Towards Safeguarding Users’ legitimate rights in Learning Management Systems (LMS): A case study of the Blackboard LMS at Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi (SUAD).

Abstract

This paper sought to establish the extent to which users’ legitimate rights are safeguarded in Learning management systems (LMS), specifically, on the Blackboard system, used for teaching at Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi (SUAD). Firstly, users’ legitimate rights that must be protected were identified. Subsequently, the security and privacy guarantees afforded by Blackboard were assessed.  Lastly, policy gaps and technological deficiencies undermining protection of users’ legitimate rights were identified.   The study adopted a qualitative research approach and a case study research design. Data was collected through content analysis, document review and interviews. The research revealed that to a large extent Blackboard, LMS safeguarded most of the users’ legitimate rights. However, the system is silent on some legitimate rights such as storage limitation and data sharing arrangements.  Further, it emerged that Blackboard’s privacy practices are to a large extent informed by educational institutions using its products. The study concludes that safeguarding user’s legitimate rights is a collective responsibility between the learning management services providers and the educational institutions. As such, there is need for educational institutions using Blackboard and other learning management systems to craft robust data protection regimes. Keywords: Learning Management Systems, Privacy, Users' legitimate rights