Schmidt-Morand is especially curious about horses' vision: since their eyes are at the side of their head, they can see what's in front of them, beside them and behind them. Although it would be difficult to recreate this on a screen, it could be possible in a virtual reality room. "It's impossible for me to imagine what this view would even look like," says Schmidt-Morand.
Growing public concern about student-data privacy is prompting fresh scrutiny of the ways technology vendors handle children's educational information—and opening the gates for a flood of new questions and worries from advocates and school officials.
"We're just scratching the surface with our understanding of how the education sector is gathering and looking to monetize student information," said Joel R. Reidenberg, a law professor at Fordham University, in New York, and Princeton University. "We as a society need to have a very clear discussion about how we want to protect the privacy of our children in this environment."
But many are concerned that the horse is already out of the barn.
Last month, for example, Education Week