The flip side of the excess use of technology these days by the students is that of their privacy. With schools also operating remotely these days, this issue has become more serious.The hurried transition to digital learning due to the pandemic has made both teachers and parents realize the importance of its use in education but what we need to do is use is judiciously lest we come a subject to some security related issues. Usage of that technology which is not paired with adequate implementation professional development, will track and surveil students is ways no one will even be aware of. For example, a mindless post on social media by the student could be recorded and shared, unknown to anyone recording of the happenings from inside of their house could begin even before the class starts. Unfortunately, the importance of student privacy never occurs to most of the parents and educators.
Schools keeping a record of student health data through contact tracing apps, thermal imaging, temperature check etc further heightens their privacy risk. Schools are advised to collect only necessary health data and retain it only for the minimum period required by law. Whatever Data collected should be used to support and not penalize the students. Data governance policies should be created like what data is recorded and how students are being evaluated during virtual learning. Schools should initiate support and guidance through social emotional learning, mental and behavioral health resources and counseling when, perhaps, the child does not turn his camera on when remote learning class is going on or perhaps when the child does not show up for the class. Training teachers around student privacy while using new tools like video conferencing should be initiated.
Source : edsurge
