What are universities doing with all the data they collect about you?
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The Ubyssey published an article about how UBC intends to use students’ data to provide insights to support teaching and learning through its learning analytics project. Although it sounds like a positive development in education, some people are concerned about whether the extensive collection of data through the learning management system Canvas could mean an invasion of privacy. For instance, the piece talks about the efforts of Bryan Short, former Digital Tattoo Project Coordinator, to access the records that the university had about him. He eventually received the records, but not without a surprise: “It was something like 400,301,000 individual data points about me,” said Short.
In a series of posts to Digital Tattoo between 2017 and 2018, Short explained the process he had to go through to understand how the university was managing his data. In an attempt to call out UBC to give more control to students over their own information, Short promoted a consultation and drafted a bill of rights about student data. One of the concerns raised was that learning management systems have been extracting, tracking, sharing and analyzing data without giving students the opportunity to understand what is behind it.
Furthermore, the concern about students’ privacy is not exclusive to UBC. Last year, we also explained about what the new adoption of a Canvas system by the University of Toronto meant for students.
Are you also concerned about how the university is handling your data? Would you like to engage in the discussion about learning analytics? If you’re a UBC student, you can participate in the consultation process that the university is currently promoting. You can also contribute to the draft of the Student Bill of Rights for Learning Data. If you’re not affiliated with UBC (or if you want to contribute anonymously), you can add your comments to our Padlet.
How universities can use students’ data to investigate academic dishonesty?
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In a similar beat, a recent investigation of academic dishonesty in the U.S. shed light on how a university can keep track of students’ data, and how data could be used as an alibi. An article published by TechCrunch revealed that a Canadian student was expelled from Tufts University veterinary school in Boston, under the accusation of grade hacking. However, she denies the accusations and presented a compelling defense, including information from a sleep tracker and photos with metadata showing a different localization of the alleged hacks. The university, however, didn’t consider the information she provided to be enough to prove her innocence.
The case is still ongoing and the conflicting evidence from both sides, as pointed out by Inside Higher Ed, makes it even more complicated, but reveals how data can be used for both the better and the worse when it comes to tracking a student’s activity. In this case, the alleged hacker is accused of stealing logins to break into the records system. On the other hand, the university was able to access her IP address and connect it to the one used to change grades.
If you’re interested in the topic, we recommend reading our recent blog post on what to do when an information fiduciary gets hacked, while you wait for more developments on this case. In addition, our tutorials on academic honesty and outwitting identity theft are good resources to check out as well.
Should universities take the lead in promoting public interest technology?
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In the beginning of March, 21 leading universities and colleges across the United States announced that they had formed the new Public Interest Technology University Network. The organization’s goal is to build the “field of public interest technology and growing a new generation of civic-minded technologists.” The New York Times explained that, “in other words, the group aims to both humanize technologists and technologize humanists.” The field has an interdisciplinary nature, which combines disciplines like computer science, law and sociology. According to the article, this organization is a much needed response to the recent scandals at giant tech firms, such as Facebook and Google.
The new group believes they will be able to make public interest technology integral to the technology industry. Furthermore, they envision not only new programs, but new career pathways for companies and students.
Do you believe this effort is enough to push for more humanized tech? What else can educational institutions do to help hold tech giants accountable? And what’s our role as students? Please, share your thought with us in the comments box below!
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What’s happening:
VANCOUVER:
When? April 15, from 12:15 pm to 1:45 pm (PDT)
Where? UBC Point Grey Campus – CK Choi Building, Room 120, 1855 West Mall, Vancouver, B.C.
KELOWNA:
Workshop – Data Bootcamp
When? May 2, from 1 pm to 4 pm (PDT)
Where? UBC Okanagan Campus – UBC Library, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, B.C.
Workshop – Big Data Event
When? May 3, from 8 am to 5 pm (PDT)
Where? UBC Okanagan Campus – Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, 3187 University Way, Kelowna, B.C.
TORONTO:
Lecture – Toomas Ilves: Addressing The Vulnerabilities Of Democracy In The Digital Age
When? April 12, from 10 am to 12 pm
Where? U of T St. George (Downtown) Campus – Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy / Bloor – 1st floor Boardroom/Round Room/Library, 315 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ont.
Conference – IM Conference 2019: Community Knowledge: Shared Practices of Sense-Making, Communication, & Collaboration
When? April 15 and 16
Where? U of T St. George (Downtown) Campus – Faculty of Information, Inforum Library, 140 Saint George Street, Toronto, Ont.
*As part of the conference, Digital Tattoo is promoting the event Digital Tattoo Talks – Online Community Building on April 16, from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm (EDT)
Lecture: Cities by Design: Smart Communities and Villages, with Prof. Michael Trebilcock
When? April 16, from 4:10 pm to 6 pm
Where? U of T St. George (Downtown) Campus – Faculty of Law, Jackman Law Building, J225, 78 Queens Park, Toronto, Ont.
Lecture – Urban Data As Public Space
When? April 23, from 4 pm to 6 pm
Where? U of T St. George (Downtown) Campus – Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy / Devonshire Place – 108N, North House, 1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, Ont.
Lecture: Cities by Design: Smart Communities and Villages, with Prof. Joseph Wong
When? April 23, from 4:10 pm to 6 pm
Where? U of T St. George (Downtown) Campus – Faculty of Law, Jackman Law Building, J225, 78 Queens Park, Toronto, Ont.
Panel – APPlying a Digital Perspective to Women’s Health
When? April 26, from 1 pm to 5 pm (EDT)
Where? Women’s College Hospital, 76 Grenville Street, Toronto, Ont.
Lecture: Cities by Design: Smart Communities and Villages, with Prof. Cynthia Goh
When? April 30, from 4:10 pm to 6 pm
Where? U of T St. George (Downtown) Campus – Faculty of Law, Jackman Law Building, J225, 78 Queens Park, Toronto, Ont.
Hackathon – 2019 UofT DataFest
When? May 3 to May 5
Where? UTSC Scarborough Campus – Highland Hall Event Center, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, Ont.
Edited by: Elyse Hill
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