1. Challenges of personal
data from education:
content, ethics and privacy
Open : Data : Cooperation – 2014-10-20
Simon Grant

2. Summary
● I'll focus on
– the educational background
– educational data / information content
● (I'm sure ethics and privacy will be well
discussed anyway)

3. Cetis
● Centre for Educational Technology, Interoperability
and Standards – Cetis
● For many years a service of Jisc
● Main strength around Higher Education
● Technologies that support education (incl. HE)
● Interoperability through open standards
– including developing some ourselves
● Hosted at Bolton, IEC (future?)

4. Data relevant to education
(and the relevant standard formats)
● Official learner records
● Learner / learning analytics
● Learner owned
● Learner entered

5. Official learner records
● School pupils: government agencies
– Learning Records Service
– Key Information Set
● FE learners
– Individualised Learner Record
● HE learners:
– The HEAR: Higher Education Achievement Report
– the European Diploma Supplement
– part of the European Skills Passport

6. Standards relevant to official records
● XCRI (about courses, not individuals)
● Metadata for Learning Opportunities
EN 15982:2011 (as above)
● UK HEAR
● European Learner Mobility Achievement
Information EN 15981:2011
● Mozilla Open Badges(originally for informal)

7. Learning / learner analytics
● Many ongoing projects typically using output from
learning technology
● A particular one we are involved with:
– LACE Project
● Institution-owned ICT systems
● Online learning services
● Standards:
– xAPI (or “Tin Can”)

8. Learner-owned
● e-portfolio, personal and professional development
– provided though institution, government or other agency
● The challenge being how to get relevant information
to (e.g.) employers in a way that they are able to
process efficiently
● What is relevant anyway? Learner's view sometimes
diverges from employer's view.
– often used for personal, private reflections
– relevant to personal identity

9. Learner-entered
● CVs - tend to focus on educational
achievements, skills, experience
● recruitment web sites
● business networking e.g. LinkedIn
● other social networking - less to do with
education
● Leap2A designed for “learner-ownable”
– (one of mine)

10. Learner Information: summary
● Wide range of personal data/information potentially available
● Some standard formats available; though usage is patchy
● "Ownership" is contentious: focus not on ownership but on
rights
● Challenge may be presenting to right people at right time
● Challenge may be privacy and avoiding inappropriate access
● Almost none is "open" in the full sense
● But almost all could be used in conjunction with open data,
– if and when permitted by the individual

11. Follow up... ?
● Me:
– twitter: @asimong
– gmail, SlideShare, Google, Skype: asimong
● Thanks for your attention!