Shifting to digital: a policy perspective on ‘Student perceptions of privacy principles for learning analytics’ (Ifenthaler & Schumacher 2016)

This article considers Ifenthaler and Schumacher’s (in Educ Technol Res Dev 64(5):923–938, 2016) paper entitled “Student perceptions of privacy principles for learning analytics” from a policy perspective. The increasing shift to digital occurring across the education landscape has resulted in greater access to data that can be used to enhance the student learning experience. However, it is essential that appropriate policy be in place to ensure the ethical use of such data, and equally important that the student voice be included in the development of such policy. Ifenthaler and Schumacher’s study investigates students’ preferences for the types of learning analytics systems they would like to be able to access and willingness to share their data for use in these systems. They find that students would like access to learning analytics systems that provide a broad range of information that can promote metacognitive awareness and provide personalised feedback, but are not entirely comfortable with sharing the full range of data necessary to inform such systems. These findings are important in acknowledging the difficulties in building a shared understanding and vocabulary when speaking to students about the possibilities and ethical implications of learning analytics. Consequently, further consideration is needed to build students’ understanding of the purposes and benefits of sharing data as well as awareness of the range of policies that inform a consultative process around systems implementation to ensure transparency and accountability so that learning analytics can play an effective, but safe, role in our increasingly digital education environments.