Meeting BC Teacher Needs: A Tool to Support Web 2.0 & LMS Integration with Respect to Privacy
While the expansion of learning management systems (LMSs) and Web 2.0 tools is ever growing, many K-12 teachers are unaware of where these tools and LMSs store their information and the ways in which this information is accessed or transferred. The types of data entered or shared on these tools, as well as the methods of storage and access can present student privacy risks and vulnerabilities. In British Columbia (BC), Canada, teachers using these tools can be legally responsible for reasonably managing these risks and vulnerabilities. Under British Columbian law, the responsibilities of public school teachers are governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA, 1996) while teachers in independent schools are governed by the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA, 2003).
For teachers in British Columbia independent schools, these factors raise significant questions. This work will concern itself with 3 key questions:
Most online learning environments that teachers are using are LMSs with Web 2.0 tools via embedded websites and applications. An LMS is the infrastructure that delivers and manages instructional content, identifies and assesses individual and organizational learning or training goals, tracks the progress towards meeting those goals, and collects and presents data for supervising the learning process of organization as a whole (Szabo & Flesher, 2002). An LMS delivers content but also handles registering for courses, course administration, skills gap analysis, tracking, and reporting (Gilhooly, 2001).
A simple definition of Web 2.0 is the “Read/Write Web.” Originally, the Internet was a place to locate information - mainly a "Read Only Web." As the Internet slowly changed, web sites were developed that let people "write," collaborate, and share information, such as Wikipedia and Facebook. (Web 2.0 Teaching Tools, 2009). A chart outlining the differences between Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 can be found in Appendix A: Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, What’s the Difference?
There are a lot of fears around using social media tools with our students but many teachers are unaware that there are privacy concerns with many Web 2.0 tools. This statement is not to scare teachers and parents / guardians away from using these tools with their students, but rather to inform them that there are pieces that they should be aware of to help keep the students as safe as possible. Technology is a very useful tool to have and a great way that teachers can reach a vast majority of learners with different learning styles but it has to be used judiciously. This is why I have selected my topic: “Meeting BC Teacher Needs: A Tool to Support Web 2.0 & LMS Integration with Respect to Privacy”.
Research Focus and Intent
I am currently working as a teacher in an independent K-12 distance learning school. When thinking about what project possibilities, I noticed that a lot of my colleagues were unaware of the privacy concerns that they are dealing with when using Web 2.0 and LMSs with their students. Although none of my colleagues currently use a fully online learning environment, the hope of our school is to slowly start moving in that direction. This process will take time and it starts with small changes. An example of a small change can be demonstrated as teachers in our primary school switch from a library book and reading log system to an online resource such as Reading Eggs (http://readingeggs.com/ - a paid service and app) where the students’ reading progress is tracked online and can be accessed by both the teacher and the parent or guardian of the student. When teachers decide to use a Web 2.0 tool or a LMS they need to be aware of some key privacy and safety points so they are able to accurately relay them to the families that will be using the tools. These key points form the basis on which families decide to give or withhold consent. Three of the biggest points that need to be addressed before any informed consent can be reasonably given by a parent or guardian are:
Beyond relevant legislation, when using LMSs or Web 2.0 tools, teachers must also concern themselves with an online tool's specific terms of service and privacy policy, as well as any school level policies as these affect how student/user information is stored, accessed and used. An important consideration for teachers, especially when using one tool for multiple years is to make sure to recheck the privacy policy and terms of service for the tool periodically (at least every 6 months) as many companies update these and some do not inform their users of the changes. If a teacher sees too great of a change in these policies, he or she will be required to make a decision about regaining parent / guardian consent or choosing a different tool with similar capabilities, as the previously obtained informed consent for the tool could be invalid.
School policies may be similar from school to school but are rarely identical. Unlike public schools where district-wide policies can provide continuity across a variety of schools, independent schools are not part of a particular school district. Independent schools, more so than public schools, are likely to have differences in their policies from one school to the next. Like the terms of service and privacy policies from a company or website, school policies should grow and change as the years go by--especially as technology is becoming a bigger part of life and learning. Policy changes will occur and should be communicated to the teachers. Once teachers are aware of a change, they will have to make sure that their practices are keeping within the updated requirements. In the same way a change in a company policy may be so great that consent previously given is invalid, changes may affect informed consent obtained by teachers. In light of any policy changes, it will be the teacher’s responsibility to review previously obtained consent to ensure it is still valid.
The nature of intended student use of tools is another important factor of which parents and guardians need to be made aware and of which teachers need to have a firm understanding. If teachers are not fully sure of why they want to use a certain tool, then the tool will not be used to the greatest potential for helping the students achieve their goals. Clear expectations about the tools, activities to be conducted on them, data to be posted, and associated concerns need to be stated right from the start with a firm understanding by the parent/guardian. It is only with a clear understanding that parents and guardians are able to give informed consent for their child to use the tool and partake in the activities associated with it. The goal of my project is to provide a support tool for teachers that will:
Project Database
The project proposes to create a database which will include parent/guardian background information documents, teacher briefing documents and consent forms for each of the Web 2.0 tools that are used by the teachers in my school as well as the LMS Canvas by Instructure. Canvas will be the initial LMS tool supported by the project as it is the LMS our school is currently using and it allows for a vast amount of Web 2.0 tools and apps to be embedded in it. Some of the apps that can be embedded into Canvas are TeacherTube, Khan Academy, Twitter, and many others (a full list can be seen in Appendix B: External Canvas Apps). The project will compile a list of all tools and websites that are used by my colleagues and start to create a database of information that can be used by them and shared with others for use in many independent (and public) schools in British Columbia and beyond. The reason I would like to include my colleagues’ tool choices in this project is because it would give me a chance to target my initial efforts toward what is most relevant to myself, my colleagues and my school.
This tool will function as an electronic performance support system for teachers. An Electronic Performance Support System is, according to Barry Raybould, "a computer-based system that improves worker productivity by providing on-the-job access to integrated information, advice, and learning experiences" (Raybould, 1991). With the EPSS that I am striving to create, I will have editable information sheets and templates that could be used with parents and guardians. Teachers would be able to access the documents, edit them to make them specifically work for their intentions and then send them to the parents and guardians of their students. This would encourage the teachers to be aware of the relevant privacy concerns under BC legislation, the usefulness of their tools of choice and how to articulate these to the families with whom they would be working. Many teachers will pick a tool or website that other teachers will recommend to them without looking critically at it themselves. I believe that this EPSS would encourage opportunities for critical reflection on the nature and risks of specific tools.
The parent/guardian and teacher background information documents will contain relevant information to review before using – or giving consent to use – tools and websites. The documents will include three pieces for the parents and guardians to consider:
The privacy policy compliance piece will relate each concern back to the individual school’s policies and key BC legislation considerations. For the purposes of this project, my intention is that the initial privacy policy content will be tailored to the policies of my school. Since each independent school has its own policies, privacy policy compliance needs will vary from school to school. It is likely that privacy policy support content may need to be tweaked when being accessed by someone at a different school. The privacy policy compliance piece will give parents and guardians information about why a tool was chosen, what concerns there may be for consideration before giving consent and suggestions for how to stay as safe as possible when using the resource. At this time, my school is in the process of updating its privacy policy and I will be supporting the school’s efforts while completing my project.
Finally, the consent form will clearly outline expectations and guidelines for the tool or website that is being used. For example, the consent form will give a quick overview about suggestions for choosing user names (if applicable), a quick reminder about why the tool is being used, and a list of guidelines to follow when using the tool in able to support the student safety. This form will be about two pages long to allow for the explanation and guidelines to be on one sheet and the consent to be on a separate sheet allowing parents and guardians to retain a copy of the expectations to refer to whenever necessary.
Further Considerations
As stated previously, one of the purposes of the EPSS is to allow sharing with and adaptations by other teachers from any school or district. As much as it would be nice to have everything line up perfectly when using the forms with many different teachers, these tools will be used for a variety of reasons in many different grades, in many different ways, and therefore it will be necessary for each teacher to adapt the documentation to fit his or her specific situation. The EPSS will provide a great head start for the general teacher and for many, it should require only a small amount of editing prior to use. The forms and content in the initial EPSS will conform to my specific school’s privacy policies which are governed by PIPA (2003) (as we are a B.C. independent school) and therefore, there may be additional changes that are required when used with students and classrooms in a public school governed by FIPPA (1996).
For teachers in British Columbia independent schools, these factors raise significant questions. This work will concern itself with 3 key questions:
- What student privacy issues, if any, must teachers in BC independent schools manage when using online learning environments and Web 2.0 tools?
- What implications, if any, do teacher awareness and existing legislations have for managing the privacy of BC students in independent K-12 schools in regard to the Protection of Information Privacy Act (PIPA, 2003)?
- What type of electronic performance support system (EPSS) might be built to help teachers in a British Columbian independent school use learning management systems and Web 2.0 tools in accordance with the Protection of Information and Privacy Act (PIPA, 2003)?
Most online learning environments that teachers are using are LMSs with Web 2.0 tools via embedded websites and applications. An LMS is the infrastructure that delivers and manages instructional content, identifies and assesses individual and organizational learning or training goals, tracks the progress towards meeting those goals, and collects and presents data for supervising the learning process of organization as a whole (Szabo & Flesher, 2002). An LMS delivers content but also handles registering for courses, course administration, skills gap analysis, tracking, and reporting (Gilhooly, 2001).
A simple definition of Web 2.0 is the “Read/Write Web.” Originally, the Internet was a place to locate information - mainly a "Read Only Web." As the Internet slowly changed, web sites were developed that let people "write," collaborate, and share information, such as Wikipedia and Facebook. (Web 2.0 Teaching Tools, 2009). A chart outlining the differences between Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 can be found in Appendix A: Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, What’s the Difference?
There are a lot of fears around using social media tools with our students but many teachers are unaware that there are privacy concerns with many Web 2.0 tools. This statement is not to scare teachers and parents / guardians away from using these tools with their students, but rather to inform them that there are pieces that they should be aware of to help keep the students as safe as possible. Technology is a very useful tool to have and a great way that teachers can reach a vast majority of learners with different learning styles but it has to be used judiciously. This is why I have selected my topic: “Meeting BC Teacher Needs: A Tool to Support Web 2.0 & LMS Integration with Respect to Privacy”.
Research Focus and Intent
I am currently working as a teacher in an independent K-12 distance learning school. When thinking about what project possibilities, I noticed that a lot of my colleagues were unaware of the privacy concerns that they are dealing with when using Web 2.0 and LMSs with their students. Although none of my colleagues currently use a fully online learning environment, the hope of our school is to slowly start moving in that direction. This process will take time and it starts with small changes. An example of a small change can be demonstrated as teachers in our primary school switch from a library book and reading log system to an online resource such as Reading Eggs (http://readingeggs.com/ - a paid service and app) where the students’ reading progress is tracked online and can be accessed by both the teacher and the parent or guardian of the student. When teachers decide to use a Web 2.0 tool or a LMS they need to be aware of some key privacy and safety points so they are able to accurately relay them to the families that will be using the tools. These key points form the basis on which families decide to give or withhold consent. Three of the biggest points that need to be addressed before any informed consent can be reasonably given by a parent or guardian are:
- the location of the LMS or Web 2.0 server,
- the privacy policies that govern the server,
- the nature of student use as envisioned by the teacher.
Beyond relevant legislation, when using LMSs or Web 2.0 tools, teachers must also concern themselves with an online tool's specific terms of service and privacy policy, as well as any school level policies as these affect how student/user information is stored, accessed and used. An important consideration for teachers, especially when using one tool for multiple years is to make sure to recheck the privacy policy and terms of service for the tool periodically (at least every 6 months) as many companies update these and some do not inform their users of the changes. If a teacher sees too great of a change in these policies, he or she will be required to make a decision about regaining parent / guardian consent or choosing a different tool with similar capabilities, as the previously obtained informed consent for the tool could be invalid.
School policies may be similar from school to school but are rarely identical. Unlike public schools where district-wide policies can provide continuity across a variety of schools, independent schools are not part of a particular school district. Independent schools, more so than public schools, are likely to have differences in their policies from one school to the next. Like the terms of service and privacy policies from a company or website, school policies should grow and change as the years go by--especially as technology is becoming a bigger part of life and learning. Policy changes will occur and should be communicated to the teachers. Once teachers are aware of a change, they will have to make sure that their practices are keeping within the updated requirements. In the same way a change in a company policy may be so great that consent previously given is invalid, changes may affect informed consent obtained by teachers. In light of any policy changes, it will be the teacher’s responsibility to review previously obtained consent to ensure it is still valid.
The nature of intended student use of tools is another important factor of which parents and guardians need to be made aware and of which teachers need to have a firm understanding. If teachers are not fully sure of why they want to use a certain tool, then the tool will not be used to the greatest potential for helping the students achieve their goals. Clear expectations about the tools, activities to be conducted on them, data to be posted, and associated concerns need to be stated right from the start with a firm understanding by the parent/guardian. It is only with a clear understanding that parents and guardians are able to give informed consent for their child to use the tool and partake in the activities associated with it. The goal of my project is to provide a support tool for teachers that will:
- support assessing the privacy risks associated with an LMS or Web 2.0 tool under the current BC legal framework of FIPPA (1996) & PIPA (2003);
- allow for both teachers and parents/guardians to have a user friendly database to obtain information in a easy to understand format;
- be as current as possible with moderated content posted on a regular basis, with a content review mechanism for accuracy and credibility;
- be a place for others to comment, add to and create their own documentation for LMSs and tools which will be reviewed before being posted for others to use.
Project Database
The project proposes to create a database which will include parent/guardian background information documents, teacher briefing documents and consent forms for each of the Web 2.0 tools that are used by the teachers in my school as well as the LMS Canvas by Instructure. Canvas will be the initial LMS tool supported by the project as it is the LMS our school is currently using and it allows for a vast amount of Web 2.0 tools and apps to be embedded in it. Some of the apps that can be embedded into Canvas are TeacherTube, Khan Academy, Twitter, and many others (a full list can be seen in Appendix B: External Canvas Apps). The project will compile a list of all tools and websites that are used by my colleagues and start to create a database of information that can be used by them and shared with others for use in many independent (and public) schools in British Columbia and beyond. The reason I would like to include my colleagues’ tool choices in this project is because it would give me a chance to target my initial efforts toward what is most relevant to myself, my colleagues and my school.
This tool will function as an electronic performance support system for teachers. An Electronic Performance Support System is, according to Barry Raybould, "a computer-based system that improves worker productivity by providing on-the-job access to integrated information, advice, and learning experiences" (Raybould, 1991). With the EPSS that I am striving to create, I will have editable information sheets and templates that could be used with parents and guardians. Teachers would be able to access the documents, edit them to make them specifically work for their intentions and then send them to the parents and guardians of their students. This would encourage the teachers to be aware of the relevant privacy concerns under BC legislation, the usefulness of their tools of choice and how to articulate these to the families with whom they would be working. Many teachers will pick a tool or website that other teachers will recommend to them without looking critically at it themselves. I believe that this EPSS would encourage opportunities for critical reflection on the nature and risks of specific tools.
The parent/guardian and teacher background information documents will contain relevant information to review before using – or giving consent to use – tools and websites. The documents will include three pieces for the parents and guardians to consider:
- the tool overview - an explanation of what the tool does, rationale for using it, and sample activities,
- the tool’s privacy policy or terms of service considerations in respect to the school’s policies or BC legislations
- a form to obtain informed consent from a parent/guardian for each student to use the tool or website.
The privacy policy compliance piece will relate each concern back to the individual school’s policies and key BC legislation considerations. For the purposes of this project, my intention is that the initial privacy policy content will be tailored to the policies of my school. Since each independent school has its own policies, privacy policy compliance needs will vary from school to school. It is likely that privacy policy support content may need to be tweaked when being accessed by someone at a different school. The privacy policy compliance piece will give parents and guardians information about why a tool was chosen, what concerns there may be for consideration before giving consent and suggestions for how to stay as safe as possible when using the resource. At this time, my school is in the process of updating its privacy policy and I will be supporting the school’s efforts while completing my project.
Finally, the consent form will clearly outline expectations and guidelines for the tool or website that is being used. For example, the consent form will give a quick overview about suggestions for choosing user names (if applicable), a quick reminder about why the tool is being used, and a list of guidelines to follow when using the tool in able to support the student safety. This form will be about two pages long to allow for the explanation and guidelines to be on one sheet and the consent to be on a separate sheet allowing parents and guardians to retain a copy of the expectations to refer to whenever necessary.
Further Considerations
As stated previously, one of the purposes of the EPSS is to allow sharing with and adaptations by other teachers from any school or district. As much as it would be nice to have everything line up perfectly when using the forms with many different teachers, these tools will be used for a variety of reasons in many different grades, in many different ways, and therefore it will be necessary for each teacher to adapt the documentation to fit his or her specific situation. The EPSS will provide a great head start for the general teacher and for many, it should require only a small amount of editing prior to use. The forms and content in the initial EPSS will conform to my specific school’s privacy policies which are governed by PIPA (2003) (as we are a B.C. independent school) and therefore, there may be additional changes that are required when used with students and classrooms in a public school governed by FIPPA (1996).