Revisiting students' privacy in computer supported learning systems

Computer supported learning systems are being deployed in many universities. There is a risk of students' privacy violations as students' personal data, usage data and assessment information are gathered. This issue gets even more complex as data is collected, processed and stored or transmitted over internetworked computing infrastructure. This article discusses aspects of privacy in the context of information systems used for educational purposes. Privacy issues in a learning management system (LMS) are considered, with a special focus on computer based solutions used in student involved assessment of handwritten work. The paper highlights privacy challenges when students have access to some of each other's data for collaborative learning purposes. It also suggests possible approaches to preserving privacy.