LME 501-Blog 3: Privacy at School

Privacy is very important in education. Many students have their rights to privacy violated frequently. Unfortunately, those violating the rights of students may be unaware of the fact that they are in violation. In Protecting Intellectual Freedom and Privacy in Your School Library (2013), Adams discusses the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This law guarantees confidentiality of students’ education records to include records, files, documents, and other materials relating to the student (Adams, pp. 132). While researching library records and privacy, I discovered that 48 states have statutes declaring library records as confidential documents (Perez, 2014). For this reason, it is extremely important that the school LMS read and interpret what the law protects for that specific state.

Maintaining student privacy should be taught and followed all schools. In a school environment, privacy can be maintained by teachers not posting grades by students’ names or by not talking about students in the hallway. I have witnessed this frequently in the hallway of a school. Teachers do not always think that students are listening, but when they are within hearing distance, they can hear everything the teacher is saying about another student. In the library, privacy can be maintained by keeping book checkouts made by one student confidential from another student. It is good practice to not share any information about a student unless there is an educational purpose. Privacy in a library differs in that it is the job of the LMS to not disclose any information about a book checkout or online use to another student or adult. However, it is the right of the teacher or LMS to violate a student’s right to privacy if there is immediate concern for the personal welfare of the student or safety of the school. Only the school counselor (for personal welfare) or principal (for school safety) should be contacted in these situations (Adams, 2013). Privacy in the classroom can be maintained by making sure to privately discuss books overdue or missing. The LMS can provide the classroom teacher with a printed, folded, and stapled paper with the name, price, and picture of the book requested to be found with the student’s name on the outside of it. Teachers should never call out the title of a book needed in front of the entire class (Adams, 2013). Furthermore, the teacher nor LMS has the right to control what a student reads or checks out of the library. That is a violation of a student’s rights to intellectual freedom.

Privacy while using computers and social media can be difficult in a school environment. Students have the right to privacy when accessing computers within reason. It is the teacher’s responsibility and duty to be able to view the screen while students are online. However, privacy issues come in when the teacher wants to discuss what the student is viewing with another student or teacher. Privacy using social media is another difficult topic to discuss. In schools, social media can have many educational benefits. The difficulty is finding the balance between social media and privacy. In How Social Media is Changing Education (2010), the author questions whether or not social media has a place as a teaching tool or is simply a distraction. The author gives examples of ways social media can be used as an educational tool. For example, students can use social media to create blogs for debating topics, homework help, and online discussions (Social Media, 2010). Colleges are using social media, such as Moodle and Blackboard, to create ways for students to view lecture notes, course information, and chat forums. These allow easy integration with social media services (Social Media, 2010). Research shows that over 66% of adults aged 16+ have at least one profile on a social networking site (Social Media, 2010). By using social media, people are able to get work done or get assistance on an assignment more easily than in the past. Personally, my 16-year-old son and a group from his gaming class in high school use social media to help each other with homework. They have created a chat room where they help one another with things discussed in class. This has been a huge asset and help to my son. If used properly, privacy should not be an issue when using social media inside and outside of the classroom.

In Six Ways to Use Social Media in Education (2012), Brien lists ways social media could be put to academic use in schools. These include collecting and sharing images in art, journalism, and business classes, gathering and sharing data, connecting students to a broad audience to showcase personal research interests, using Twitter in class to keep students engaged while identifying how students think on a specific topic, forming student study groups and hangouts, and adding social tools to e-textbooks. After reading about using social media in schools, I have changed my thought on this topic. Originally, I could not see how social media could be beneficial to students during the school day. However, I see that if students are using social media properly, it can be a great tool for students. Education on privacy while connecting to social media needs to be discussed with students prior to using an online tool.

Do students view privacy differently than adults? I do not feel that there is a difference between student and adult privacy. However, I can see how students may view privacy differently than some adults, depending on location, activity, or the tool in question. I feel that a student may truly believe that they have all rights to privacy on their cell phone because it was something purchased by their parents. On the other hand, they may feel differently using a computer provided by the school. I think privacy can be situational at times, but needs to be a subject of discussion with students.

What I found in all of my readings is that privacy is a huge issue inside and outside of the classroom or library. Education on student privacy and rights should be addressed at the beginning of each school year to ensure that privacy is not violated by students, teachers, administrators, or the school library media specialist. I also believe that social media can be a great tool in education if used properly. Students need to be taught how protect their own and others’ privacy while working online in a group or chat room. You don’t know what you don’t know. It is our responsibilities, as parents and teachers, to make sure that our children are aware of online behaviors and violating privacy laws whether we are in school or at home.

Resources

Adams, H. R. (2013). Protecting intellectual freedom and privacy in your school library. Santa Barbara: Libraries Unlimited.

Brien, L. O. (2012, April 4). Six ways to use social media in education. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://cit.duke.edu/blog/2012/04/six-ways-to-use-social-media-in-

education/

Social media in education: How social media is changing education. (2010) Retrieved

September 20, 2016, from http://www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/Howsocialmediaischangingedu cation.aspx

Perez, N. (2014, November 11). Privacy Toolkit. Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacyconfidentiality/toolkitsprivacy/library-privacy- talking- points-key-messages-and-tough-questions