“With Tension comes a little work”: Safety and Privacy in the Online Classroom Space

Abstract

Blogs and wikis have long been applauded for affording interactivity and collaboration, found to abet student motivation and engagement. However, no research has yet examined issues of student safety and privacy resulting from using technologies. Presenting a qualitative research study of three writing classes who used Google Drive to share their writings, this study seeks to understand student attitudes toward safety and privacy when using wiki-like technologies technologies in an institutional learning environment. The data were collected using a questionnaire and focus groups. Although the study anticipated that the technology would adversely affect some students’ learning, students reported that the tension resulting from increased transparency contributed to increased motivation, even among those highly uncomfortable sharing online. The study adds to the existing literature on digital literacy by pointing out the roots of student motivation when using wiki-like platforms and suggests a possible pedagogical pitfall of online classroom technologies.