06/27/16: Seeing the Big Picture on Student Data Privacy at 2016 ALA Annual Conference | News and Press Center

 

ORLANDO, Fla.—Every day, technology is making it possible to collect and analyze more data regarding students’ performance and behavior, including their use of library resources. The use of big data in the educational environment, however, raises thorny questions and deep concerns about individual privacy and data security.

 

These and other related issues will be the focus of a timely June 27 session at the American Library Association’s (ALA) upcoming 2016 Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. The session “Student Privacy: The Big Picture on Big Data,” will offer librarians and educators the opportunity to view the “big picture” of student data privacy.

 

Elana Zeide, a fellow at New York University’s Information Law Institute and an affiliate of the Data & Society Research Institute, will discuss how the growing use of big data threatens student privacy and how evolving state and federal data privacy laws directly impact school and academic libraries. Questions from the press and audience will be encouraged.

 

Zeide is an attorney, scholar, and consultant focusing on student privacy, predictive analytics, and the proverbial permanent record in the age of big data. She examines the law, policies, and cultural norms emerging as education, and the rest of society, becomes increasingly data-driven. Zeide advises parents, educators, companies, and policymakers about information practices in both traditional schools and virtual learning environments. She also writes for popular and academic publications, including the recent Future of Privacy Forum report, “19 Times Data Analysis Empowered Schools and Students: Which Students Succeed and Why?,” and Drexel Law Review article, “Student Privacy Principles for the Age of Big Data.”