Category: Education

Maintaining the Privacy and Security of Student Data

Recently, I found myself engaged in a discussion with some colleagues regarding security and ensuring that district and federal policies were being followed regarding student privacy and the security of student data. The teachers did not understand why they could not use a free digital resource with their students. This particular resource allowed users to utilize single sign-on with their school-issued Google accounts. The teachers’ thinking was that it was safe to use this resource because it was free and students did not have to create an account on the website. 

This conversation was very informative to me. While most teachers are aware of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), their view of privacy protection seems to be lacking a digital lens. As an Instructional Tech Specialist, I provide leadership in the area of student engagement and learning. This is one of the Pillars of Digital Leadership described by Sheninger (2019). Sheninger also describes this leadership role as being influenced by the Future Ready Framework–the Data and Privacy area in particular.

Privacy Laws

Two main federal laws regulate the privacy and security of student data: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). 

Importance of Vetting Resources

Even with these laws in place, there are still issues with vendors not being completely transparent with their privacy policies or disregarding the requirements outlined in COPPA altogether (Frazier & Hearrington, 2024). For example, vendors who offer free services often share collected data with third parties to make money. These third parties can use this data to develop profiles of children and build behavioral ads targeting these children.

When viewed from the Data and Privacy area of the Future Ready Framework (All4Ed, 2024), technology leaders must ensure that procedures are in place to vet all digital resources to verify their educational value and security. When it comes to educational value, the resource should be judged on its ability to help teachers and students achieve learning targets. The content should also be developmentally appropriate for the intended age group. Considering security, the vendor of the resource “should encrypt user data to provide a basic assurance of security, especially products housing student data” (Zimmerle, 2021). As mentioned above, federal laws require that vendors clearly state within their privacy policies what data is collected from students and how that data is used. This is where the issue with free resources comes into play. Many free resources actually make money from selling or sharing student data. Often this data is used to create contextual or targeted advertising (Kelly, Graham, & Garton, 2023; Zimmerle, 2021).

Privacy Information Resources

Common Sense has a Privacy Program that evaluates the privacy policies of popular products to help schools and parents make informed decisions about the tools their students are using. Privacy evaluations are provided for a range of apps along with explanations of the ratings. Common Sense also provides access to publications, written by privacy law experts, that share information on important issues surrounding digital citizenship and student learning.

One such publication, the 2023 Privacy Program Evaluation Framework (Kelly, Graham, & Garton, 2023), assesses products using “multiple dimensions of privacy, safety, security, and compliance, incorporating criteria based on legal, societal, educational, and child development practices” (Common Sense Media, n.d.). The appendix of this report is extremely useful. When evaluating a product based on a specific component of law, the links in the appendix navigate to the questions that should be considered in the evaluation process.

Vetting Recommendations

Zimmerle (2021) recommends educating teachers on the law and why vetting is so important especially when it comes to free resources. Even if teachers have been trained on the importance of security and privacy of student data, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) states that it is best practice for school districts to vet online resources instead of leaving it up to teachers (2020, July).

Note. From Adopting Ed Tech: Privacy Vetting [Video], by Student Privacy Compass, 13 August 2020, YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU8v1orttis&t=629s)

When vetting resources, Student Privacy Compass, formerly known as FERPA|Sherpa, suggests asking the following ten questions (Gallagher, Magid, & Pruitt, 2021, p. 9 ).

  1. Does the product collect PII?
  2. Does the vendor commit not to share student information other than as needed to provide the educational product or service? The vendor should clearly promise never to sell data.
  3. Does the vendor create a profile of students, other than for the educational purposes specified?
  4. When you cancel the account or delete the app, will the vendor delete all student data that has been provided or created?
  5. Does the product show advertisements to students? Behaviorally targeted advertising is never acceptable for school use.
  6. Does the vendor allow parents to access data it holds about students or enable schools to access data so the school can provide the data to parents in compliance with FERPA?
  7. Does the vendor promise to provide security for the data it collects? Look for products that use encryption when storing and transmitting student data.
  8. Does the vendor claim it can change its privacy policy without notice at any time? The FTC requires vendors to provide notice to users when their privacy policies change and get new consent for the collection and use of their data.
  9. Does the vendor say that if the company is sold, all bets are off? The policy should state that any sale or merger will require the new company to adhere to the same protections.
  10. Do reviews or articles about the product or vendor raise any red flags?

Closing Thoughts

Thinking back to Sheninger’s (2019) description of the roles and qualities of an effective digital leader, I examined how I might be a more effective leader with regard to helping teachers understand the importance of Data and Privacy. With this in mind, I have redesigned my training with teachers to incorporate more of the information about the law and good practices I discovered in my research here. Before teachers request permission from the district to utilize new digital resources, they will now be able to examine these resources from a Data and Privacy perspective.

References

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, 15 U.S.C. §6501 et seq. (1998). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2022-title15/pdf/USCODE-2022-title15-chap91-sec6501.pdf 

Common Sense Media. (n.d.). Common sense privacy program: Publications. Retrieved from https://privacy.commonsense.org/resource/publications  

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g et seq. (1974). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2022-title20/pdf/USCODE-2022-title20-chap31-subchapIII-part4-sec1232g.pdf   

Federal Trade Commission. (2020, July). Complying with COPPA: Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-coppa-frequently-asked-questions 

Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2024). The technology coordinator’s handbook (4th ed.). International Society for Technology in Education.

Gallagher, K., Magid, L., & Pruitt, K. (2021). The educator’s guide to student data privacy. Student Privacy Compass. Retrieved from https://studentprivacycompass.org/audiences/educators/ 

Kelly, G., Graham, J., & Garton, S. (2023). 2023 Privacy Program Evaluation Framework. Common Sense Media.

Sheninger, E. (2019). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times (2nd ed.). Corwin; International Center for Leadership in Education.

Student Privacy Compass (2020, August 13). Adopting EdTech: Privacy vetting [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU8v1orttis&t=629s 
Student Privacy Compass (2024). Welcome to student privacy compass. https://studentprivacycompass.org/

Visual Persuasion: Crafting Compelling Infographics

Note. From What makes a good infographic? [Photograph], by Daniel Zeevi, 2013, Flickr ( https://flic.kr/p/dSxX4V). CC BY-ND 2.0.

I just finished reading Chapter 4 of Argument in the Real World by Kristen Hawley Turner and Troy Hicks. In this chapter, the authors discuss using infographics as a form of argument. Abilock and Williams (2014) define an infographic as “a claim expressed through visual metaphor, conveying the creator’s fresh understanding of relationships, expressed through a judicious selection and arrangement of visuals, evidence, and text acquired during inquiry research within a discipline” (p. 47). Infographics are a powerful tool for making arguments and worth teaching students how to use (Turner & Hicks, 2017).

Infographics are very effective at presenting information quickly and efficiently by leveraging brain science.  NeoMam Studios (n.d.) has a site, 13 Reasons Why Your Brain Craves Infographics, illustrating why infographics can be so helpful.

Common Themes in Infographics

In their examination of infographics, Hawley and Turner (2017) identified three universal themes when it comes to infographics. First, the data in the infographic must tell a story. Second, the data must come from reliable sources. Finally, the infographic should be visually appealing and easy to share.

Good argument infographics start with inquiry. Students’ inquiry begins with questions. Students might typically start with the K-W-L strategy to formulate questions (Ogle, 1986) to orient their inquiry. Abilock and Williams (2014) argue that this is not enough. To be relevant, students must consider the infographic’s audience and purpose. Abilock and Williams propose five elements that students’ questions should address. Those are outlined in the infographic to the right.

Application in the Math Classroom

Hawley and Turner (2017) share the following suggestion as a possible classroom activity using infographics. “Identify a local issue of importance to the school or community. Design a survey and distribute it through social media. Using the data that is collected, have students take a stand and create infographics to share” (p. 80). This type of activity could be used to address the Alabama Content Standards for Mathematics. Under the Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability content area, one of the focus areas states that “data arise from a context and come in two types: quantitative (continuous or discrete) and categorical. Technology can be used to “clean” and organize data, including very large data sets, into a useful and manageable structure–a first step in any analysis of data” (Alabama State Department of Education, 2019, p. 136).

I could see this being used with an issue my school is looking into this year. We are considering revising our bell schedules for the 2024-2025 school year. Many students would like the opportunity to take more electives than they currently do. Teachers would like to see some type of study hall built into the school day to assist students who need extra help. This provides an excellent real-world scenario of where mathematics can be applied to help answer questions. We could involve students in this real-world problem. Students could help design a Google Form to collect the preferences of students, teachers, and parents. After collecting the information, students could analyze and organize the data by creating infographics to help share the collected data with all stakeholders in our school community. Each grade level could analyze their data and the school as a whole.

References

Abilock, D., & Williams, C. (2014). Recipe for an Infographic. Knowledge Quest, 43(2), 46–55.

Alabama State Department of Education. (2019). 2019 Alabama course of study: Mathematics.

Ogle, D. M. (1986). K-W-L: A teaching model that develops active reading of expository text. Reading Teacher, 39(6), 564–570.

Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts.

Zeevi, D. (2013). What makes a good infographic? [Photograph]. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/dSxX4V

Unlocking Mathematical Minds: Harnessing the Power of Blogging for Critical Thinking

Currently, I am reading Argument in the Real World by Kristen Hawley Turner and Troy Hicks. The authors argue for using social media to help students develop their skills in writing digital arguments. These skills are necessary to see students move from consuming content online to creating their own content. Creating content requires students to be able to express their ideas clearly and be able to defend them.

Turner and Hicks (2017) state that “practicing the moves of argument–with both print and digital writing–will help students become more proficient as critical thinkers” (p. 14). Some of the “moves” that Hawley Turner and Hicks discuss in their book include: using images to both make claims and provide evidence, using evidence to support claims, formulating counterclaims, and choosing design elements to reinforce the ideas a writer is trying to communicate. As a former math teacher, this made me wonder how writing, digital writing in particular, could be used to promote critical thinking in the math classroom. How might a digital medium like blogging be used to develop critical thinking skills? What does research say about the role of writing in the math classroom?

Current Standards

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) views communication as integral to learning mathematics. NCTM (2000, p. 60) states in its Communication Standard that

Instructional programs from prekindergarten through grade 12 should enable all students to–

  • organize and consolidate their mathematical thinking through communication;
  • communicate their mathematical thinking coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others;
  • analyze and evaluate the mathematical thinking and strategies of others;
  • use the language of mathematics to express mathematical ideas precisely.

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics include Standards for Mathematical Practice. These standards list activities that students should be engaging in across all levels of mathematics. One of the standards specifies that all students should be able to “construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010, p. 6). This standard proposes that students at all grade levels “can listen or read the arguments of others, decide whether they make sense, and ask useful questions to clarify or improve the arguments” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010, p. 7). In the video below, NCMT (2015) provides examples of what this standard looks like in action in the classroom.

YouTube Video from NCTM describing Constructing Viable Arguments and Critiquing the Reasoning of Others [Through Time Stamp 7:06]

Using Blogs as a Medium for Critical Thinking and Reasoning

Given the importance of communication in learning mathematics, blogs seem suitable for students to organize their thoughts and communicate their mathematical thinking. With the ability to comment on posts, students also have opportunities to critique the reasoning of others and justify their thinking. Through their writing, students practice using mathematical language to attend to precision when expressing their ideas. Cooper (2012) characterizes blogs as “a prime location for students to use writing to create depth of understanding, record their thinking, and communicate with peers or the instructor” (p. 80).

Turner and Hicks (2017) discuss how images can be used as evidence when making claims. Blogs allow students to incorporate images, graphic organizers, video clips, and visual aids into their writing.

Using digital tools, like Desmos, students can incorporate their own images that model their understanding of a specific problem. Using this type of media increases students’ ability to express their mathematical ideas and justify their reasoning (Cooper, 2012).

Depending on the age of the students, blogs could be opened up to others outside of the classroom. For example, an actuary could be invited to respond to students’ blog posts in a statistics class at the high school level. This would definitely motivate those students who ask, “When will we ever use this?” Opening up blogs to people outside of the school would be trickier with younger students, where the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) comes into play.

Used correctly, blogs allow students to take ownership of their learning because they can express what they do and do not know. They can ask questions and receive feedback. Blogs can provide students a space to continue to think and reflect on problems outside of the classroom. This could be a game changer for students who need extra time to process and reflect. Blogs could also serve as a type of digital portfolio where students have a written record of their thinking and how their understanding changes over time.

Challenges

There is no doubt that blogs have the potential to be an excellent communication tool to help students develop the ability to express and defend their ideas clearly and justify their reasoning. The main challenge I see with using blogs deals with time. Teachers will need time to become comfortable with using blogs so that they can guide students in setting up their blogs.

Students will also need time to become comfortable with creating blogs and appropriate ways of sharing their ideas and critiquing others. They will need time to slow down and think about how they want to formulate their ideas. Students will also need time to read and formulate their critiques when responding to their peers’ blog posts. However, this investment of time would reap great rewards as students become better critical thinkers.

The other challenge I can see with using blogs in the classroom deals more with classroom management. Some students can be easily distracted while using computers. The temptation to open up other tabs and get off-task is a problem for some students. Just as they would with any use of technology, teachers must be vigilant in supervising students and helping them to remain on task.

References

Cooper, A. (2012). Today’s technologies enhance writing in mathematics. The Clearing House, 85(2), 80-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2011.624394

Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common core standards for mathematics. https://learning.ccsso.org/common-core-state-standards-initiative

Federal Communications Commission. (2019, December 30). Children’s Internet protection act. https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/childrens-internet-protection-act

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2015, April 10). Standards for mathematical practice [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLQI-CyXqc0&t=426s

Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts.