Are Your Fav #EdTech Resources Keeping Student Data Safe? Find Out!
Are you an innovative educator who loves using digital media, but is a little concerned about the safety of student data?
You are not alone.
This is a hot media topic which often gives us cause for concern. Being concerned is good. Being armed with the facts is better.
This came to my attention recently, because innovative educators (in threads like this one) provided me with articles that made them second-guess their use of certain technology resources.
I did some investigating and here is what I discovered.
The resource: Edmodo
The article: A NY Times article from last year about student data security.
My discoveries:
Edmodo has had SSL encryption in place as an option for users since 2011, and in July 2013, SSL encryption was made the default. Edmodo has also worked with their developer/app partners to have them make their apps SSL encrypted as well.
Tony Porterfield is the parent of a child whose school district rolled out Edmodo district-wide. What he describes in the NY Times article is a hypothetical situation - there have never been any data breaches.
Edmodo appreciates parents and users like Porterfield who bring these issues to their attention as it only makes their services stronger. Members of their senior team met with Porterfield to specifically address his concerns.
In addition, Edmodo does not have advertising on the platform, nor does the company rent or sell student information to third parties for marketing or advertising purposes. Edmodo has a Chief Privacy Officer and a User Trust & Safety Team, whose everyday responsibilities are to continually monitor and improve the safety and security of Edmodo’s services.
This InformationWeek article followed the NY Times article and talks about Edmodo addressing the issue.
The resource: Google Apps for Education and MS Office 365
The article: A Safe.Gov article from January 2014 about data mining.
My discoveries:
The article is a bit misleading in that it implies that scanning email is uncommon. The reality is that every email provider scans email with algorithms to provide services like anti-spam, spell check and Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: Are Your Fav #EdTech Resources Keeping Student Data Safe? Find Out!: