Authors:
Basmah Almekhled
1
;
2
and
Helen Petrie
1
Affiliations:
1
Department of Computer Science, University of York, Heslington East, York, U.K.
;
2
College of Computing and Informatics, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Keyword(s):
Online Higher Education, Privacy, Security Concerns, Videoconferencing Technologies, Online Chat Technologies, COVID Pandemic.
Abstract:
The coronavirus pandemic has led to major changes in higher education around the world. Higher education institutions (HEIs) moved to completely online learning and a range of new technologies including online videoconferencing and chat tools. Research has shown that users have privacy and security concerns about such tools, but little is known about the attitudes of HEI students to these issues, apart from reluctance to use webcams during online teaching. A survey of 71 UK HEI students explored attitudes and concerns about privacy and security in online teaching in the pandemic. Participants knew little about institutional policies on these issues and few had had any training. Ratings of concern across a range of issues were generally low, however in open-ended questions, a range of concerns such as being recorded without permission, unauthorised people entering and disrupting of online sessions, not knowing where recordings are stored and who has access to them. The main concerns a
bout online teaching situations related to being monitored in examinations. HEIs moved very rapidly to deploy online technologies for teaching in response to the pandemic, but going forward, more transparency and information to students could alleviate many of these concerns and create better informed students.
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