The Ethics of Student Privacy: Building Trust for Ed Tech

The Ethics of Student Privacy: Building Trust for Ed Tech

This article analyzes the opportunities and risks of data driven education technologies (ed tech). It discusses the deployment of data technologies by education institutions to enhance student performance, evaluate teachers,
improve education techniques, customize programs, devise financial assistance plans, and better leverage scarce resources to assess and optimize education results. Critics fear ed tech could introduce new risks of privacy infringements, narrowcasting and discrimination, fueling the stratification of society by channeling “winners” to a “Harvard track” and “losers” to a “bluer collar” track; and overly limit the right to fail, struggle and learn through experimentation. The article argues that together with teachers, parents and students, schools and vendors must establish a trust framework to facilitate the adoption of data driven ed tech. Enhanced transparency around institutions’ data use philosophy and ethical guidelines, and novel methods of data “featurization,” will achieve far more than formalistic notices and contractual legalese.

Related Resources

  • News Article

    Children’s Educational Records and Privacy – Inventory of State Statutes

    May 29, 2017Adiella Stadler, Dean’s Fellow

    Inventory of State Statutes that have incorporated CLIP Recommendations from their 2009 report.

    Learn More
  • News Article

    The Limits of Education Purpose Limitations

    May 21, 2017Elana Zeide

    This article examines technologies’ impact on the student privacy protections with a focus on education purpose limitations, and contends that that reliance on…

    Learn More
  • News Article

    Student Privacy and the Protection of Pupil Rights Act as Amended by No Child Left Behind

    May 21, 2017Lynn Daggett

    This article examines the Protection of Pupil Rights Act and how it interacts with FERPA, and how the No Child Left Behind legislation affects both laws and st…

    Learn More