The Ethics of Student Data Collection - Privacy and Paternalism

Internet and online education have further enhanced how students can improve their learning by adopting various measures. Along with that, what has come into major issues are the privacy and paternalism of the students. How their data are collected, and how it's leading to invading their privacy! The student data collection is raising critical ethical concerns surrounding privacy and paternalism.

The Ethics of Student Data Collection - Privacy and Paternalism

While collecting data can help improve the student's outcomes and identify areas where they might need additional support, these data can be invasive and harm the student's privacy.

So, what exactly are the ethics of student data collection and why are they important?

In this article, we will be discussing the ethics of data collection to improve educational outcomes.

We suggest reaching out to an academic essay writer who can help you better understand these terms and offer tips for best student privacy, else, this article is meant to help you too!

Ethical Data Collection of Students - Privacy and Paternalism

Now, when, online education and learning have come on the rise, and students have various data surrounding them. It also includes sensitive information related to health, family, and academic performance.

In the case, these data are not protected adequately, they could be used for nefarious purposes, such as theft of identity or targeted advertising.

It also raises concerns about potential paternalism.

It is when someone in a position of power restricts the autonomy of any other person for their good. For student data collection, educators, and administrators might invade these data and use them without their consent or knowledge.

This case can be seen as paternalistic, as these students have no idea of how their data is used, and who has access to them.

Therefore, it is a must to understand the importance of online privacy.

Important Guidelines in Student Data Collection

So, how can you ensure that these data are safe? If it's authorized only to the right person!

All these ideas come under the guidelines in student data collection. It is important to understand student privacy ethics and autonomy, and then only collect and use these data.

With the rising number of educational privacy ethics issues, we've mentioned some key principles that aim to develop such guidelines.

We've discussed how one can collect student data. Let's have a look!

Transparency in Data Collection

Transparency is one of the key principles in collecting student data. It involves being open and clear about what data is being collected, what's the purpose behind collecting them, and how the collected data will be used.

What's also important is to build trust between students, their families, and the school, and get their consent.

In the case of student data collection, transparency refers to the educators and administrators being clear about the types of student data that are being collected which can be performance data, demographic information, or health-related information.

It should be clear on why these data are collected and how they shall be used.

Informed Consent from Students

Consent is another key principle of student data collection. It involves getting permission from the students or their families before collecting, using, or sharing these personal data.

Each individual has the right to be fully informed about what data are being collected, why it is being collected, and how they will be used.

Thus, having the ability to make an informed decision is a must.

Such information should be provided in a way that is accessible to all students and their families regardless of their literacy or language skills.

Informed consent also gives students and families to opt out of the data collection.

Minimal Data Collection

This rule emphasizes collecting only data that are a must. here, the very minimum amount of data is collected to achieve the educational goals.

Such data collection is targeted and purposeful, rather than excessive or indiscriminate.

The principle of minimal data collection helps protect student privacy and limit potential data from misuse or abuse.

Further, it also helps educators and administrators to not overburden themselves by managing unnecessary data, which can be time-consuming resulting in being costly as well.

Secure Storage of Collected Data

Once the data has been collected from students, it is a must that they are protected and stored in a place where only the authorized authority can use them. Secure data storage is a principle in student data collecting that involves storing data safely and securely.

It helps prevent unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of personal information.

This is a must because protecting student privacy prevents data breaches, which if not taken care of lead to identify theft, financial fraud, and other harms.

In this principle, educators and administrators use various security measures such as encryption, firewalls, and such to protect data from unauthorized access and theft.

Data Usability

Data use is a principle in student data collection that agrees on using student data ethically and responsibly to achieve the required educational goals.

It means that administrators should only use the data for legitimate educational purposes like improving student achievement, supporting student learning, and evaluating educational programs.

Student data collection should not be used for purposes that are unrelated to education, like marketing, or advertising without obtaining informed consent from families and students.

Retention of Data

Data retention is where the collected data should be viewed regularly and apply retention policies and practices. It ensures that they are retaining the data only for as long as it is to achieve the educational goals.

The process involves retaining data for a certain period after a student graduates or leaves the school, and deleting data that is no longer necessary.

It is important because it helps protect student privacy and prevent unnecessary use of personal information.

Accountability

It is a principle in student data collection which involves taking responsibility for the use, protection, and management of the collected data.

It is a must that administrators need to be transparent about the collected data and use practices to provide clear and easily understandable information.

The principle helps ensure that the data is used responsibly and ethically, and hat educators are held responsible for any misuse or mishandling of personal information.

Wrapping Up

In the ethics of student data collection, we spoke about how these data should be transparent, and have informed consent. We also mentioned collecting minimal data, securing them, using them in time of need, retaining them time and again, and being accountable for the information collected.

By adhering to these principles, educators can ensure the safety of the data and achieve educational goals.

We also suggest essay writing sites that will do the job for you in helping create student data that protects privacy and paternalism.

While student data collection can be a powerful tool, it comes with potential benefits and responsibilities along with ethical concerns around privacy and paternalism.

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Online Threat Alerts Security Tips

Pay the safest way

Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.

Guard your personal information

In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.

Be careful of the information you share

Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with

Know who you’re dealing with

Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.

Check your accounts

Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.

Don’t believe promises of easy money

If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.

Do not open email from people you don’t know

If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.

Think before you click

If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.

Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond

If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.

Be careful with links and new website addresses

Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.

Secure your personal information

Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.

Stay informed on the latest cyber threats

Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.

Use Strong Passwords

Strong passwords are critical to online security.

Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs

Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.

Update the operating systems on your electronic devices

Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.

What if You Got Scammed?

Stop Contact With The Scammer

Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.

Secure Your Finances

  • Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
  • Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:

Check Your Computer

If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.

Change Your Account Passwords

Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.

Report The Scam

Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.

Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:

  • Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
  • Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
  • Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.

How To Recognize a Phishing Scam

Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.

Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:

Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might

  • say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
  • claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
  • say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
  • include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
  • want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
  • say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
  • offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real

About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)

Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.

By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.

With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.

Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.

Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).

The Ethics of Student Data Collection - Privacy and Paternalism