EduVULCAN: Difference between revisions

[https://eduvulcan.pl/ eduVULCAN] is a Polish school e-journal service developed by [https://aleo.com/int/company/vulcan-spolka-z-ograniczona-odpowiedzialnoscia215 Vulcan sp. z o.o.]. It allows students and their parents to view grades, submit absence notes, contact teachers, and more. Similarly, it enables teachers to record student attendance, add or modify grades, and perform other administrative tasks.<ref>https://www.vulcan.edu.pl/szkoly-i-przedszkola/oprogramowanie/dziennik-vulcan</ref>

It is the successor to '''Dzienniczek VULCAN''' (referred to here as simply VULCAN). Most students previously using VULCAN were encouraged to switch to eduVULCAN unless their school employed a custom solution incompatible with the new system.<ref>[https://czyvulcanapojebalo.pl/edu czyvulcanapojebalo.pl - "historia eduVULCAN"]</ref>

== Blocking of 3rd party clients ==

Many students utilized unofficial clients to use the VULCAN service, particularly during COVID when the service was constantly overloaded as the apps had the ability to download data once and work fully offline.<ref name=":0">[https://szkolny.eu/finale szkolny.eu - "Finale"]</ref><ref>https://www.dobreprogramy.pl/nie-dzialaja-librus-i-vulcan-zdalne-nauczanie-w-calej-polsce-pod-znakiem-zapytania,6628713723516545a</ref> These apps were also preferred because they were generally more reliable than the official app.<ref>[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.edu.vulcan.hebe Google Play page of Dzienniczek VULCAN - notice the reviews]</ref>

==== Blocking third party apps ====

On the 25th of April 2024, [https://github.com/wulkanowy/wulkanowy Wulkanowy], one of the most popular 3rd party FOSS clients, mysteriously stopped working and started displaying a "''No Access''" error message upon logging in. Wulkanowy stated this was a deliberate move by VULCAN, who allegedly placed an extra piece of code in the login endpoint’s response. This tricked the app into interpreting the request as a failure, while the normal app would continue to function.<ref>https://czyvulcanapojebalo.pl/assets/1.webp</ref>

[https://czyvulcanapojebalo.pl/historia czyvulcanapojebalo.pl] also alleges that VULCAN analyzed the Wulkanowy SDK further to try to exploit every potential vulnerability that could cause the app to malfunction.<ref name=":1">[https://czyvulcanapojebalo.pl/historia czyvulcanapojebalo.pl - "historia"]</ref><ref>https://czyvulcanapojebalo.pl/assets/2.webp</ref>

Later versions of VULCAN introduced additional variables in the web requests made by the app, causing third-party clients to become inoperable after each official app update, as these variables were altered with every new version.<ref>https://github.com/wulkanowy/messages/blob/78eb70a76aad7815563ab9a63882b2b788aeb9cf/generator/src/main/kotlin/mapping/VTokens.kt#L64</ref>

==== Legal threats ====

In the beginning of June, VULCAN started sending '''cease-and-desist letters''' to third party app developers, ordering them to cease app development completely and make all apps display a message that was allegedly pre-prepared by VULCAN themselves.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> As such, nearly all forks and clients stopped development, the apps were updated to only display a static message<ref>https://github.com/wulkanowy/messages/blob/c3b888cfb45e3b0419a9cb25714c6307ca3063a1/generator/src/main/kotlin/end.kt</ref>, and their respective app store pages were removed in June and July.

* trademark infringement,

* unfair competition,

* damaging their server infrastructure via scraping leading to higher server costs,

* harming VULCAN's reputation.

Additionally, VULCAN criticized the [https://czyvulcanapojebalo.pl/assets/10.webp developer’s review of the official app on Google Play] and referred to unofficial apps as "parasites."<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

The eduVULCAN Terms of Service was also adjusted to disallow the use of external apps (§3, section 11).<ref>[https://eduvulcan.pl/dokumenty/regulamin eduVULCAN - Terms of Service "Regulamin"]</ref> These measures appeared to prepare the way for the new account system.

== New eduVULCAN account system ==

# '''Basic accounts''' - These have no access to the mobile app.

# '''''eduVULCAN'' accounts''' - These provide access to the mobile app but come with new limitations.

Several '''''previously free''''' features in VULCAN, such as '''push notifications, messaging teachers, and submitting absence notes,''' are now behind a paywall. The cost for the full school year is '''32.99 PLN with tax''' (around 8 USD) '''per student'''.<ref>https://dziennik.vulcan.edu.pl/kev/usluga-rozszerzona/#oferta</ref> This fee is in addition to the costs schools pay for access to the service, which remain undisclosed.

Access to the website version of these features is still free, however this is required by law.<ref>https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20240000050/O/D20240050.pdf</ref>

While you can quickly switch a basic account to an ''eduVULCAN'' one<ref>https://dziennik.vulcan.edu.pl/kzw/#:~:text=czy%20moge%20zmienic%20zwyk%C5%82e%20konto%20na%20konto%20eduvulcan%3F</ref>, you can't switch back an ''eduVULCAN'' account to a basic one without having to reset your entire account (this requires the school's secretary office to print a new one-time code).<ref>https://dziennik.vulcan.edu.pl/kev/baza-wiedzy/#:~:text=czy%20moge%20zmienic%20konto%20eduvulcan%20na%20zwyk%C5%82e%20konto%3F</ref>

The changes were met with extreme criticism as students and parents opposed the new payment options. It sparked discussion around the Polish parliament about a possible creation of a free state-owned e-journal system.<ref>https://strefaedukacji.pl/oplaty-za-edzienniki-rodzice-narzekaja-a-firmy-sie-tlumacza-bedzie-nowa-platforma-dla-szkol/ar/c5-18803353#medukacja-zamiast-komercyjnych-firm-z-dziennikami</ref>

Several Polish MPs submitted interpellations to the Minister of Education.<ref name=":1" /> However, the responses offered no substantial new information, as Vulcan complies with legal requirements by providing "at least one channel of free access to the electronic journal [...] whether on a stationary device or on a mobile device with Internet access (via a web browser)."<ref>[https://www.gov.pl/attachment/549af198-803b-4216-a5f2-088dc2fa9082 a_Zawiadomienie_z_sposobie_załatwienia_petycji_1_i_2_z_15_września_2024_r.pdf]</ref>

== References ==