| This historical case study will describe the influence of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, the first federal legislation written to affirm a right to privacy of academic records, on educational technology (ET) policies and practices in higher education. FERPA imposed instructional design and development protocols reflective of a time of emerging social and political consciousness regarding personal freedoms. Document analysis reveals a pattern of coincidental and congruent development of FERPA and ET as they each, in their separate spheres of influence, managed resolutions to technology-related invasions of personal privacy within the nation's educational infrastructure. A defining characteristic of the field of educational technology is its role as gatekeeper for the consideration and implementation of teaching and learning technologies with the goal of expanding educational opportunities for the nation's citizens. Legislative mandates have an impact on those efforts. ET specialists, therefore, are encouraged by the findings of this study to adopt a habit of watchful caution regarding the legislative process, especially at the national level where, as a result of design or neglect, the civil rights of learners may be undermined. |
