“We need to safeguard student data.” But how do we do this and what does it mean to use student data? The Ed-Fi Alliance, an organization dedicated to advancing the education technology sector and advocating for the responsible use of data to improve student achievement and teacher satisfaction, is publishing a series of posts on its website on strong data privacy practices. What is appealing in this series is that they are providing real-world examples and practical situations we can learn from.
There is nothing simple about student data privacy. The issue is so multifaceted and complex we continue to struggle with determining what is the ultimate student data privacy protection. However, this latest Ed-Fi blog’s post features Lenny Schad, Chief Technology Information Officer for the Houston Independent School District. He is an advocate for data-driven learning environments but more importantly, he is well aware of the importance of student data privacy protections and implementing a robust technology infrastructure to protect such data.
The conversations about student data privacy are important but reading about real life experiences implementing data privacy and security protections provides an entire new perspective to the topic.
Mr. Schad shared five essential best practices for district leaders to adopt:
- Build awareness among educators
- Strengthen technical solutions by consolidating and securing resources
- Strengthen educators’ role in the student data security chain through formal training and resources
- Enlist vendors as data protection partners
- Get started now— and keep going
How do we keep going? There are a number of resources available, among them the Future of Privacy Forum, Common Sense Media, iKeepSafe and Consortium on School Networking (CoSN).
It’s a good read for anyone involved in student data but particularly for school districts.
You can read the entire post here – http://www.ed-fi.org/blog/2015/07/key-advice-on-the-new-frontiers-of-student-data-protection/
Enjoy reading!
