Privacy Provision in E-Learning Systems

Through the last decade education has evolved dramatically, shifting from blackboards, whiteboards, paper based systems and other traditional learning systems where privacy of students have been sustained behind locked offices to new revolutionary educational system called the E-learning system, the delivery of learning, training or education programs by electronic means is generally known as E-learning. Since privacy is considered as an essential element in our lives, hence, it is important to shed the light on privacy in E-learning systems. This study aims to examine the privacy issues related to the use of E-learning systems. The study also generated hypotheses to investigate the users' differences in genders as well as the differences in years of study at the higher educational level. The data gathered from reviewing previous studies was modified and then presented in a survey for the users of the E-learning system in the University of Bahrain, specifically BlackBoard. The results show that 30% of students improve their understanding of privacy by the period they study in the university, and female students from the Information Technology (IT) College show better understanding of privacy principles than non-IT female students, in addition, IT students care about implementing the privacy principles more than other colleges. The study highlights that the privacy of E-learning systems revolves around the user perspective and provider compliance to privacy principles.