific tool with students.

One tool that I find incredibly helpful is the website, Terms of Service; Didn’t Read, which I have been using for a decade. They review the TOS agreements of major platforms, translate them into jargon-free accessible bullet points, and provide an overall rating to help users make informed decisions about the platforms they use. They also have a Chrome extension which can display the rating of websites as you access them, with an option of clicking into a pop-up for further information.

You can learn more about the inspiration behind this platform, and how it came to fruition, in the video below by TOS;DR co-founder Hugo Roy.