Marketplace Tech

Like other districts around the country, the city of Baltimore is weighing whether and how to return to school in person. Right now, most public school students there are attending classes virtually. Half of those students come from low-income families, and about 15% have disabilities, which adds to the challenge of teaching and engaging students remotely. Amy Scott speaks with Sonja Santelises, the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, about how the district has used technology during the pandemic.

Like other districts around the country, the city of Baltimore is weighing whether and how to return to school in person. Right now, most public school students there are attending classes virtually. Half of those students come from low-income families, and about 15% have disabilities, which adds to the challenge of teaching and engaging students remotely. Amy Scott speaks with Sonja Santelises, the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, about how the district has used technology during the pandemic.

LinkedIn has a reputation for being all business, but that has been changing recently, especially in the last four months. Workers who are at home and trying to navigate racial upheaval in America are turning to LinkedIn to talk about race and activism, especially as it relates to work. Black workers say it’s great that these conversations are happening on the Microsoft-owned platform because so many executives and company decision-makers are on LinkedIn. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood speaks with Ashanti Martin who wrote about this for The New York Times.

LinkedIn has a reputation for being all business, but that has been changing recently, especially in the last four months. Workers who are at home and trying to navigate racial upheaval in America are turning to LinkedIn to talk about race and activism, especially as it relates to work. Black workers say it’s great that these conversations are happening on the Microsoft-owned platform because so many executives and company decision-makers are on LinkedIn. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood speaks with Ashanti Martin who wrote about this for The New York Times.

Every Monday this fall, we’re talking about technology and education, because many students, caregivers and teachers are getting a crash course in ed tech. Even before the pandemic, one way technology has been creeping into students’ lives is through grading. And we’re not just talking about those multiple choice bubble sheets that’ve been around for decades. The Educational Testing Service, which creates statewide assessments for K-12 students, along with higher ed tests like the GRE, has been using artificial intelligence to grade essays since 1999. But can AI really tell good writing from bad? Amy Scott speaks with Andreas Oranje, vice president of assessment and learning technology development for ETS.

Every Monday this fall, we’re talking about technology and education, because many students, caregivers and teachers are getting a crash course in ed tech. Even before the pandemic, one way technology has been creeping into students’ lives is through grading. And we’re not just talking about those multiple choice bubble sheets that’ve been around for decades. The Educational Testing Service, which creates statewide assessments for K-12 students, along with higher ed tests like the GRE, has been using artificial intelligence to grade essays since 1999. But can AI really tell good writing from bad? Amy Scott speaks with Andreas Oranje, vice president of assessment and learning technology development for ETS.

Facebook announced this week it was taking down any pages or groups tied to the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon. Previously, the company had only removed content that encouraged violence. The outright ban is a big deal because, generally, Facebook has resisted policing any content on its platforms. So, will it work to slow the spread of baseless theories about a Satanic cult of pedophiles running the world? Amy Scott speaks with Travis View, who is the host of “The QAnon Anonymous” podcast and has been reporting on the group.

Facebook announced this week it was taking down any pages or groups tied to the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon. Previously, the company had only removed content that encouraged violence. The outright ban is a big deal because, generally, Facebook has resisted policing any content on its platforms. So, will it work to slow the spread of baseless theories about a Satanic cult of pedophiles running the world? Amy Scott speaks with Travis View, who is the host of “The QAnon Anonymous” podcast and has been reporting on the group.

The technology we use every day is built using thousands of lines of code — some of it written decades ago. Now, the Supreme Court is deciding when that code is free for others to use and when it is not. Back when Google was creating Android, the company decided to make it work with the popular programming language Java so it would be easier to make Android apps. But to do that, Google used Java code that is now owned by Oracle. Oracle sued, and several trials later, it’s in the Supreme Court’s hands. Amy Scott speaks with Mark Lemley, a law professor at Stanford University, where he teaches copyright and internet law.

The technology we use every day is built using thousands of lines of code — some of it written decades ago. Now, the Supreme Court is deciding when that code is free for others to use and when it is not. Back when Google was creating Android, the company decided to make it work with the popular programming language Java so it would be easier to make Android apps. But to do that, Google used Java code that is now owned by Oracle. Oracle sued, and several trials later, it’s in the Supreme Court’s hands. Amy Scott speaks with Mark Lemley, a law professor at Stanford University, where he teaches copyright and internet law.