Zoom: a communications platform with video and audio
As an alternative to regular in-class activities, we use virtual classrooms in Zoom which is a professional video conferencing system capable of handling a lot of people at the same time and designed for online learning. This is why we have chosen Zoom for online learning. Over the last couple of years, Studieskolen has gained extensive experience in using Zoom.
Studieskolen complies with the recommendations related to the use of video conferencing systems, also in relation to the use of Zoom. We have adapted Zoom to comply with our own requirements for security and privacy, and we also follow the developments at Zoom as well as their guidelines for safe online learning.
So it is safe to use Zoom as part of the learning experience at Studieskolen.
We follow, for example, these precautions:
- Our classes are protected by passwords. Only students in the individual class are able to participate.
- The connection to Zoom's servers is encrypted. This prevents third parties from accessing the data.
- We do not disclose information about our students to Zoom, nor do we require our students to do so themselves. Therefore, there are no data protection issues.
- All teachers are trained in Zoom's security settings and can guide their students.
Recommendations – protect your privacy and personal data
Studieskolen is focused on data security, and we would like to encourage all our students to protect their own privacy and personal data. Here you can find some good advice about what you can do yourself to protect your data while attending online classes:
- Do not share personal, confidential or sensitive information about yourself with others
- Check what you have in the background when your webcam is on. You may have pictures of children or other people in the background that you do not want others to see. You may also have particular items that you do not want to appear on the webcam.
- Always make sure your computer, tablet or smartphone is up to date with the latest operating system. Keeping programs up to date is just as important. When there is an update for Zoom, you will be notified about it in the program, but you need to start the update yourself.
Frequently asked questions and answers
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At Studieskolen, we do not save any personal data from our students while using Zoom for group teaching. Therefore, there is no data to access in the first place.
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While the classes take place, all participants have access to the audio and video. However, we do not permit classes being recorded without your consent.
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At Studieskolen, all our Zoom classes are password-protected. As an additional precaution, the teacher must accept and allow all participants into the online class. This means that it is not possible to join a class unless you are a student. All students are able to see everyone else present in the online class, just like classes in a physical room.
The term “Zoom-bombing” refers to hackers who break into Zoom meetings uninvited. This is simply not possible in our Zoom classes, since they are password-protected and have the further protection of the teacher manually allowing each student into the online class. -
Yes. Data sent from your Zoom client is always encrypted (using TLS 1.2 or AES-256).
Nonetheless, you might have read articles that make it sound like there is hardly any encryption when you used Zoom. This is not true. Rather, the issue is that security experts recommend even stronger encryption if you use Zoom to discuss confidential or sensitive issues.
At Studieskolen, we do not handle sensitive information at all. -
No. Previously, there has been some exchange between Zoom and Facebook. However, this was only if you used your Facebook-login to log onto Zoom.
Students at Studieskolen do not have to log onto Zoom at all, so no data is shared.