The OEB Annual Debate: This House believes the Collection, Storage and Use of Non-Essential Data on Students Should be Heavily Restricted
Date Thursday, Nov 28 Time –
As educational institutions and EdTech companies increasingly rely on collecting, storing and using student data - from academic performance to personal information - are we truly enhancing educational outcomes, or are we sacrificing student privacy along the way?
With the rapid growth of online learning, vast amounts of sensitive data are being stored, often without clear guidelines and with minimal oversight. Are the potential risks of privacy breaches, misuse of personal information, and the erosion of student autonomy simply too high a price to pay for the promise of personalised learning?
Should outright restrictions be placed not only on non-essential data collection but also on the ways this information is stored and used? Or does the promise of data-driven education justify these risks? Can even the strictest regulations and highest security standards genuinely make data handling safe, or is limiting data handling to only the most essential information the last viable solution? In our quest to improve education, are we willingly overlooking the long-term consequences for student autonomy and privacy?
Ellen Wagner
Managing Partner, North Coast EduVisory LLC
Ellen Wagner is an accomplished learning technology professional with career experiences in academic, commercial, and non-profit organizations. She has worked as a tenured professor and university administrator, was a founding ed tech entrepreneur, a senior executive of publicly traded software companies, a journal editor, and a board member of a number of start-up ed tech companies. Her areas of expertise include ed tech, emerging tech, change management, instructional systems design and learning engineering, and digital learning (online and eLearning).
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Renate Samson
Special Projects Lead, Ada Lovelace Institute
Renate is Special Projects Lead at the Ada Lovelace Institute, her current focus is on AI and education and the impact of digital life on 14-24 year olds.
In her first role at Ada, she was Interim Director (Society, justice and public services).
Before joining Ada, Renate worked as a digital and data policy advisor and advocate at the consumer organisation Which?, the Open Data Institute, in Government and in Parliament. She is the former Chief Executive of Big Brother Watch, where she launched the first campaign on the use of biometrics and facial recognition technologies. Prior to working in digital, data and AI policy and research, Renate made history and arts TV documentaries for the BBC and other international broadcasters.
Martin Bean
The Bean Centre, CEO, Australia
Professor Martin Bean CBE, CEO of The Bean Centre, is a visionary leader shaping the future of education and work.
Co-author of the book "Toolkit for Turbulence," Martin equips leaders with tools and strategies to navigate change, seize opportunities, and foster resilient teams.
Currently a Professor at the University of New South Wales, Martin's expertise lies in exploring the evolving landscape of work and lifelong learning. He shares his knowledge as a mentor at Mentor List, connecting Australia's brightest minds.
Previously, Martin served as Vice-Chancellor and President of RMIT University, an institution with over 80,000 students in Melbourne, Australia. He also held the position of Vice-Chancellor at The Open University, the United Kingdom's largest academic institution, and served as General Manager of Microsoft's global Education Products Group in Seattle, Washington.
Acknowledged for his contributions to education, Martin has received prestigious awards, including an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of London and appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to higher education.
Jane Bozarth
Director of Research, The Learning Guild, United States of America
Jane Bozarth, the Director of Research for The Learning Guild, is a veteran classroom trainer who transitioned to digital learning in the late 1990s and has never looked back. In her previous job as leader of the State of North Carolina’s award-winning eLearning program, Jane specialized in finding low-cost ways of providing online training solutions. She is the author of several books, among them "eLearning Solutions on a Shoestring", "Social Media for Trainers", and "Show Your Work: The Payoffs and How-To’s of Working Out Loud". A popular international conference presenter, Jane holds a doctorate in training and development. She lives in Durham, NC, USA with her husband and Thomas the corgi.
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Moderator
Michael Onyango
Agenda Setter, The 4gotten Bottomillions
Michael Onyango is the founder of Africa’s Forgotten Bottom Millions (4BM), a transformative WhatsApp platform that reaches over 500,000 people weekly, providing young Africans across several countries with access to career opportunities through digital technology. Since 2016, 4BM has shared over 500,000 verified opportunities, including scholarships, fellowships, grants, and job offers, helping young people gain skills and build successful careers.
Michael has been at the forefront of economic empowerment, chanmpioning the use of frontier technoolgies, leading initiatives across interdisciplinary sectors within governments, NGOs, and the private sector in Africa and globally. He served as a key member of the Distributed Ledgers and Artificial Intelligence Taskforce under the Ministry of ICT, Kenya, and was formerly the Minister responsible for Communication, Information, and Technology in the County Government of Kisumu.
Currently, Michael is a Senior Skoll Foundation Fellow, an alumni Fellow in Social Innovation from the Rockefeller Foundation, and serves on the Advisory Board of the African Blockchain Institute. He actively works with young Africans, leveraging technology to drive impactful change. Michael has also played a significant role in shaping Kenya’s creative industries, including co-developing the roadmap for the sector in collaboration with IBM, positioning it as a catalyst for economic growth and outlining strategies to double its contribution to Kenya’s GDP.