Notes on data protection in digital teaching

On this page you will find basic information on data protection in teaching and, at the bottom of the page, the most important contact points for further questions as well as comprehensive advice and support services.

Answers to the most frequently asked questions by teachers in the context of "Data protection in digital teaching"

How can I practice data economy?

For reasons of data protection, only data that has a specific purpose and is required for the teaching process may be collected. It is also recommended that only the software and tools provided by the RRZ (in german) and which do not pose a data protection risk.

How long is data stored in the learning platforms (e.g. AGORA or OpenOlat)?

AGORA: A workspace that is not accessed for 365 days is automatically archived. After that, it can still be accessed, but it is no longer possible to add new content. After a further year, these no longer active rooms are then automatically deleted. You can find more information in our FAQ on the topic: How does automatic room archiving work?
OpenOlat: How to delete courses can be found in HelpCard 10-090 Archivieren von Kursmaterialien und Löschen alter Kurse (in german).

How can I give students digitally protected feedback?

For the return of worksheets, text corrections, etc., internal tools provided by the university are recommended, as well as tools that are harmless in terms of data protection. You can find a list under “Digital tools for your teaching”.

In AGORA, you can create personal workspaces within a project room that are only accessible to the room moderator and a single person. You can find more about creating and implementing personal workspaces in our AGORA help portal.
In OpenOlat, we recommend the course elements “Teilnehmer:innenordner” or “Aufgabe” (in german) for successful individual communication. The first allows for easy file exchange between participants and supervisors, the second for electronic assignment of tasks to students. All students are assigned an individual folder in which they receive an assessment that can only be viewed with their own account.

• For questions regarding examination regulations, we recommend taking a look at the DL-Portal's tips for online examinations or take-home exams (in german).

Examples of personal data worth protecting

Students: Income, matriculation no., course of study, course, grades etc.
Science/administration: job title, department, field of research, involvement in productions, exhibitions etc.

Master data, personal data, picture/sound material, opinions, etc.

Meta-data, as with repositories
Geo-data, such as locations or movement patterns
Lifestyle, such as personal ads, browsing history, social media timeline, followers
Technical data, such as cookies, log files, dynamic IP address, evaluation, etc.

Health data, sexuality and gender
Religion, political parties, trade unions
Sensitive areas, such as investigative journalism, etc.

Objectives of data protection

Data protection refers to the protection of personal information from possible use by third parties. The seven objectives of data protection are: data minimisation, availability, integrity, confidentiality, non-linkability, transparency and intervenability of personal processes.

Personal data

According to Art. 4 No. 1 DSGVO, personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ("affected person"). Therefore, in principle, they do not concern legal persons, but identifiable individuals.
In the university context, data protection refers in particular to all members of the university, such as students, teachers, staff, managers, artists, but also external researchers and academics as well as alumni.

Offers for employees of universities on the topic of data protection:

Below you will find further information and contact points for data protection issues. In particular, the Multimedia Kontor hamburg (MMKH) offers comprehensive support and training.

The services of the MMKH

You can find all information about the regular trainings on data protection topics on the MMKH page (in german).
Here you will find the contact form for the MMKH data protection team (in german).
In the Infothek of the MMKH data protection portal (in german) you will also find samples, for example for data protection declarations and declarations of consent.