Security to be a critical consideration as online learning tools are selected

Stock image of a female student with green nail polishing working at her laptop

BY Mary Taws, Office of the AVP and CTO

August 31, 2020

With the fall term around the corner, McMaster instructors are selecting a combination of technologies to support online learning. As these choices are made, an important consideration will be online security.

To support the campus community in these decisions, University Technology Services (UTS) will be sending a message to instructors outlining security features of McMaster-provided web and video conferencing tools. Within this memo, Microsoft Teams and Cisco WebEx are recommended from a security perspective, but there are many factors being taken into account as instructors make their decisions.

For example, Microsoft Teams integrates document sharing, collaboration, and messaging for a dynamic learning environment. Zoom is a popular web and video conferencing solution when it comes to moderation and facilitation settings, however the campus community has also raised Zoom privacy concerns.

To help make Zoom as secure as possible, McMaster staff, students, and instructors can take advantage of the campus-wide Zoom license. This affords a greater degree of security, compared to an individual license. Zoom meetings are also more secure when features, such as the waiting room or meeting password, are enabled.

Information is also being sent directly to students on how to safely use online learning platforms.

“It is important that security is a leading consideration as instructors decide on course format,” says McMaster Students Union (MSU) President Giancarlo Da Ré. “MSU will continue to bring security concerns to university leadership, and we look forward to ongoing updates for students regarding security improvements.”

Assistant Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Gayleen Gray says ongoing discussions with the MSU, the Information Technology Security Advisory Committee (ITSAC) and other student leaders are essential to improving technology access and security at McMaster.