Student privacy issues in online learning environments

ABSTRACT

This study explored student privacy issues in online learning environments. Vignettes are used to present the various privacy scenarios occurred in online learning environment. The study showed that there are direct legal ramifications of concern to students, as a result of sharing individual grades among group members and providing public feedback in blogs. Other privacy issues occurred in more nuanced ways, such as open access to each other’s work, transparent reflections, public comments, critical analysis of the assignments, and collaborative evaluations of students’ work. Suggestions are provided to address these privacy-related issues, including focusing on students’ products, not students’ names; informing students of the benefits they will receive and the contributions they will make by sharing their work publicly; and options for students to keep their identity private when they feel uncomfortable about sharing their work publicly.

KEYWORDS:

• privacy in online learning
• vignette
• resistance to knowledge sharing
• students’ rights and comfort
• blogs in learning

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers who provided very insightful and detailed suggestions, and Dr. Rose Badaruddin, Bennet Osei Bediako, and Antonina Petrolito, who helped me edit this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was declared by the author.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the author, Bo Chang, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bo Chang

Bo Chang is an associate professor at Ball State University. Her research interests include knowledge-related topics, different tools in learning, and the social aspect of adult learning in a variety of contexts. For more information about her, please check the following link: https://changbo111.wixsite.com/mysite