Education is changing. New technologies are allowing information to flow within schools and beyond, enabling new learning environments and providing new tools to improve the way teachers teach and the way students learn. Data-driven innovations are bringing advances in teaching and learning but are accompanied by concerns about how education data, particularly student-generated data, are being collected and used.
The Future of Privacy Forum believes that there are critical improvements to learning that are enabled by data and technology, and that the use of data and technology is not antithetical to protecting student privacy. In order to facilitate this balance, FPF equips and connects advocates, industry, policymakers, and practitioners with substantive practices, policies, and other solutions to address education privacy challenges at both the K-12 and higher ed levels.
For more information and resources, please visit Student Privacy Compass, a one-stop shop for information, news, and analysis on maintaining student data privacy.
W&L Law Offers DC-based Cyber Law and Privacy Seminar with Future of Privacy Forum
The course, titled “Cyber Policy and Privacy Law,” will be co-taught by Professor Margaret Hu and Jules Polonetsky, CEO at FPF. The course will examine how the expanding role of the internet, big data, e-commerce, social media, and wearable technology has strained the preexisting regulatory and constitutional frameworks that have guided privacy protections under the law.
Student data privacy: Moving from fear to responsible use
Data has always been an inherent part of the educational process – a child’s age, correlated with her grade level, tracked to specific reading or math skills that align with that grade, measured by grades and tests which rank her according to her peers. Today this data is ever more critical.
Future of Privacy Forum and ConnectSafely Release Educator's Guide to Student Data Privacy
Washington, DC – Today, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and ConnectSafely are releasing the Educator’s Guide to Student Data Privacy. Technology tools and applications are changing the way schools and teachers educate students across the country. New resources are making it easier for teachers and students to communicate in and outside of the classroom making learning a 24/7 activity.
Privacy plays major role in new federal government guidance on transgender student rights
Recently, the Department of Justice and the state of North Carolina have filed counter-suits regarding the state’s so called “bathroom bill.” The North Carolina “Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act” requires students to use public restrooms that correspond with their sex assigned at birth and not with the gender with which they identify.
Student Privacy Goes to College
Yesterday, I attended the 5th annual Higher Education Privacy Conference at George Washington University with experts and data advocates from across the country to discuss student privacy and information management in higher education. The event was hosted by Daniel Solove, a research professor at George Washington University School of Law, and Tracy Mitrano a principal of Mitrano & Associates LLC.
Learning from Student Data
Just as adults’ personal lives and data increasingly inhabiting online spaces, so are students. While this shift brings many benefits and the possibility of learning tailored to individual students’ needs, it is also brings new challenges.
Should Colleges Report When They Get Government Data Requests?
Last year, the University of California, Berkeley, announced that it was publishing a transparency report detailing government requests for data, similar to what tech companies including Google and Facebook have been doing for years.
FPF Asks Lawmakers: "Send a Message to States that Privacy is a Priority"
FPF supported Data Quality Campaign’s (DQC) recent initiative to bring an important issue about student privacy to the attention of lawmakers. Signing on with DQC and 20 other educational and privacy groups, FPF agrees that it is critical that states have the resources they need to ensure adequate privacy protection for student data.
Using Student Data Essential for Research that Empower Students
In our nation’s schools, we have seen widespread use of zero tolerance policies that lead to suspension, expulsion, and other extreme disciplinary measures. Do these policies work or do they cause more harm than good? Thanks to research that studied student data over time, we now know that these procedures are not effective in preventing future misbehavior nor improving student outcomes.
May 10th Event: The Higher Education Privacy Conference
The fifth annual Higher Education Privacy Conference (HEPC) will be held on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at the George Washington University Marvin Center in Washington, DC. The HEPC is one-day event that focuses on privacy and information management in higher education. The event consists of a combination of speakers and smaller breakout discussion groups to […]