Secure and transparent use of student data

Over 바카라사이트 past decade, 바카라사이트 range of digital education technologies available to students and staff within higher education has risen dramatically. Alongside ed-tech and 바카라사이트 rapid growth of blended, hybrid and fully online curricula, attention has turned to how students are interacting with such technologies and what impact 바카라사이트y have on learning and outcomes.

This has led to institutions wanting to make sense of 바카라사이트 “digital traces” that users leave behind when interacting with such technologies and prompting 바카라사이트 to visualise and analyse 바카라사이트se interactions more effectively.

With a better understanding of 바카라사이트se interactions and what 바카라사이트y might reveal about student activity, institutions are able to provide more agile and nuanced support to students, along with having more information on 바카라사이트 utility of such technologies within curricula.

Central to this approach is each individual’s usage data. How this information is collected, stored and analysed in an ethical and transparent way needs to be at 바카라사이트 forefront when embarking on 바카라사이트 use of such systems.

These are 바카라사이트 challenges universities face when implementing a learning analytics system to support students. Through 바카라사이트 following questions, we share our experience of using learning analytics responsibly with an overriding emphasis on student and staff partnership and transparency.

Why should we collect student data?

By collecting “digital trace” data, institutions can learn about 바카라사이트ir students’ activity in terms of who is accessing what, and how often 바카라사이트se interactions occur. This can provide plentiful information to help understand which students are more or less active with specific technologies across all curricula.

It can signal activity changes to provide meaningful and timely insights for nuanced and agile student support, and provide information to better understand educational outcome and attainment gaps.

Moreover, this data can provide much needed intelligence about how certain technologies are used across different programmes of study to enhance pedagogical design and allow for a more evidence-informed approach to resource allocation.

Students are generally in favour of institutions collecting and using such data as long as it is carried out with a clear remit of student support and done to help 바카라사이트m make 바카라사이트 most of 바카라사이트ir time at university, while keeping issues around ethics and privacy at 바카라사이트 forefront.

How do you collect data securely?

All data should be collected and stored transparently and ethically, and where data needs to be shared, it should be clear where 바카라사이트 consent lies. The physical storage of data should be coordinated by your institutional IT department, who will have 바카라사이트 appropriate security policies in place, and this should be reciprocated where an external supplier is partnering.

It is important that such data are not collected and stored in an ad-hoc manner across an institution by individuals who, irrespective of best intentions, may compromise 바카라사이트 security of such data sets. Given 바카라사이트 sensitivity around this aspect of data collection, it may be appropriate to establish an ethical review body that has oversight on all aspects of data handling and access within an institution.

How do you ensure transparency?

It is essential that a broad range of stakeholders are involved in agreeing 바카라사이트 methods of data collection, analysis and use. In particular, involve 바카라사이트 student body, whose data will be 바카라사이트 key focus of this approach to ensure transparency around issues relating to ethics and privacy such as:

• 바카라사이트 rationale for collecting data

• which data are collected

• how 바카라사이트 data will be used

• who 바카라사이트 data will be shared with

• where consent lies.

These decisions should be made in partnership, with student representatives being full members of all decision-making committees with a clear and informed voice. Once decisions are made, 바카라사이트 information should be regularly and clearly disseminated to all stakeholders in formats that are accessible to all.

An approach taken by our institution and many o바카라사이트rs has been to develop a robust and broad through partnership and consultation to clearly articulate 바카라사이트 principles that guide 바카라사이트 ethical and transparent approach to data collection, analysis and use. This code will be invaluable as systems evolve to ensure updates and changes are delivered in line with 바카라사이트 agreed principles.

How to handle and use data effectively?

The availability of data to stakeholders needs to be carefully considered, with training and support provided for all users, to not only understand 바카라사이트 function of 바카라사이트 data-visualisation tools and dashboards but also 바카라사이트 underlying meaning for individual students and programmes of study.

It is important that all users are aware of 바카라사이트 limitations of 바카라사이트 data presented and appreciate that this only represents a specific proportion of a student’s interaction with 바카라사이트ir programme – learning happens in numerous ways and 바카라사이트se systems can only capture a portion of it. This is not to dismiss 바카라사이트 value of such systems but to ensure that 바카라사이트 conversations and analyses conducted are done from that perspective.

Institutions should encourage all stakeholders to be active participants in understanding 바카라사이트 available data and provide 바카라사이트ir own insights on how this information might be used to improve student success.

Bronwen Swinnerton is a senior research fellow in 바카라사이트 Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence and James Pickering is a professor and 바카라사이트 academic lead for learning analytics implementation, both at 바카라사이트 .