The controversy around privacy and security in ICT seems to be a never-ending source of newspaper headlines. Cases of security and privacy breaches are interspersed with an equal number of announcements of new legislative measures or amendments. Learning analytics is certainly not the first technological area to deal with these issues, but more often than not, the debate on privacy tends to prevent the design of practical solutions. Far from trying to settle the main controversy around privacy, in this talk we will try to identify the major areas in which privacy concerns can be divided and provide some examples of practical solutions.

1. danxoneil Flickr
Practical privacy issues
around Learning Analytics
Learning Analytics and Knowledge 2013
Abelardo Pardo (@abelardopardo)
The University of Sydney
www.slideshare.net/abelardo_pardo

2. horrigans Flickr
This talk is NOT about...
Generic analysis of privacy
Ramifications into ethics,
societal issues, laws,
governments
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 2

3. nevolution Flickr
This talk IS
Review principles
to consider
Restricted to the
LA context
Based on practical
guidelines
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 3

4. Eleaf Flickr.com
Generate more questions
Where to focus the questions?
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 4

5. Mark Coggins flickr.com
Delicate issue!
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 5

6. Wootpeanuts flickr.com
Prevents reaching a practical solution
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 6

7. malias flickr.com
General
Environment view
LA
Scenarios
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 7

8. malias flickr.com
Environment
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 8

9. http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2012/03/the-personal-analytics-of-my-life (last accessed March 2013)
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Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics
Abelardo Pardo

10. 10
Is she pregnant?
Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics
Dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102859/How-Target-knows-shoppers-pregnant–figured-teen-father-did.html (last accessed March 2013)
Abelardo Pardo

11. http://hdguru.com/is-your-new-hdtv-watching-you/7643 (last accessed March 2013)
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Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics
Abelardo Pardo

12. Great Beyond flickr.com
Privacy as a currency
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 12

13. http://theweek.com/article/index/229508 (last accessed March 2013)
B2B Data Market
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 13

14. www.nytimes.com (last accessed March 2013)
Lower
premium
With GPS
Without GPS
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 14

15. malias flickr.com
General
Environment view
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16. https://www.privacyassociation.org/resource_center/consumer_data_privacy_in_a_networked_world (last accessed March 2013)
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Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics
Abelardo Pardo

17. http://www.csa.ca/cm/ca/en/privacy-code (last accessed March 2013)
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18. arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/eu-data-law-proposal-uses-language-word-for-word-from-us-eu-corporations (last accessed March 2013)
18
Similar legislation
Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics
Abelardo Pardo

19. Reigh LeBlanc flickr.com
Absolute confidentiality: undesired
Data ownership
Information flow
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 19

20. http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v13/n9/full/nm0907-999.html
Uninformed consent is
considered under special
circumstances
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21. anthonylibrarian Flickr
Internet requires new approach to privacy
Before: Limiting
surveillance, restricting
access to information, Additionally: How is data
curtailing intrusions into captured, who owns it, how
private space. is it shared?
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 21

22. Small_Realm Flickr
People act in different roles and contexts
Applications should respect these contexts
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 22

23. Context Integrity: Framework to provide
guidance to solve privacy related conflicts.
Context Travel flickr.com
Appropriateness & Distribution
(Nissenbaum, H., 2004, Privacy as Contextual Integrity, Washington Law Review, 79(1))
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 23

24. Cotton|Joe Flickr
Appropriateness
What is collected?
What is revealed?
Valid in one context,
invalid in another
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 24

25. johnthrm Flickr
Distribution
Who sees the data?
When?
For what purpose?
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 25

26. malias flickr.com
General
Environment view
LA
Scenarios
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27. 27
Database with
K-12 Student data
Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/03/us-education-database-idUSBRE92204W20130303 (last accessed March 2013)
Abelardo Pardo

28. deepwarren Flickr
Observe in and out of the classroom
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29. Case 1: K-12 Out-of-class support
1 Collection while doing homework in tablet
2 Data used by teachers to personalize
activities.
3 Available to all teachers in the school.
4 Performance vs demographic factors
correlated.
5 Available to platform vendors.
6 Kept for ever.
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 29

30. Case 2: University course
1 Collected in LMS and mobile application.
2 Available to instructors for personalization.
3 Some data considered for assessment.
4 Available to university-wide units:
counseling, recruiting, marketing.
5 Analyzed Retention vs demographic.
6 eTextbook access available to publishers.
7 Kept for ever.
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 30

31. Case 3: Distance education
1 Data collected in LMS.
2 Available to instructors for personalization
purposes.
3 Analyzed performance vs demographic.
4 Some data considered for assessment.
5 Results used in scientific publication.
6 Results available to funding institutions.
7 Student right to request data removal.
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32. Ethical Principles
• LA as a moral practice
• Students as agents at the center
• Data is temporal and dynamic
• Student success is complex and
multidimensional
• Transparency
• Institutions obliged to use data
(Slade, S., Prinsloo, P. 2013, Learning Analytics: Ethical Issues and Dilemmas, American Behavioral Scientist)
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 32

33. Practical Principles
• Transparency: Explicit description of how
data is collected, manipulated, stored and
accessed
• Students as data owners: Include right to
consult, modify or remove data
• Data access policies: clearly stated and
observed.
• Accountability and assessment:
Embedded constant review and auditing of
the policy.
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 33

34. lrargerich Flickr
Transparency
• Means to achieve Legitimacy
• Apply across the board
• Easily accessible and clearly explained
documentation
• How is data collected
• Who has access to the data
• Which calculations are performed
• How long is the data valid and available
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 34

35. Students as data owners
• Right to access, amend,
delete data
Images of Money Flickr
• Institutions are
borrowing the data
• In conflict with derived
data
• Affects system design
• Consider fixed life span
of collected data
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 35

36. Data Access Policies
• Clarify the roles when
Chris Cambpelll
accessing data
• Extend to derived data
• Consider connection
with research
• Beware of
“anonymization” or
“deidentification”
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 36

37. On “anonymization”
OperationPaperStorm Flickr
• Comprehensive
anonymized dataset of
course participation
• Include forum posts
• All students introduced
themselves in forum the
first week
• Student joins the course
later.
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 37

38. Accountability and Assessment
• Each aspect has a
colemama Flickr
responsible person,
body, department.
• Process continuously
“under improvement”
• Consider all
stakeholders
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 38

39. Case 1: K-12 Out-of-class support
1 Collection while doing homework in tablet
2 Data used by teachers to personalize
activities.
3 Available to all teachers in the school.
4 Performance vs demographic factors
correlated.
5 Available to platform vendors.
6 Kept for ever.
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 39

40. Case 2: University course
1 Collected in LMS and mobile application.
2 Available to instructors for personalization.
3 Some data considered for assessment.
4 Available to university-wide units:
counseling, recruiting, marketing.
5 Analyzed Retention vs demographic.
6 eTextbook access available to publishers.
7 Kept for ever.
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 40

41. Case 3: Distance education
1 Data collected in LMS.
2 Available to instructors for personalization
purposes.
3 Analyzed performance vs demographic.
4 Some data considered for assessment.
5 Results used in scientific publication.
6 Results available to funding institutions.
7 Student right to request data removal.
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 41

42. johnthurm Flickr
Privacy changed in
Internet era
Integrity of the Learning
Context
Appropriateness &
Distribution
Ethical and Implementation
principles
Abelardo Pardo Practical privacy issues around Learning Analytics 42

43. danxoneil Flickr
Practical privacy issues
around Learning Analytics
Learning Analytics and Knowledge 2013
Abelardo Pardo (@abelardopardo)
The University of Sydney
www.slideshare.net/abelardo_pardo