OpenDNS: Cloud-Delivered Security Enforcement and Intelligence. Edtech Companies Pledge to Protect Student Data Privacy. EdSurge Newsletters Receive weekly emails on edtech products, companies, and events that matter. On October 7, a coalition of “school service providers,” defined as anyone providing an online educational service or app that collects student data, signed a pledge to safeguard student information privacy and security. The pledge was developed by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) and the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), with input from involved companies and U.S. Representatives Jared Polis (CO) and Luke Messer (IN). As of January 1, 2015, the pledge will hold signatories accountable to: Read the full pledge here. Prominent edtech companies signing the pledge include Amplify, Code.org, DreamBox Learning, Edmodo, Follett Corporation, Gaggle, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Knewton, Knovation, Lifetouch, Microsoft, myON and Think Through Learning.
For more information on how and why student data is collected, check out our Guide to Student Data Privacy. For Education. 6 Ways to Make Sure Students Use Strong Passwords | Gaggle Speaks Blog | Nicholas Aplington-Johnson. Does Data Collection Help Students or Big Brother? Markey, Hatch Introduce Legislation to Protect Student Privacy - U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts. Focuses on need to protect students, provide tools to parents when information is shared with third parties Washington (July 30, 2014) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today introduced the “Protecting Student Privacy Act”, legislation that would help safeguard the educational records of students.
The PreK-12 educational software and digital content market currently is worth $7.9 billion, with nearly all school districts relying on cloud services for a diverse range of functions that include data collection and analysis related to student performance and data hosting. However, one survey found only 25 percent of districts inform parents of their use of cloud services and 20 percent of districts fail to have policies governing the use of online services. Recent changes to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) have allowed for this increased sharing and use of student data in the private sector. A copy of the legislation can be found HERE. Tim Cook on why Apple is better at protecting privacy: "You're not our product" | VentureBeat | News Briefs | by Gregory Ferenstein.
Apple’s Tim Cook made a not-so-subtle swipe last week at Internet companies that make their money by collecting “gobs of data.” In a wide-ranging interview with Charlie Rose after Apple’s product showcase, Cook laid out the case for why Apple is unique in protecting privacy. His whole rant is worth quoting in full: Our business is not based on having information about you. You’re not our product. Our product are these [points to iPhone], and this watch, and Macs, and so forth. If you want to use an Apple product, you pay Apple from your own bank account and you’re the customer. “I’m offended by lots of it,” said Cook of the way the Information economy operates. While it’s rare for a CEO to take such a public stance on privacy in comparison to his or her peers, Apple must be feeling pressure to be aggressive. Just a week after that hair-raising incident, Cook announced Apple Pay, a new payment system for credit card transactions. Watch the privacy portion of Tim Cook’s interview below:
Socialmediaandyou-1.jpg (JPEG Image, 652 × 520 pixels) Mass Collection Of Student Data Raises Privacy Concerns.