FERPA and Technology in the Classroom

As an educator, it is extremely important to be knowledgeable about the law and the use of technology in the classroom. Understanding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is the key to using technology for classroom learning experience while at the same time protecting the educational and privacy rights prescribed to the student under FERPA. According to FERPA, schools must inform parents and students over eighteen about their privacy rights. Schools are allowed to publish directory information on students but must provide their definition of “directory information” to the students, parents, and students over eighteen.

In the blog on FERPA, Dr. Orlando presents FERPA as “one of the most misunderstood regulations in education. It is commonly assumed that FERPA requires all student coursework to be kept private at all times, and thus prevents the use of social media in the classroom, but this is wrong.” (Orlando, para. 1) As Dr. Orlando states in his blog post, the use of technology in the classroom can provide students with meaningful learning experiences that they otherwise would not experience.

Blogs and wikis, for instance, provide an online forum for students to both explore a topic, reflect on a topic, and see what others have to say about that topic. For students who are shy or not prone to share their thoughts verbally in the classroom, a blog or wiki can provide a meaningful alternative forum through which student expression can still occur. As Dr. Orlando points out in his blog, “sharing is an important part of learning and the ability to share has increased exponentially in the past couple decades. Some students right here in Kentucky are sharing with students in Brazil every day, for instance. FERPA cannot be extended to prohibit all of this sharing.” (Bathon, 2009) So, as educators, we must be aware of the constraints of the law as it applies to our classrooms, but we must not let the law in any way inhibit meaningful learning experiences for students.

Plan to Implement Blog/Wiki Project for Student Use in Accordance with FERPA

1.      Prior to beginning the assignment, send consent forms home to parents/guardians with copy of assignment protocol and FERPA law and specific policies for school attached for reference. Include specific reference to allowable publishing of student “directory information” and reiteration of educational records policies and rights of parents/students.

2.      Upon deadline for returning consent forms, discuss with class the assignment in the context of FERPA. For students whose parents did not give consent, give alternative assignment for submission of paper directly to instructor. Students without parental consent can still participate in “online discussions” by giving classroom evaluation of student posts and responses to printed copies of blogs/wikis and related responses.

3.      Allow for students to set up blog/wiki at school according to assignment protocol.

4.      Allow for students to spend allotted classroom time working on blog/wiki and responding to appropriate number of other student blogs/wikis.

5.      At end of assignment window, evaluate student blogs individually and assign grades according to printed rubric.

6.      Send letter home to parents/guardians explaining outcomes of assignment in general terms and thanking parents/guardians for giving consent for assignment.

Snow Days and Technology

In response to the question: "how could schools be using technology in more meaningful ways to avoid snow days? What kind of skills or training might teachers need? What about the digital divide?" I believe the following:

1) Schools could have a blog or website set up for students to post comments to in reponse to prompts or questions. Individual classes could have their own blogs or websites set up for their students to log in and post comments on either assignments, reading prompts, or responses to other students' posts.

2) Using a blog for individual classes could help teachers keep student's minds on the material being taught and maintain focus for when they return back to the classroom. Teachers could customize the content of their blogs to include relevant discussions, such as incorporating statistics on school closures into a math class or a creative writing response to the weather for an english class.

3) Some schools have programs that allow for individual students to check out a laptop to use for the school year. Use of these laptops require consent forms on part of the student and parents as well as a cash deposit in some cases (as is the case in my sister's middle school). Such programs would address the digital divide and allow students to access content either online from home or in the event that the internet is not available online, word processing documents downloaded prior to the snow days  could provide students with access to the material and provide digitail responses to be reviewed upon returning to the classroom.

4) The digital divide is an especially hard chasm to cross especially in small communities where per capita income is low. However, schools can be creative in addressing this issue by offering laptop programs, or collaborations with local public libraries to encourage student use of online resources.

5) Finally, teacher training is a definite consideration when using technology to avoid missing out on content during snow days. Digital software usage and introductions to blogs and other online resources would need to be incorporated in to annual teacher training programs. Teachers would need familiarity with facilitating online discussions, preparing digital lessons, and encouraging proper online etiquette. Teachers would also need to be adept at introducing parents to the online world, especially when the parents have no computer experience. Handouts and explanations would need to be tailored to the needs of the students and their families.