In Spring 2017, the TLC launched a Focused Inquiry Group on Student Data and Open Digital Pedagogy. In the current political climate, the security of student data has become an increasingly urgent concern for pedagogues using digital tools. Whether you use the proprietary platforms bought and supported by university IT or you utilize open source tools to practice open digital pedagogy it is worth asking yourself some basic questions.
- What kind of data am I asking my students to provide?
- Who has access to the data produced from student activity on these tools and platforms?
- Where does that data live?
What is the role of a teaching and learning platform in both the maintenance of anonymity for students and the development of their digital identity as they move forward in life? These types of question should be on the minds of all educators as not only questions for pedagogical practice but for the everyday lives of ourselves and our students. We invite participants for a focused inquiry group to focus on these questions and to generate materials to be shared widely that address them. The end goal of this group is to help college teachers and students to understand the ins and outs of the privacy implications of digital tools and platforms while still advocating for open digital pedagogy.
Guiding Questions
- In this political climate what is the best, safest starting point for all involved? What is both a good entry point in terms of a tool to use with students but also what is the best entry point for reading and learning about the stakes of student data security.
- What do we do know about what we use now? Is there a way to safeguard data that has already been collected? What kind of student data is collected on the OPD platforms we’re using right now (The OL, the Commons, social media used for courses)?
- How do we find out about what is being collected and how it is collected? How do we safeguard our students using the platforms that the university requires? Is that possible? What are the pressure points to push on to get either answers about “where” but also about “how.”
- What is the role of teaching and learning platforms in both the maintenance of anonymity for students and the development of their digital identity as they move forward in life?
- Given the “openness” of what we’re trying to do, how do we argue about student privacy and safety in the face of more closed, proprietary platforms? What is the most effective way to argue both for the value of openness while allaying fears about the security of openness?
- What are students’ priorities in regards to this? What are their fears and concerns? Is there good data about this?
