EMILONA N.

GODINEZ MAED
Section : 3518
Technology and Digital Learning

Reflection Paper on Ensuring Privacy and Security in the Age of Digital

Learning

Privacy is defined simply as the right to control how your information is viewed
and used, while security is protection against threats or danger. Security and privacy
are very important in the digital world as information is just a click away and comes
in information is power. Privacy is foundational to who we are as a human. Besides,
privacy is a human right, and everyone is entitled to that right, more importantly to
our young learners. Concerns arises when learners’ data are shared across agencies,
in which utilization of said data depends on that agency, and the privacy and security
of our young learners are often left unconsidered. However, schools can consider the
following steps towards building a culture of student privacy. Roxi Thompson wrote
6 Steps to Protect Student Data Privacy

Identify a point person. As academes begin to think about student

privacy, the first step is to identify someone who can become the primary
contact on student data privacy questions and decisions. This might be
someone at the district office level (such as a director of technology or tech
coach), or it might be someone at the school level (such as an assistant
principal or instructional coach). This person can also provide teachers with
guidance and best practices.

Develop a communication strategy. It is essential to create a plan that

effectively communicates the district’s data privacy policies and procedures
to all stakeholders (for instance, educators, parents, and students). Clearly
communicating the plan at each step of the process will help build the
relationships necessary to create an environment in which student data
privacy is prioritized.

Identify websites and apps being used in the district. Start with the
apps that your district is paying for or encouraging teachers to use. Reach
out to curriculum specialists, coaches, and anyone else that regularly
provides professional development to teachers. I recommend starting with a
small batch (10–20) of the most used apps as you first start to develop
procedures. Later, as you fine-tune your approval process, you might decide
to utilize outside services to identify additional apps that are being used in
the classroom.

Develop an understanding of pertinent laws and regulations . To

effectively address student data privacy, the technology point person will
need to be familiar with related legal requirements.

Vet apps for compliance with laws and data privacy. Each app should
go through a standardized vetting procedure. I would strongly recommend
putting a team together to perform this vetting so that you get diverse
perspectives and input from a variety of stakeholders.

Two things you will want to look at closely for each app will be the
Terms of Service (TOS) and the Privacy Policy. Some pieces of information
you will want to look for are the kind of data they are collecting and how
they are securing that data. Reviewing the TOS and Privacy Policies can feel
overwhelming, especially when you are first getting started.

Create a list of approved apps to share with teachers . An important

part of creating a culture of student data privacy is ge tting teachers on
board, as they are the people making daily decisions about which apps to
use with their students. One way you can help them make safe choices is to
create a list of approved apps that have been vetted by a person (or group of
people) trained to read through Privacy Policies and Terms of Service notices.
With so many apps out there to choose from, teachers often have a choice
between two that do similar things. A list can help them choose the app that
does a better job of protecting data while still allowing them to use
technology to enhance learning for students.

Moreover, Bishop (2011) discusses the risks to institutions in using Facebook:

• privacy is different from security, in that security is primarily a technical,

hence mainly an IT, issue. Privacy needs a different set of policies that involves
 a much wider range of stakeholders within an institution, and hence a
different (and more complex) governance approach from security.

• many institutions do not have a simple, transparent set of policies for privacy,
but different policies set by different parts of the institution. This will
inevitably lead to confusion and difficulties in compliance.

• there is a whole range of laws and regulations that aim to protect

privacy; these cover not only students but also staff; privacy policy needs to
be consistent across the institution and be compliant with such laws and
regulation.

• Facebook’s current privacy policy (2011) leaves many institutions using

Facebook at a high level of risk of infringing or violating privacy laws – merely
writing some kind of disclaimer will in many cases not be sufficient to avoid
breaking the law.

Digital citizens today have a shared responsibility to contribute to

maintaining a secure online environment. Hacking is a growing challenge; in
2017, it brought down extensive hospital, banking, and shipping systems.
Comparatively little is being done to make learners aware of the gravity of such
anti-social behavior which would certainly be fiercely criticized in an offline
context.

Spam, phishing, viruses, malware, and bots have far-reaching

consequences too, and digital citizens can protect themselves from these
threats if they know where to procure the right protective tools and how to
apply them. Understanding and caring for our digital environment is as
important as caring for our home and living environment, especially as the
internet of things and the internet of toys make their way into our daily life.
Sustainability, both online and offline, relies on knowledge and critical
understanding, and a value of human rights and dignity, since the
carelessness of one person can place the whole family, school, or an entire
network at risk. We teach young children to navigate the risks to their home,
so should they not learn at the same time how to navigate the online
environment safely and securely, for their own welfare and that of others
around them.
 Children gain many of their early insights into how society works
through learning about privacy, identity management and security. Privacy is
closely linked to children’s earliest experiences of the world beyond their home
and offers an ideal opportunity for them to learn about sharing, empathy,
caution, and the fact that once something is given it cannot be taken back.
Defining their own profile and that of others around them will introduce
children to the notions of diversity and inclusion, sharpen their capacity to
listen and observe, foster an openness to cultural otherness and, if tackled
pedagogically, can help build their self-esteem. Older children can learn
important lessons about privacy if parents or teachers have them print their
social media profile page from time to time and post it in a public space. Older
students will rapidly become aware of double values regarding privacy online
and offline.

In conclusion, talking about data privacy and security can be

overwhelming, it entails several rules governing data to uphold its value and
importance in the life of our students. Public Schools shift for digital learning
brought us to an arena we seem to have not prepared even if some academe
in the country already shifted to digital learning before the global pandemic.
Although it offered several advantages, it further the gaps in the already
challenge public academes. This includes, connectivity and power
insufficiency, among other factors. The dawn of digital learning has paused
risk in our individual privacy. It must be inferred, while teachers and students
must work online – ensuring privacy and security must be top consideration.