Page 21 - Enchiridion 4.0 program_EN

Strategic Partnerships for school education 2019-1-PL01-KA201-065137
Project: Teacher4.0 - comprehensive method of implementation of Industry 4.0
concept into didactic practice in primary and secondary schools

Figure 1. 8 rights which GDPR secures (Blackwood, 2020)

Managing the personal data in the virtual environment

Managing the personal data starts with: deciding which data to collect, considering how the personal
data should be gathered, where it will be stored, who should have access to it and how changes and
deletions will be enabled.

It is important that all members of the school community, including the staff, teachers, students and
parents/careers are bound by the same rules of confidentiality and data protection in virtual
environments that they would be in physical learning environments. Staff should only communicate
personal information about students on a need to know basis where there is a lawful purpose, in
accordance with the institution’s safeguarding and data protection policies.

To ensure that the online learning platforms are compliant with the data protection requirements, it
is important to:
Identify the correct lawful purposes for collecting personal data online

Every teacher should be aware of what personal data is being collected by the online learning
programs/platforms. This information should be revealed to the students and their parents/careers.

Ensure that the online platforms do not collect more personal data than is necessary and is only using
that personal data for the purposes agreed upon.

Most online learning forms require the assistance of a technology or software platform such as
Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet, etc. Most of these platforms require, as a minimum, the
name and email addresses of students, teachers and staff members using the facility. This is
necessary for the platform to manage identification, accounts and log-ins. Where possible individuals
should only use institutional email addresses, not personal ones. Additionally, these platforms might
use images, audio and/or free-text messaging. Platforms may also collect data via cookies or other
online identifiers.

It is important that the teacher is aware whether the platforms they use for teaching/communication
meet the requirements of the data protection law and are compliant with the privacy laws in the
target country. The processor’s terms and conditions of use and privacy policies are to be reviewed.
The teacher should remain conscious and warn school staff/ school data protection officers in case
he spots that the online teaching/learning platforms he uses, collect sensitive personal data.

Assess risks and mitigate any harm associated with carrying out live-streaming and/or recording
online sessions.

This project has been funded with support from the European
Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any
use which may be made of the information contained therein.