Abstracts
Abstract
Online video conferencing platforms are now key classroom tools worldwide, following the emergency remote teaching (ERT) response to COVID-19. However, the data risks and privacy issues these tools pose continue to be addressed only minimally by researchers, educators, and students. Moreover, while the ERT online pivot experience was generally global, digital classroom tools and their provenance vary. Many are developed in the United States and used in other countries and jurisdictions. Yet alternate educational technology markets exist in the contemporary world, though Western claims about educational technologies and privacy tend to centre American technologies. This paper seeks to disrupt the trend of global claims based on regional realities and, instead, to provide a direct comparison of privacy policies of two tools from separate markets: Zoom, developed in the United States, and ClassIn, developed in China. The paper compares the terms of service (ToS) and data risks associated with these two online classroom platforms. The findings ultimately suggest that although distinctions exist between the two in terms of data transparency, safety, security, protection, rights, and contexts, the data privacy implications of Zoom and ClassIn are more similar than different. Implications for educational technology companies, institutions, and educators’ teaching and learning practices are discussed.
Keywords:
- Data Risk,
- Policy,
- Online Education,
- Video Conferencing Platforms,
- Datafication
Appendices
Bibliography
- Atenas, J., Havemann, L., & Timmermann, C. (2020). Critical literacies for a datafied society: Academic development and curriculum design in higher education. Research in Learning Technology. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v28.2468
- Beer, D. (2019). The data gaze: Capitalism, power and perception. SAGE.
- Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the new Jim code. Polity.
- Bilton, N. (2010). Price of Facebook privacy? Start clicking. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/technology/personaltech/13basics.html
- Bolin, G. (2022). The uberisation of higher education: Datafied dynamics in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In K. Kopecka-Piech & B. Łódzki (Eds.), The Covid-19 pandemic as a challenge for media and communication studies (pp. 23–34). Routledge.
- Bozkurt, A., Junhong, X., Lambert, S., Pazurek, A., Crompton, H., Koseoglu, S., ... & Romero-Hall, E. (2023). Speculative futures on ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence (AI): A collective reflection from the educational landscape. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 18(1), 53–130.
- Brooks, D. C., & McCormack, M. (2020). Driving digital transformation in higher education. EDUCAUSE.
- Bozkurt, A., Jung, I., Xiao, J., Vladimirschi, V., Schuwer, R., Egorov, G., Lambert, S. R., Al-Freih, M., Pete, J., Olcott Jr., D., Rodes, V., Aranciaga, I., Bali, M., Alvarez Jr., A. V., Roberts, J., Pazurek, A., Raffaghelli, J. E., Panagiotou, N., de Coëtlogon, P., & Paskevicius, M. (2020). A global outlook to the interruption of education due to COVID-19 pandemic: Navigating in a time of uncertainty and crisis. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 1–126. Retrieved from http://www.asianjde.com/ojs/index.php/AsianJDE/article/view/462
- Cbinsights. (n.d.). ClassIn—headquarters locations, products, competitors, financials, employees. Retrieved December 10, 2022, from https://www.cbinsights.com/company/empower-education-online
- Draper, N. A., & Turow, J. (2019). The corporate cultivation of digital resignation. New Media & Society, 21(8), 1824–1839. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819833331
- Eubanks, V. (2018). Automating inequality: How high-tech tools profile, police, and punish the poor (First Edition). St. Martin’s Press.
- Fatani, T. H. (2020). Student satisfaction with videoconferencing teaching quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Medical Education, 20(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02310-2
- Feldman, J., & Czerniewicz, L. (2023). Transitions in education: Educators, digitalisation, and datafication. Journal of Education, (92), 41–57.
- Ferguson, R. (2012). Learning analytics: Drivers, developments and challenges. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 4(5/6), 304–317. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTEL.2012.051816
- Gladović, P., Deretić, N., & Drašković, D. (2020). Video conferencing and its application in education. Journal of Traffic and Transport Theory and Practice, 5(1), 45–48. https://doi.org/10.7251/JTTTP2001045G
- Hintze, M. (2017). In defense of the long privacy statement. Maryland Law Review. 76(4).
- IPAC Canada. (n.d.). Coronavirus (COVID-19) SARS-CoV-2. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://ipac-canada.org/coronavirus-resources
- Jones, W. D. (2020). Racial Profiling Goes High Tech With Facial Recognition. IEEE Spectrum. 15(6). https://spectrum.ieee.org/do-you-have-the-right-complexion-for-facial-recognition
- Khalil, M., Prinsloo, P., & Slade, S. (2018). User consent in MOOCs – Micro, Meso, and Macro perspectives. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 19(5). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v19i5.3908
- Konrad, A. (2019). Zoom, Zoom, Zoom! The exclusive inside story of the new billionaire behind tech’s hottest IPO. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2019/04/19/zoom-zoom-zoom-the-exclusive-inside-story-of-the-new-billionaire-behind-techs-hottest-ipo/
- Land, R., & Bayne, S. (2013). Screen or monitor? Issues of surveillance and disciplinary power in online learning environments. In Education in Cyberspace (pp. 165–178). Routledge.
- Lee, E. (2019, September 9). China blocks US video-conferencing tool Zoom. TechNode. http://technode.com/2019/09/09/china-blocks-us-video-conferencing-tool-zoom/
- Lynch, M. (2018, May 24). Which Country Is Leading the Edtech Movement? The Edvocate. https://www.theedadvocate.org/which-country-is-leading-the-edtech-movement/
- Mader, C., & Ming, K. (2015). Videoconferencing: A new opportunity to facilitate learning. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 88(4), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2015.1043974
- Marachi, R., & Quill, L. (2020). The case of Canvas: Longitudinal datafication through learning management systems. Teaching in Higher Education, 25(4), 418–434. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1739641
- Mather, C., Guzys, D., Saunders, A., & Tori, K. (2020). Rapid transition to eLearning within a Bachelor of Nursing program: Positive outcomes. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 27(1), 55. https://doi.org/10.3316/informit.434576807281451
- McDonald, E. W., Boulton, J. L., & Davis, J. L. (2018). E-learning and nursing assessment skills and knowledge – An integrative review. Nurse Education Today, 66, 166–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2018.03.011
- McGill, L. (2023) Framework for digital transformation in higher education. Emerge Education; and Jisc. https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/framework-for-digital-transformation-in-higher-education
- Micheli, M., Ponti, M., Craglia, M., & Berti Suman, A. (2020). Emerging models of data governance in the age of datafication. Big Data & Society, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951720948087
- Moody, R. A., & Wieland, R. L. (2010). Using videoconferencing to establish and maintain a social presence in online learning environments. Educational Considerations, 37(2), 18–21. https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.1152
- Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. NYU Press. https://nyupress.org/9781479837243/algorithms-of-oppression/
- Pangrazio, L., Selwyn, N., & Cumbo, B. (2023). Tracking technology: Exploring student experiences of school datafication. Cambridge Journal of Education, 53(6), 847–862.
- Pardo, A., & Siemens, G. (2014). Ethical and privacy principles for learning analytics. British Journal of Educational Technology, 45(3), 438–450. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12152
- Raffaghelli, J. (2022). Educators' data literacy: Understanding the bigger picture. In L. Pangrazio & J. Sefton-Green (Eds.), Learning to live with datafication (pp. 80-99). Routledge.
- Raffaghelli, J. E., & Sangrà, A. (2023). Data Cultures in Higher Education: Acknowledging Complexity. In J. E. Raffaghelli & A. Sangrà (Eds.), Data cultures in higher education: Emergent practices and the challenge ahead (pp. 1–39). Springer International Publishing.
- Rudo, H. P., & Reagan, A. (2021). The global landscape of data privacy: Important points about new laws in three key jurisdictions. DLA Piper. https://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/insights/publications/2021/09/practical-compliance-the-global-landscape-of-data-privacy-important-points-about-new-laws-in-three/
- Sahi, P. K., Mishra, D., & Singh, T. (2020). Medical education amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Indian Pediatrics, 57(7), 652–657. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-020-1894-7
- Schofield, M. (2021). Exploring datafication for teaching and learning development: A higher education perspective. In M. B. Ali & T. Wood-Harper (Eds.), Fostering communication and learning with underutilized technologies in higher education (pp. 79–92). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-4846-2.ch006
- Siemens, G. (2013). Learning analytics: The emergence of a discipline. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(10), 1380–1400. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764213498851
- Slade, S., & Prinsloo, P. (2013). Learning analytics: Ethical issues and dilemmas. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(10), 1510–1529. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764213479366
- Stewart, B. E., & Lyons, E. (2021). When the classroom becomes datafied: A baseline for building data ethics policy and data literacies across higher education. Italian Journal of Educational Technology, 29(2), 54-68.
- Stewart, B., Miklas, E., Szcyrek, S., & Le, T. (2023). Barriers and beliefs: A comparative case study of how university educators understand the datafication of higher education systems. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20(1), 33.
- Szcyrek, S., & Stewart, B. (2022). Surveillance in the system: Data as critical change in higher education. The Open/Technology in Education, Society, and Scholarship Association Journal, 2(2), 1-20.
- WebFX. (n.d.). What Is Flesch-Kincaid Readability? Retrieved December 20, 2022, from https://www.webfx.com/tools/read-able/flesch-kincaid/
- Wiesemes, R., & Wang, R. (2010). Video conferencing for opening classroom doors in initial teacher education: Sociocultural processes of mimicking and improvisation. Seminar.Net, 6(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.7577/seminar.2456
- Williamson, B. (2015). Governing software: Networks, databases and algorithmic power in the digital governance of public education. Learning, Media and Technology, 40(1), 83–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2014.924527
- Williamson, B. (2020). A review of datafication and automation in higher education. University and College Union. https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/10947/The-automatic-university/pdf/ucus_the-automatic-university_jun20.pdf
- Williamson, B., Bayne, S., & Shay, S. (2020). The datafication of teaching in higher education: Critical issues and perspectives. Teaching in Higher Education, 25(4), 351–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1748811
- Willis, J. E., Slade, S., & Prinsloo, P. (2016). Ethical oversight of student data in learning analytics: A typology derived from a cross-continental, cross-institutional perspective. Educational Technology Research and Development, 64(5), 881–901. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-016-9463-4