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Instructors have access to several forms of student personal information in Brightspace, including (but not limited to) names, emails, ID numbers, and grades. While the same information is accessible in other systems (namely BrockDB), Brightspace has options for easy sharing that should be approached with caution.

The majority of this information is readily available to an instructor through a site’s Classlist, which is restricted from student view in Brock’s instance of Brightspace for reasons of personal privacy (and said restriction can only be managed institution-wide).

Some student information should never be shared and steps should be taken to ensure that no sharing happens without consent. None of Brightspace’s collaborative features (Discussions, Groups, Email, etc.) will share student contact information, but be mindful when facilitating group work or encouraging discussion and pay attention if gathering names and contact information to share.This page includes the recommendation to export student names and emails via the Grades page, which is the tidiest and most manageable method for sharing student contact information.

Consent

Students should be made aware of what personal information the instructor wishes to share, and to whom. There should also be a chance to give/revoke consent before this information is shared. Instructors must then work with students to create alternative pathways to allow the student to complete the related work.

Strive to share the least amount of information possible to complete a task.

Class recordings

If the class sessions are recorded, inform students in advance and obtain their consent. Some platforms also allow you to record only the instructor’s screen and voice, excluding student video and audio. Make sure to provide an alternative to students who are uncomfortable being recorded.

Educate students on privacy best practices

Educate students about protecting their own privacy. Encourage them to be mindful of their environment when attending online classes (e.g., what’s visible in the background, who might overhear them) and to avoid sharing sensitive information in public chat forums.

Limit Data Collection

Only collect and use the minimum amount of personal data necessary. For example, avoid asking for personal information beyond what’s needed for the class and make sure any personal data shared for assignments or discussion remains relevant to educational purposes.

Avoid Sharing Personal Information Publicly

Instructors should never share student grades, contact information, or any other personal data publicly. If feedback or grades are provided online, ensure that they are delivered through a private, secure platform, such as Brightspace.

Share Materials Securely

Use secure file-sharing options to share reading materials, assignments, or other resources. Avoid using insecure email or third-party apps that are not compliant with privacy standards.

Discussions

remind students not to share personal or sensitive information in their posts. Set privacy rules for the forum and monitor content as needed to ensure compliance.

Anonymization

consider anonymizing student contributions where appropriate, particularly in sensitive discussions or assignments.

Reasons for sharing student information

There are several common reasons that necessitate the sharing of student contact information, including group work and project planning, class discussion, peer evaluation, and study groups. Much of this functionality can be achieved through use of the Brightspace Discussions area, the Groups tool, and/or a Course Teams channel, although there may be benefits were this to happen externally and in private.

Keep in mind this information exchange would typically happen in-class and between students, where both parties have consented to sharing said information. Providing this automatically ignores that step.

That said, the best way of creating a text list of all student names and email addressing addresses is through Grades and not Classlist. Instructions for doing so are outlined below.

Instructors may sometimes wish to share student grades as a means of celebration, encouragement, or discussion. This is not recommended beyond informal or anecdotal mention, but care should be taken to anonymize any data before sharing. While Grades can be exported with identifying information removed (see below), the Assignment and Quiz feedback areas cannot be made presentable in any way. If that is necessary, use carefully cropped screenshots and utilize the blurring options that many freely available image editors include.