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.
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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 […]
19 Times Data Analysis Empowered Students and Schools
Which Students Succeed and Why? “Thoughtful use of education data has tremendous potential to improve and address inequities in America’s education system. Scientists better understand how the brain incorporates new information and skills. Educators have a more accurate sense of student progress and potential risk for dropping out. Students and teachers use more detailed […]
Google Responds to Sen. Franken
Google provided a response this week to Senator Franken’s request for information on their policies and practices with regards to their Google Apps For Education (GAFE) suite of services. Ed Week reviewed Google’s letter, and asked FPF to comment on the response. Full article here.
ACLU, Tenth Amendment Center Join Forces on Data Privacy
“In consultation with the center—a think tank that advocates strict limits on federal power—the ACLU wrote model legislation that both organizations are urging legislators around the country to support. … “The Future of Privacy Forum—a Washington-based think tank and a co-author of the Student Privacy Pledge, a commitment by ed-tech companies to safeguard data—offered a […]
FPF Supports Connect Safely for Safer Internet Day
Our friends at Connect Safely have put together an amazing program to support student awareness and education as part of Safer Internet Day on Tuesday, February 9, 2016. Below is their writeup – we invite you all to participate and spread the word – particularly to the students in your life and their educational institutions […]