CLASSROOM VIGNETTES: Protecting student privacy through the pandemic (and beyond)

ACM Inroads ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-10
Author(s):  
Henry M. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Student Privacy

Student Privacy and the Law in the Internet Age

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Plunkett ◽  
Urs Gasser ◽  
Sandra Cortesi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Privacy Protection ◽  
Data Privacy ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Privacy Law ◽  
Student Privacy ◽  
High Level

New types of digital technologies and new ways of using them are heavily impacting young people’s learning environments and creating intense pressure points on the “pre-digital” framework of student privacy. This chapter offers a high-level mapping of the federal legal landscape in the United States created by the “big three” federal privacy statutes—the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)—in the context of student privacy and the ongoing digital transformation of formal learning environments (“schools”). Fissures are emerging around key student privacy issues such as: what are the key data privacy risk factors as digital technologies are adopted in learning environments; which decision makers are best positioned to determine whether, when, why, and with whom students’ data should be shared outside the school environment; what types of data may be unregulated by privacy law and what additional safeguards might be required; and what role privacy law and ethics serve as we seek to bolster related values, such as equity, agency, and autonomy, to support youth and their pathways. These and similar intersections at which the current federal legal framework is ambiguous or inadequate pose challenges for key stakeholders. This chapter proposes that a “blended” governance approach, which draws from technology-based, market-based, and human-centered privacy protection and empowerment mechanisms and seeks to bolster legal safeguards that need to be strengthen in parallel, offers an essential toolkit to find creative, nimble, and effective multistakeholder solutions.

Students’ Individual Rights: Safety and Privacy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
School Safety ◽  
Fourth Amendment ◽  
Privacy Rights ◽  
Discipline Problems ◽  
School Officials ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Student Privacy

This chapter addresses problems faced by educators attempting to provide their students with a safe and effective learning environment. Drugs and weapons in many schools pose serious safety and discipline problems, while threats of violence from sources outside the school have become increasingly serious. Educators deal with these problems while students enjoy Fourth Amendment rights. Often the privacy rights of students conflict with the interests of school officials. The task of the law is to accommodate the respective interests of educators and students. The discussion herein addresses some of these issues of student privacy and safety. The examination of school privacy focuses on the extent to which the Fourth Amendment’s protection against “unreasonable searches and seizures” applies to those attending public schools. The Fourth Amendment discussion illustrates the often-conflicting obligation of educators to keep those in their charge safe while at the same time respecting student privacy concerns. School safety interests also exist outside the context of the Fourth Amendment as illustrated by strategies to keep schools safe from threats such as those dramatically manifested by school shootings killing multiple students. Some such strategies, along with discussion of the dangers of cell phones in schools, will be reviewed in this chapter. The Fourth Amendment section considers the relevant U.S. Supreme Court decisions addressing student rights under the Fourth Amendment, as well as reviewing lower court cases treating issues left open by the Supreme Court. The chapter concludes by highlighting school safety issues not directly involving the Fourth Amendment.

Social Media in the Canadian Post-Secondary Classroom

2015 ◽  
pp. 1098-1122
Author(s):  
Linda Pardy ◽  
David Thomson ◽  
Samantha Pattridge
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Student Privacy ◽  
Secondary Classroom ◽  
Instructional Use ◽  
Public Sharing ◽  
The Government ◽  
The University

In Canada, the use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) for instructional purposes at post-secondary institutions is constrained by students' legislated rights to privacy. Some universities have explored ways to obtain the advantages of cloud computing while still meeting mandated obligations to protect student privacy. The government of British Columbia maintains the strictest standards in Canada regarding access to and storage of personal information, hampering instructional use of SNS. The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) decided to work within this legislation and challenge faculty to modify their classroom practice. At UFV the most significant SNS-related teachable moments come from education towards informed consent to public sharing of information through SNS. While our ability to teach students how to use SNS resources is restricted, working within the legislation encourages educators to evaluate their central purpose for using SNS. Students acquire digital skills through various forms of informal learning; therefore, the formal instructional setting becomes an opportunity to foster development of digital citizens.

Student Privacy Erosion

1970 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-33
Author(s):  
A. A. Lacognata
Keyword(s):  
Student Privacy

scholarly journals The syllabus as a student privacy document in an age of learning analytics

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1333-1355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle M.L. Jones ◽  
Amy VanScoy
Keyword(s):  
Data Privacy ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Educational Data Mining ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Hybrid Courses ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Data ◽  
Professional Discipline ◽  
Student Privacy ◽  
Communication Policies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal how instructors discuss student data and information privacy in their syllabi. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected a mixture of publicly accessible and privately disclosed syllabi from 8,302 library and information science (LIS) courses to extract privacy language. Using privacy concepts from the literature and emergent themes, the authors analyzed the corpus. Findings Most syllabi did not mention privacy (98 percent). Privacy tended to be mentioned in the context of digital tools, course communication, policies and assignments. Research limitations/implications The transferability of the findings is limited because they address only one field and professional discipline, LIS, and address syllabi for only online and hybrid courses. Practical implications The findings suggest a need for professional development for instructors related to student data privacy. The discussion provides recommendations for creating educational experiences that support syllabi development and constructive norming opportunities. Social implications Instructors may be making assumptions about the degree of privacy literacy among their students or not value student privacy. Each raises significant concerns if privacy is instrumental to intellectual freedom and processes critical to the educational experience. Originality/value In an age of educational data mining and analytics, this is one of the first studies to consider if and how instructors are addressing student data privacy in their courses, and the study initiates an important conversation for reflecting on privacy values and practices.

Under The Law

2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
pp. 74-75
Author(s):  
Julie Underwood
Keyword(s):  
Digital Transmission ◽  
Family Education ◽  
School Employees ◽  
Student Records ◽  
Privacy Act ◽  
Student Privacy ◽  
Personally Identifiable Information ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Law ◽  
Unauthorized Disclosure

FERPA — the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act — protects student privacy by laying out when and how education records that are maintained by the school can be used within and outside of the school district and when student records can be released. FERPA’s goal is to prevent unauthorized disclosure of students’ personally identifiable information. School employees (and school attorneys) handle student records and data according to FERPA every day. But the law was enacted in 1974, before digital recordkeeping, big data, texts, email, the internet, and easy digital transmission of information, which means that much about FERPA is now outdated.

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