For Data Privacy Day (1/28), let's take a look at students' data privacy – as in the data on their cellphones and whether school administrators have the right to search the devices. The ACLU says they don't. It called out a school board in Tennessee for violating the constitutional rights of students by implementing a policy that allows school officials to search digital devices kids bring to … [Read more...] about Of student digital privacy & schools demanding passwords
Privacy
‘State of the Union’ & the student part of student privacy protection
There's a lot of confusion in the air about student data privacy, and some widely quoted words about it from President Obama in his address Tuesday night didn't help (but I suspect his speechwriters were just looking for a spot to put a high-priority topic into "a simple, dramatic message about economic fairness," as the New York Times put it: "No foreign nation, no hacker should be able to … [Read more...] about ‘State of the Union’ & the student part of student privacy protection
Protecting student privacy calls for student participation
This era of big data and big exposure – of all aspects of life to peers, the public and even perpetrators – calls for big participation. Because every day people are exposing, sharing, uploading, creating and inputting things about themselves and others, whether in social situations or part of their jobs, as friends, relatives, students or professionals, everybody is a participant (and … [Read more...] about Protecting student privacy calls for student participation
So-called Snapchat hack & the question of where to place trust
It's interesting to see headlines like "Snapchat photo leak shows users' mistake was trusting each other." That was the takeaway from a commentator in the Los Angeles Times. But the real takeaway should be: Don't trust unauthorized third-party apps that claim to enhance or add convenience to your social media apps. At least, if you really want to use one, look into how it works and what it does … [Read more...] about So-called Snapchat hack & the question of where to place trust
From ‘Big Data’ to ‘Big Parent’: Student privacy developments
Are you part of the Big Parent response to Big Data? Great lede from Politico.com's Stephanie Simon: "You’ve heard of Big Oil and Big Tobacco. Now get ready for Big Parent." She's talking about an unpredicted mobilization in recent months that has "catapulted student privacy … to prominence in statehouses from New York to Florida to Wyoming" and "attracted powerful allies" from left (ACLU) to … [Read more...] about From ‘Big Data’ to ‘Big Parent’: Student privacy developments