Data are fundamental to Learning Analytics (LA) research and practice. However, the ethical use of data, particularly in terms of respecting learners' privacy rights, is a potential barrier that could hinder the widespread adoption of LA in the education industry. Despite the policies and guidelines of privacy protection being available worldwide,…

Learning analytics are starting to become standardized in higher education as institutions use the techniques of Big Data analytics to make decisions to help them reach their goals. The widespread use of student information brings forth ethical concerns primarily in relation to privacy. While the overarching ethical issues related to learning…

This article explores potential uses, misuses, beneficiaries, and tensions of learning analytics in higher education. While those promoting and using learning analytics generally agree that ethical practice is imperative, and student privacy and rights are important, navigating the complex maze of ethical dilemmas can be challenging, particularly…

As a result of the growing commercial marketplace for teachers' digital data, a new organization that includes educational data brokers has evolved. Educational data brokerage is relatively intangible due to the ease of de-identified data being collected and sold via educational technology. There is an urgent need to expose how the brokerage of…

High-volume, high-quality and diverse datasets are crucial for advancing research in the education field. However, such datasets often contain sensitive information that poses significant privacy challenges. Traditional anonymisation techniques fail to meet the privacy standards required by regulations like GDPR, prompting the need for more robust…

Eight years of data from Grand Valley State University Libraries show a positive correlation between in-class library instruction and student reenrollment the following fall semester. Using consistent statistical methods over time, controlling for confounding factors, and using a large population (N>16,000 annually) and strict protocols that…

With student and staff wellbeing a growing concern, several authors have asked whether existing data might help institutions provide better support. By analogy with the established field of Learning Analytics, this might involve identifying causes of stress, improving access to information for those who need it, suggesting options, providing rapid…

Linking data together can be a powerful way for governments and researchers alike to tackle vexing public policy research problems. However, for researchers, finding ways to link data directly between two departments can often be more challenging than even obtaining the data in the first place. Even when a researcher develops the necessary…

Artificial intelligence (AI) and big data methodologies have provided a vast possibility of applications in different public policy sectors. AI and big data provide essential innovations in school teaching and learning practices, curriculum, and management in education, transforming the entire formulation and implementation of education policy.…

Data collection, use, leveraging, and sharing as a business practice and advantage has proliferated over the past decade. Along with this proliferation of data collection is the increase in regulatory activity which continues to morph exponentially around the globe. Adding to this complexity are the increasing business disruptions, productivity…

Although various academic disciplines use data papers to support effective research practices, data papers are still uncommon in the educational sciences. Main goals of data papers are enhancing transparency regarding research processes and supporting data sharing among researchers and thus, open science. As many educational research projects…

This is the third in a series of five briefs published by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology on the key considerations facing educational leaders as they work to build and sustain core digital infrastructure for learning. These briefs offer recommendations to complement the fundamental infrastructure considerations…

Purpose: This article advocates that privacy literacy research and praxis mobilize people toward changing the technological and social conditions that discipline subjects toward advancing institutional, rather than community, goals. Design/methodology/approach: This article analyzes theory and prior work on datafication, privacy, data literacy,…

Student privacy is a critical area of higher education that deserves greater focus, particularly as student data digitalization increases. Many colleges and universities use data literacy as a way to prepare students, sometimes from different disciplines, to work with others' data postgraduation. Data literacy can be an avenue for helping all…

The rapid recent use of learning analytics (LA) in higher education, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, allows the monitoring of users' behavior while learning. Using LA may promote students' learning outcomes but also intrude into their privacy. This study aimed to explore students' behaviour and perceptions towards privacy and data…