Who we are
The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) is committed to maintaining the privacy of everyone who visits this website: https://eduscope.rasc.ca.
Personal information may only be used or disclosed for the purpose for which it was collected unless you have otherwise consented, or when it is required or permitted by law. Personal information may only be retained for the period of time required to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected or as required by law.
What personal data we collect and why we collect it
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Accounts and Contact Forms
When you create an account on Eduscope RASC, the system sets up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
Any personal information you include in your profile or in the Program Applications will be stored within RASC and will not be shared with any outside parties. This includes but is not limited to your email, school and username.
Forum Posts for Eduscope
We welcome forum submissions from students and teachers. Forum posts, that are only visible to registered users, will be retained indefinitely for future use with other classrooms on the website unless you request otherwise.
If you upload or attach any images to the forum, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Other visitors to the website can download and extract location data from images on the website.
Cookies
Non-identifiable information is collected from each visitor to the Eduscope RASC website via a third-party service. When you visit our website, information such as which pages you viewed, the duration of your visit or which browser you use can be monitored for statistical purposes by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada only. These statistics do not contain personally identifiable information.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
External links
You may find links to other websites contained within the Eduscope website. Our privacy policy is applicable only to our website and it is recommended that when visiting other websites, you be aware of that particular company’s online privacy policy as it pertains to your activity on that site. Every effort has been made to ensure that the links within the Eduscope website are current and appropriate for our visitors.
Analytics
Who we share your data with
We do not share your data with any third parties not already mentioned in this document.
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users who register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Where we send your data
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
Your contact information
Your contact information is stored securely and is not distributed to any third parties. We only use your contact information in communications regarding this program.
Additional information
How we protect your data
We manage our server environment appropriately and our firewall infrastructure is strictly adhered to. Our security practices are reviewed on a regular basis and we routinely employ current technologies to ensure that the confidentiality and privacy of your information is not compromised.
What data breach procedures we have in place
RASC takes measures against loss, destruction or damage to personal data. If a breach occurs, the following procedure will be taken:
- Internal Notification: Individual who has experienced or identified the breach of data must notify RASC through the channels identified. An incident report will be created. If the data belongs to a student, their teacher will be informed.
- Containment: RASC will identify any steps that can be taken to contain the data breach (e.g. changing passwords, access permissions).
- Recovery: RASC will establish whether any steps can be taken to recover any data losses and limit the damage the breach could cause.
- Assess the risks: RASC will assess risks associated with the data loss giving consideration to appropriate elements (e.g. the type and sensitivity of data, what happened to the data, what could be learned from the data, how many individuals have been affected, and what harm could come to those individuals).
- Notification of parties involved: The incident report will be shared with the teacher responsible for any affected students, with their school, and with the Board of Directors of the RASC.
- Evaluation: RASC will assess whether any changes need to be made to our data safety to ensure that a similar breach does not occur.
What third parties we receive data from
We utilize Google Analytics to learn more about how our users experience our website.
What automated decision making and/or profiling we do with user data
We do not incorporate automated decision making or profiling with user data.
Industry regulatory disclosure requirements
Student data may be disclosed to their teacher. We may disclose information in alignment with the IPC’s Guide to Privacy and Access to Information in Ontario Schools.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Eduscope team by e-mail: telescope@rasc.ca.