Education International
providing continuity of enrolment for Chinese students. The Council of Australiasian University Directors of Information Technology (CAUDIT) said 30 of its 47 affiliated universities are using the Alibaba cloud, including the University of Sydney, University of Adelaide, University of Canberra, and University of Melbourne.131 Some commentators have noted that the adoption of this cloud solution technology might have long term benefits for how Australian universities provide education to international students moving forward.132 There are also cloud solutions being targeted at helping HE institutions return to campus. For example, SalesForce Education Cloud is specifically focused on providing data-driven insights for the safe reopening of campuses. They use the University of Kentucky as an example of what a return-to-campus plan might look like, where a number of SalesForce cloud tools are brought together in a (mandated) app.133 The use of a command centre, individual wellness tracking, and contact tracing graphs is intended to keep students and faculty safe, and allow the quick dissemination of campus-wide information.
10. Student and staff surveillance A range of tools that have been adopted by HE institutions - ostensibly for teaching and learning activities - actually expose students and staff to increased forms of surveillance. Exam proctoring tools, for example, have generated much controversy around the world. The use of these tools means that students are ‘watched’ as they take tests, with recorded patterns of keystrokes, facial recognition, gaze-monitoring and eyetracking, and the use of microphones and cameras to record students’ surroundings and broadcast them to a remote proctor. These proctoring apps are, for some critics, considered indistinguishable from ‘spyware’. They gather invasive biometric data from students and collect (and retain) personally identifiable information including, ‘full name, date of birth, address, phone number, scans of government-issued identity documents, educational institution affiliation, and student ID numbers’: The companies retain much of what they gather, too—whether that’s documentation or video of bedroom scans. Some companies, like 131 Li, P. 2020, 27 July. Aussie universities turn to Alibaba cloud to keep Chinese students studying. IT News: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/aussie-universities-turn-to-alibaba-cloud-to-keep-chinese-students-studying-550877 132 ZDNet. 2020. How universities are grappling with the need to provide education through COVID-19 distancing. ZDNet: https:// www.zdnet.com/paid-content/article/how-universities-are-grappling-with-the-need-to-provide-education-through-COVID-19distancing/ 133 Salesforce.org. 2020, 17 July. Back to campus: University of Kentucky’s comprehensive return-to-school plan. Salesforce blog: https://www.salesforce.org/blog/university-of-kentucky-reopen-safely/
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