Due to British Columbia’s protections of privacy laws, I typically advised instructors who wanted to use public or external web tools to create consent forms and have students sign them in advance of using them. Some would push back at what they saw as extra work, so on a few occasions I would offer to come to the instructor’s class to administer the form, and also to explain to the students why the form was being used.

What I learned was that for many students this was the first time concerns about online privacy and data collection were discussed with them. So I began to make my introductions more mindful, and to prepare supplementary resources.

I mentioned this practice during a conference presentation for BC’s Educational Technology Users Group (ETUG), and it was subsequently written up for a BCcampus feature.

“FIPPA consent forms: A pedagogical opportunity for one B.C. post-secondary educator” – https://bccampus.ca/2017/12/14/fippa-consent-forms-a-pedagogical-opportunity-for-one-b-c-post-secondary-educator/

 

Story submitted by Brian Lamb