[Ohiogift] EdX offers MOOCs for High School students

Mon Sep 29 12:05:17 EDT 2014

One other thing parents and schools may want to consider is the privacy policy. EdX was really developed for adults, so their collection and use of privacy is based on what is allowable for college students of traditional age and for adult learners.

Individually identifiable information is being collected for many legitimate and expected purposes (e.g. to send students course updates and verify identities of students seeking certificates.) However, users ALSO agree that EdX can share this personal data with third parties, including parties not involved in delivering the actual course. One “allowable” disclosure of personal data to third parties is to “send you communications about products and services of… edX affliaties or selected business partners that may be of interest to you.”

The privacy policy also says that it assumes that no users are under 13. (This is likely because law restricts the kind of information websites can collect and use about users under 13 without “verifiable parental consent.” And, there is not an option for parents to provide “verifiable consent” to EdX, nor does their appear to be an option for users to “opt out” of having their information shared with third parties when creating their user accounts.)

I think there’s likely some great content on these sites and some students who would benefit from participating. And, some parents will be comfortable with the privacy policy. (If you’re okay with your 12 year old having a Facebook or Instagram account, you’ll probably be okay with your child being on edX, too.) However, as an educator employed by a school, I would be sure to make sure parents understand that personal and academic information that the school itself would not ordinarily be allowed to share with a third party without verifiable parental consent will be collected and shared with third parties in ways the school cannot control and then ask them to sign off that they are okay with this arrangement before I put my school’s stamp of approval on one of these by writing it into a student’s WEP or Credit Flex plan.

FYI, here’s the edX privacy policy https://www.edx.org/edx-privacy-policy and here’s what Ohio Law says about schools’ obligations related to protecting student info http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3319.321. (Ohio law is actually a bit stricter than federal with respect to protections for data related to students between the age of 13 and 18, by the way.)

From: Ohiogift [mailto:ohiogift-bounces at lists.osu.edu] On Behalf Of Gifted and Talented in Ohio Discussion List
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2014 2:25 PM
To: ohiogift at lists.osu.edu
Subject: Re: [Ohiogift] EdX offers MOOCs for High School students

After several emails and confusing answers, the representative at EdX finally gave the following response about fees.  She tried to be very helpful when she saw my displeasure with the first response, but I shared that I believe the fees shouldn't be "hidden" from students and their parents.  She is going to pass that on to the "powers that be." However, her response below will help anyone looking for the fee information.

"In order to view the prices for our verified certificates, a student will need an account on edX.org. This required a name, email address, username, and password. Once the student is on edX.org, they will need to click the "register" button for the course to add it to their dashboard. If the course offers a verified certificate, they will then see the pricing and have the choice not to register by leaving the page or to take the course for a free honor code certificate by selecting "Audit." At this time fees are only available on the course registration page."

Kelley Rains
Gifted and Talented Coordinator
South-Western City Schools
614-801-6289
kelley.rains at swcsd.us<mailto:kelley.rains at swcsd.us>

On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 2:10 PM, Gifted and Talented in Ohio Discussion List <ohiogift at lists.osu.edu<mailto:ohiogift at lists.osu.edu>> wrote:
I would like to suggest the EdX program to my students.  I also feel the need, as the OAGC Coordinator Division Chair,  to learn as much as I can about such advertisements for opportunities for Ohio's gifted youth in order to share with fellow coordinators around Ohio.  I was impressed with EdX so much that I thought about the various ways some of the students in our area could take advantage, especially for acceleration and/or credit flex.  The site says courses are free, but if they want a certificate of passage in the class, which these students would need, there is a small fee. I could not find that fee listed anywhere, so I emailed the contact.  (In an area where we have between 65 and 70% economically disadvantaged students, this is important to be able to tell parents.)  I want to believe this is a welcoming business for our kiddos, but unfortunately, this is the response I received:

Hello Kelley,

Thank you for your interest in edX! I have passed on your inquiry to the appropriate department. If there is any interest on their end, they will be in touch with you.

Regards,

Holly
the edX team

Kelley Rains
Gifted and Talented Coordinator
South-Western City Schools
614-801-6289<tel:614-801-6289>
kelley.rains at swcsd.us<mailto:kelley.rains at swcsd.us>

Kelley Rains
Gifted and Talented Coordinator
South-Western City Schools
614-801-6289<tel:614-801-6289>
kelley.rains at swcsd.us<mailto:kelley.rains at swcsd.us>

On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 2:06 PM, Gifted and Talented in Ohio Discussion List <ohiogift at lists.osu.edu<mailto:ohiogift at lists.osu.edu>> wrote:
I would like to suggest the EdX program to my students.  I also feel the need, as the OAGC Coordinator Division Chair,  to learn as much as can about such advertisements for opportunities for Ohio's gifted youth in order to share with fellow coordinators around Ohio.  I was impressed with EdX so much that I thought about the various ways some of the students in our area could take advantage, especially for acceleration and/or credit flex.  The site says courses are free, but if they want a certificate of passage in the class, which these students would need, there is a small fee. I could not find that fee listed anywhere, so I emailed the contact.  (In an area where we have between 65 and 70% economically disadvantaged students, this is important to be able to tell parents.)  I want to believe this is a welcoming business for our kiddos, but unfortunately, this is the response I received:

Hello Kelley,

Thank you for your interest in edX! I have passed on your inquiry to the appropriate department. If there is any interest on their end, they will be in touch with you.

Regards,

Holly
the edX team

Kelley Rains
Gifted and Talented Coordinator
South-Western City Schools
614-801-6289<tel:614-801-6289>
kelley.rains at swcsd.us<mailto:kelley.rains at swcsd.us>

On Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 2:11 PM, Gifted and Talented in Ohio Discussion List <ohiogift at lists.osu.edu<mailto:ohiogift at lists.osu.edu>> wrote:
The partnership that created EdX has announced that it is releasing 26 free MOOC courses intended for High School students

https://www.edx.org/high-school-initiative

The courses will include AP, high school level and advanced classes.

EdX was founded by Harvard and MIT.  The consortium now includes many other universities.

Margaret

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