I'm going to keep the poll open until March 9 which corresponds with the middle of my semester, but I wanted to share some results here now to share with Cristina Colquhoun as a contribution to her ongoing work with Instructure on data privacy and related questions. I don't know what efforts Instructure has made to gather student voices to bring to the discussion, but this is my contribution to that effort.
The poll is anonymous and voluntary; my goal is to give my students an opportunity to share their opinions so that I can pass that along to Instructure as part of the ongoing discussion. There is also an option on the poll for students to indicate whether or not they are willing to contribution their comments to this public reporting, so the comments you will find below are only those comments students volunteered to share.
A total of 15 students completed the poll, 13 of them students at my institution (University of Oklahoma), and 2 at other institutions. Below you will find the answers to the no-yes questions (each posed on a scale of 1 to 6 to gauge strength of response). Then, at the bottom, I have copied-and-pasted in the comments made in response to the open-ended questions. I have randomized the order of presentation in the comments.
When I close the poll on March 9, I will write a new post. Here's what I have so far, as of February 23:
Should Instructure ask your permission before using your data to build its predictive algorithms? (strong-no on left, strong-yes on right: 73% strong-yes)
Would you give Instructure permission to use your data, or would you opt out? (opt-out on left, opt-in on right: 60% opt-out, 40% opt-in)
Would you want to see Canvas's predictions about the grade you will get in a class? (strong-no on left, strong-yes on right: 53% no, 40% strong-no)
Would you want YOUR ADVISOR to see Canvas's predictions about the grade you will get in a class? (strong-no on left, strong-yes on right: 87% no, 40% strong-no)
Would you want YOUR PROFESSORS to see Canvas's predictions about the grade you will get in their class? (strong-no on left, strong-yes on right: 93% no, 67% strong-no)
Your Thoughts about Canvas Predictions:
While I do feel like there are some benefits to using this data, I feel like they should at least allow students the possibility to opt in or out. That way it becomes a choice. I personally wouldn't want to use this feature, I don't like being under any kind of surveillance. I feel like it's invasive, though I do understand it's usage is harmless. I've already seen some of the new data analytics for myself on myself and I don't understand what it means and I don't like that others have access to it while I don't know its usage or purpose. Overall, I believe that it's the choice of the student to choose whether they want to use this feature or not. I also believe that predictions are not set in stone and I think that it's irresponsible to say with certainty that they can predict a grade of a certain student based on past performance.
Past performance does not equal future performance. This will cause students to fulfill their own prophesies. Can you provide one example of data and algorithms ever improving your life in a new, novel, and meaningful way?
I think canvas predictions would have a negative affect on students. If the students have a low prediction, they might feel defeated or unsuccessful in the class before it has even begun. Even if a student has high predictions, they might not try as hard than they would if they weren't given a good prediction.
i need more real reasons why predicting my grades is useful for me to support it. to me if people see predictions they treat them as facts and that will bias how they view the students. personally i have already had alot of issues with teachers and advisors judging my academic decisions, and i feel that allowing them to see my grade predictions would only exacerbate issues. The most important thing is that the student is given a choice and an easy way to opt out
I don't want to be put in a box based on past performance. I feel like whoever saw the predictions based off my stats would be biased in their opinion of me just based on the prediction (either a positive bias or negative bias). Neither bias is helpful. My advice would be to NOT use the data, just delete it. Some people might have gotten bad grades because of external circumstances like working jobs, having children, or suffering from major illnesses. Any data prediction model might not be smart enough or have the right information to account for external factors.
I am unsure of what the point is. Is it to give students an opportunity to drop a class they may not be successful in based on previous data? I can see how this can be good, but I can also see how it can be bad. I would NOT want professors or advisors to see this information. I think it would create a bias for professors when grading.
I think this allows a student to kinda know how things are going. Depending on the student, this could motivate them or depress them. I know for me, if something is telling me I am doing bad, I am going to try to prove it wrong. I wonder if there could be an option to turn it off and on. Canvas predictions can change maybe?
The bad sides to this tool jump out at me first. Predictive tools like this are not a guarantee, but not everyone understands that. People could become discouraged at the predictive analysis and either drop out of a class before trying or feel defeated before it really has begun. For self-esteem, I think it is a negative. Also, this could bias professors or other educators or advisers as they could form opinions about students before knowing them, or could change their opinions about a former student. Even if we try not to be biased, this information can unconsciously affect our decisions. Some positives would be knowing where you could possibly stand in a class, maybe change your schedule to accommodate for harder classes later on in your career? Another positive could be it helps people choose a major. They could see where their skills are best tailored for classes they may take. I'm very hesitant about this tool however.
I think that allowing Canvas to use data/predict future performance is strange and a bit unnecessary. I think it would to lead professors to make judgement about their students before they start the class.
I think using data to predict future performances may give some students confidence in their abilities and help them decide what classes may be right for them. Despite this, I feel future performance predictions may lead some students to feel they don't have to work as hard to get the grade they want in a class and bias in the way professors grade if they have access to predictions of who SHOULD get an A in a class. If this feature is to be used at all it should include explicit warnings about what the predictions are based on, what limitations the predictions have and what the predictions are to be used for. Ideally this feature should be easy to avoid for students who rather not know their predicted grades.
I think this would be beneficial to students and it might help them gage themselves. If canvas is predicting that you are not going to do too well in a class, then maybe that tells you that you may need to put a little more time an effort into that class that others.
I think this is a very interesting idea. I think the good side of using data in this way is that we would be able to choose classes based on the predictions. But I also think it could be bad because when it comes to classes we have to take, if Canvas predicts we are going to make a bad grade it could get into our heads and cause us to end up doing badly.
I think it would be a good way to for a student to track their progress in the class.However, some professors don't utilize Canvas that much or the grade is inaccurate.
General Thoughts:
I think that Canvas has enough features already (and they don't work that well). They don't need to collect data on students and share it with others!
I like Canvas; I think it functions well. I do not think there is a need to use student data for prediction purposes.
This is the one safe place I thought was free of the possibility of advertising and data mining. Now I won't be as open and honest in my class participation.
canvas low key sucks
I think Canvas predictions would be a good idea since a lot of students already use the What If function.
I think Canvas is really great right now, much better than other platforms I have used such as Blackboard at my community college/
I like Canvas, but a lot of it really depends on how the professor uses it if they do even use it. I have had professors who don't even use it.
Not really. Canvas is fine otherwise. In terms of grading platforms its more user friendly than others that I've used in the past.
