ABSTRACT
The use of digital platforms by the university communities to produce knowledge, research, teaching, and management has not only intensified but it has also diversified since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a context where higher education and the use of digital technologies are increasingly intertwined, universities can take advantage of this unplanned hiper-digitalization event to explore fundamental questions about learning and researching in a post-digital landscape. This article is the result of an exploratory study based on a co-design and virtual ethnography, analyzing the attributes and foci of 31 "data research center" in universities from 16 countries. Although the centers analyzed have different profiles and approaches, they all investigate the intensive use of data and its political-social implications, with a special interest in the fair and ethical use of data for administrative, research, and pedagogical activities. As result, this work provides 20 proposals, grouped into 4 dimensions of possible institutional areas of development for universities. These proposals aim to contribute to the critical analysis of how higher education institutions can play a central role to face the growing relevance of advanced data systems in our societies. © 2023 Grupo de Investigacion FORCE. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
In the context of accelerated digitization of education, most public schools are using commercial digital platforms such as Google or Microsoft. This phenomenon, intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, needs to be understood and analyzed by different perspectives and actors to find answers that allow for more sensible and secure use of these tools in educational contexts. In this scenario, this article explores the narratives on the protection of the privacy of users of digital platforms in schools and the protection of children's rights by the main actors in the educational field. The qualitative study is based on 14 interviews with key informants and analyzes their positions and statements concerning the use of commercial digital platforms in schools, the management of data, children's rights and the right to privacy. The results of this research shed light on the discursive tensions between the different educational actors around the entry of digital platforms of technological corporations in public schools. © Univ Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (UNED). All Rights Reserved.