Safety Topics in e-Learning: How to Build a Well-Protected Culture for Learners

By 2029, the number of people taking online courses is estimated to reach 1.1 billion globally. While that’s a great feat for the education sector, it also means more and more students will become vulnerable to cybersecurity risks such as data breaches and phishing attacks. 

With in-person learning, it’s much easier to protect the psychological and physical well-being of your students. But how can you achieve the same level of security in e-learning? With the right tools and practices, it’s entirely possible.

In this guide, we’ll discuss top safety topics and how you can build a well-protected culture in your online education system. 

6 Crucial Safety Topics in e-Learning in 2025

Here are six trends around online security that you must consider in 2025:

1. Maintaining Data Privacy and Cybersecurity

Online learning platforms store all kinds of sensitive data, including students’ personal information, academic records, and financial details. Cybercriminals can breach this data for identity theft, fraud, or blackmail. 

In 2022 alone, there were 1,774 data breaches, affecting 422 million people worldwide. In the education sector, where students and their parents place a lot of trust in the system, you simply can’t afford such breaches. Schools and colleges have the ethical and legal responsibility to protect their students’ data.

Some of the common cybersecurity threats your institute may face include:

• Phishing Attacks: Cybercriminals use deceptive emails or links to steal login credentials or sensitive information. In 2022, phishing was one of the most common attack methods targeting educational institutions.
• Malware and Ransomware: These attacks can disrupt your operations and compromise data integrity. The average cost of a ransomware attack in the US reached $9.44 million in 2022.
• Data Breaches: Breaches expose personal data such as names, passwords, and financial details. While the healthcare industry is more vulnerable, the education sector is no stranger to data breaches. For instance, the Georgia Institute of Technology suffered a breach compromising 1.3 million records.

To protect your institution from such breaches, the first step is to choose the right platform. For instance, Coursebox has features like secure file sharing and advanced analytics that adhere to strict privacy standards.

More importantly, organizations must implement MFA to prevent the risk of unauthorized access. Sensitive student data should be encrypted both at rest and in transit to avoid interception by hackers. 

Lastly, you must adhere to laws like the Privacy Act 1988 in Australia, GDPR in Europe, and FERPA in the US for proper handling of personal data. For example, FERPA forbids disclosure of student information without consent.

2. Fostering a Safe and Inclusive Online Community

Online harassment, cyberbullying, and hate speech are the next safety topics to discuss. According to Microsoft’s 2023 Global Online Safety Survey, 74% of teens have experienced cyberbullying and hate speech, while parents underestimated these risks by up to 12 percentage points. These issues can lead to psychological distress and demotivation among learners, which is why it’s the school’s responsibility to tackle them.

For instance, the school’s community platform should have strict rules to prohibit harassment, bullying, and discriminatory language. These rules must be enforced by taking swift action against violators. 

At the same time, educators should encourage respectful and inclusive communication in the community. Research shows that 37% of learners value non-intimidating spaces where they can express themselves without the fear of judgment. 

Here are some tips for fostering a safe and inclusive online community for your students:

• Create channels where students can share concerns or suggestions anonymously.
• Use Coursebox for collaborative tools that facilitate open dialogue between instructors and learners.
• Offer access to mental health professionals or helplines.
• Organize virtual group activities such as collaborative projects or informal chats.
• Make sure all students can participate by providing features like closed captions, screen reader compatibility, and flexible deadlines.

3. Addressing Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

Maintaining academic integrity in online environments is getting harder due to the rise of "e-cheating." 

Reports indicate that 32.7% of students enrolled in online courses use unauthorized resources during assessments. Meanwhile, students admitted that they were four times more likely to cheat in an online class compared to an in-class format. The lack of personal interaction and reliance on technology has quickly muddled the usual ethical practices and expectations of the education sector.

Here are some tips to help you prevent plagiarism while teaching online:

• Explicitly define plagiarism and academic dishonesty in course materials. Research shows that providing examples of unethical behavior can help reduce violations.
• Create assessments requiring personal input, reflection, or application of knowledge. Assignments that demand originality are less prone to plagiarism.
• Use tools like Turnitin to identify copied content while educating students on their purpose.
• Incorporate modules on citation styles and research ethics into the curriculum. 

You can also combat cheating by designing open-book exams with applied questions, monitoring their online community for shared answers, and explaining the consequences of dishonesty. Above all, your actions as an educator should reflect transparency, respect, and accountability, and your students will follow. Regular reminders about ethical behavior and its importance to professional success can help you reinforce values.

The good news is that Coursebox supports academic integrity with many features. Its analytics tools allow you to monitor student engagement and detect anomalies. You can use its collaborative learning features to encourage authentic participation. 

Coursebox also has many helpful resources for educators to design assignments that demand originality.

4. Ensuring Accessibility and Equity 

Accessibility is a must if you want to offer equitable education for students with disabilities, who represent 19% of undergraduate students in the US. Online learning is a bit more flexible than in-person education, but it often excludes students due to inaccessible formats. 

For example, only 3% of the internet is accessible to learners with disabilities, and your current e-learning tool probably isn’t in that 3%. Accessible online learning can empower students by reducing physical and psychological stress and giving them more control over their learning pace.

If you want to create more accessible online courses with Coursebox, keep these tips in mind:

• Include captions for videos, transcripts for audio content, and alternative text for images. 
• Make sure the tool works with assistive technologies like screen readers and voice recognition software.
• Allow extended deadlines, self-paced modules, and hybrid participation modes to cater to certain circumstances.

However, accessibility isn’t just about making the internet easier to navigate. Equity in online learning also involves bridging the digital divide. Globally, 2.6 billion people lack internet access, which can make online learning difficult. Institutions can provide subsidized hardware such as laptops or tablets, mobile-friendly platforms, or offline resources like downloadable content.

5. Managing Online Interactions and Communication

Effective communication is the key to making your online courses more engaging and easy to understand. Research shows that a lack of personal contact is a leading cause of low completion rates in online learning. 

Firstly, your organization should have clear protocols in place, such as providing contact information upfront and using announcements for updates. This alone will reduce tons of misunderstandings and improve student satisfaction. You can also use Coursebox to share structured course walkthroughs, so learners can manage their expectations realistically.

More importantly, remember that you won’t be able to rely on non-verbal cues to help your students during your lectures. Instead, you should remember to clarify tricky or wordy aspects of the material and encourage open dialogue to address confusion right away.

Above all, it’s better to accept that sensitive topics will come up eventually rather than trying to stifle discussions. In that case, you can still manage the interaction and address the safety topics by:

• Offering trigger warnings for sensitive material.
• Creating safe spaces for learners to express concerns.
• Avoiding offensive language.
• Respecting diverse perspectives.
• Practicing empathy during discussions.
• Sharing access to counseling or support services.

6. Continuous Improvement and Evaluation

Regular feedback will help you identify gaps and refine strategies to address risks before they become a serious issue. In fact, 88% of people around the world believe in the value of reviews and feedback, and that includes students. Schools that review online safety policies according to feedback are better equipped to adapt to evolving safety threats.

The question is, how do you gather all this feedback? Here are a few tips:

• Use in-course surveys to collect timely insights from learners and instructors. Coursebox has many collaborative tools like quizzes, which can allow for easy and structured feedback collection.

• Conduct one-on-one sessions with representative learners to gather detailed input on the safety concerns of the entire class.
• Create safe spaces for students to share concerns without fear of judgment.

It’s worth noting that your school’s safety policies should be evolving as quickly as technological advancements. Cybercrime costs are projected to reach over $9.5 trillion globally by 2024, and updated protocols might just be the only way to combat that. That includes annual reviews, risk assessments, and policy revisions in response to new technologies, such as AI or IoT.

Conclusion

As students transition to permanent online learning, educators become more and more responsible for their well-being and safety during school hours. 

Now that you’ve read our guide, you can create a culture of safety within your online learning platform. To build courses that reflect these values, explore how Coursebox makes content creation a breeze.