9 Dots

Last Updated: April 16th, 2019

9 Dots is dedicated to providing transformative computer science education for students in underserved Schools. We provide this privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) because we know that you care about how your information is collected, used, shared and retained. This Privacy Policy applies to information collected when you visit our Websites or access and use our Services. Capitalized terms not defined in this Privacy Policy shall have the meaning set forth in our Terms of Use.

Description of Users and Acceptance of Terms

This Privacy Policy applies to Visitors, Schools and Users. Visitors agree to the terms of the Agreement (as defined in the Terms of Use) by visiting the Websites. The Schools and Users accept the Agreement by signing up, accessing, and/or using the Services.

What Information we Collect/Receive; the Purpose of Collection and Use

The table below describes the categories of data that is collected by 9 Dots when Users interact with our Websites and Services, the purpose for which the data is collected, and how the data is used. Schools that purchase our Services are contractually responsible for providing us with School Information and Student Information in compliance with applicable laws, including obtaining any required consents. Teachers and Administrators are asked to provide their personal information during online sign-up for the Services.

Types of Information	When Information is Collected/Received	Purpose of Collection and Use
School Information	When a District or School purchases our Services, we collect certain information which may include School name(s), Student rosters and lists of Teachers.	We use School Information to set up the School on our Services.
Teacher Information	When a Teacher or Administrator creates a Teacher account, we collect certain information which may include Teacher’s full name, Gmail address, display name and School name.	We use the Teacher Information for the following purposes: to perform Google authentication; to send notices to Teachers about the Services; to associate a Teacher with his/her class(es); to identify the display name that Students in a class will see (e.g. Mrs. Smith); and to associate a Teacher with a School
Student Information	When a Teacher or Administrator creates a Student account, we collect certain information which may include Student’s full name, School name, Teacher name, grade level and state ID number.	We use Student Information for the following purposes: to associate a Student with their Teacher, grade level and class; and to ensure that a Student continues to be associated with the proper Teacher, grade level and class if they switch to a different Teacher, grade level and/or class.
Class Information	When a Teacher or Administrator creates a new class, we collect certain information which may include the class name, grade level, Teacher name and School name.	We use Class Information for the following purposes: to associate a Teacher with their Students’ Data; and to allow Teachers and Administrators to add Students to the class and assign coursework.
Teacher Created Course Information	When a Teacher creates a new course through the Services, we collect certain information which may include the name of the course, the names of modules and lessons within the course, supplemental resources (e.g. lesson plans) and playlists of activities.	We use Teacher Created Course Information to provide the course through our Services.
Teacher Performance Information	When Teachers participate in online professional learning courses through our Services, we collect certain information which may include the date/time each lesson is accessed, the number of tries to complete an activity and whether it was completed successfully, time spent on an activity, code that a Teacher submits, and Teachers’ answers to prompts (e.g. checks for understanding, attitudinal questions)	Teacher Performance Information is stored in the Teacher's account in order to allow the Teacher to pick up where they left off. This information is displayed to the Teacher and their Administrator(s) in order to (i) see the Teacher’s progress in a professional learning course; (ii) see the code they’ve created; and (iii) identify activities/concepts that they may need help with. An Administrator can access Teacher Performance Information for Teachers in their School(s). We use Teacher Performance Information to evaluate our own work and improve our online professional learning courses.
Student Performance Information	When Students participate in online courses through the Services, we collect certain information which may include the date/time each lesson is accessed, the number of tries to complete an activity and whether it was completed successfully, time spent on an activity, code that a Student submits, and Students’ answers to prompts (e.g. checks for understanding, attitudinal questions).	Student Performance Information is stored in the Student's account in order to allow the Student to pick up where they left off. This information is displayed to the Student and their Teacher(s) in order to (i) see the Student's progress in a course; (ii) see the code they’ve created; and (iii) identify activities/concepts they may need help with. A Teacher can access Student Performance Information for Students in their class(es). An Administrator can access Student Performance Information for Students in their School(s). We useStudent Performance Information to evaluate our own work and improve our online computer science learning courses.
Teacher Survey Information	Survey information is collected regarding the effectiveness of the curriculum for Teachers as the Teachers progress through online professional learning courses. Teacher responses are associated with their accounts so are not anonymous.	Teacher Survey Information is displayed to the Teacher’s School Administrator(s) in order to determine Teachers’ attitudes towards our curriculum. A Teacher can access Student Survey Information for Students in their class(es). An Administrator can access Student Survey Information for Students in their School(s). We use this information for the purposes of evaluating our own work and improving our Services.
Student Survey Information	Survey information is collected regarding Students’ understanding of the course materials and their attitudes towards computer science as Students progress through online courses. Student responses are associated with their accounts so are not anonymous.	Student Survey Information is displayed to the Student’s Teacher(s) and their School’s Administrator(s) in order to determine Students’ understanding of course materials and their attitudes towards computer science. A Teacher can access Student Survey Information for Students in their class(es). An Administrator can access Student Survey Information for Students in their School(s). We use this information for the purposes of evaluating our own work and improving our Services.

Student Information, Student Performance Information and Student Survey Information (collectively, “Student Data”) for each class is accessible by the Teacher of that class for the duration of time that the Student is associated with that Teacher’s class, and accessible by the Administrator(s) of the Student’s school for the duration of the time that the Student is associated with that School.

Other Information

In addition to the information described above, we may collect or receive additional information (collectively, the “Other Information”). Such Other Information may include:

From Your Activity. In an ongoing effort to ensure a high-quality teaching and learning experience for our Users, we automatically collect certain information when you visit the Websites and use the Services. Such information includes, without limitation, IP addresses, browser type and language, referring and exit pages and URLs, date and time, amount of time spent on particular pages, what sections of the Websites Users visit, and similar information concerning your use of the Websites and Services.
From Cookies. We collect information using “cookie” technology. Cookies are small packets of data that a website stores on your computer’s or mobile device’s hard drive so that your computer will “remember” information about your visit. We may use both session cookies (which expire once you close your web browser) and persistent cookies (which stay on your computer until you delete them) to help us collect information about your activity and deliver a more personalized learning experience to you. We collect information via cookies to 1) ensure that the Websites and Services works properly for all Users, 2) facilitate a faster and more personalized experience for Users, and 3) help us improve our Websites, Services and their contents. If you do not want us to place a cookie on your hard drive, you may be able to turn that feature off on your computer or mobile device. Please consult your Internet browser’s documentation for information on how to do this and how to delete persistent cookies. However, if you decide not to accept cookies from us, the Websites and the Services may not function properly.
Third-Party Analytics. We use third-party analytics services (such as Google Analytics) to evaluate your use of the Websites and Services, compile reports on activity, collect demographic data, analyze performance metrics, and collect and evaluate other information relating to the Websites, Services and mobile and Internet usage. These third parties use cookies and other technologies to help analyze and provide us the data. By accessing and using the Websites and/or the Services, you consent to the processing of data about you by these analytics services in the manner and for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

For more information on these third parties, including how to opt out from certain data collection, please visit the sites below. Please be advised that if you opt out of any service, you may not be able to use the full functionality of the Websites and Services.

For Google Analytics, please visit https://www.google.com/analytics

Information Received from Third Party Authentication Services

When you register for a 9 Dots account through Google Accounts, you are authorizing 9 Dots to collect, store, and use, in accordance with this Privacy Policy, any and all information that you agreed that Google could provide to us through their authentication service. You should check your privacy settings on your Google account to understand and change the information sent to us through Google’s authentication service. Please review Google’s terms of use and privacy policies carefully before using their services to connect to our Services.

How We Share the Information

You also authorize us to share School Information, Teacher Information, Student Information, Class Information, Teacher Created Course Information, Teacher Performance Information, Student Performance Information, Teacher Survey Information, and Student Survey Information (collectively, the “Information”) as described below:

We may engage other companies and individuals to perform certain business-related functions on our behalf. Examples may include providing technical assistance, order fulfillment, customer service, and marketing assistance. These other companies will have access to the Information only as necessary to perform their functions and to the extent permitted by law. We may also share your Information with any of our parent companies, subsidiaries, or other companies under common control with us.

In an ongoing effort to better understand our Users and our Websites and Services, we might analyze your Information in de-identified form in order to operate, maintain, manage, and improve the Websites and Services. This de-identified information does not identify you personally. We may share, disclose and/or sell this de-identified data to our affiliates, agents, and business partners. We may also disclose this de-identified data in order to describe our Websites and Services to current and prospective business partners in order to show our research efforts and gain insights into the usage of our content and services.

As we develop our business, we might sell or buy businesses or assets. In the event of a corporate sale, merger, reorganization, sale of assets, dissolution, or similar event, your Information may be part of the transferred assets.

To the extent permitted by law, we may also disclose your Information: (i) when required by law, court order, or other government or law enforcement authority or regulatory agency; or (ii) whenever we believe that disclosing such Information is necessary or advisable, for example, to protect the rights, property, or safety of 9 Dots or others.

If a Student is in a Teacher’s class, we will share the Student’s Data with that Teacher so the Teacher can manage the Student’s progress. The Student will also see limited information about their Teacher including their Teacher’s display name and class information.

We may share Student Performance Information with the Student’s School. We may allow the Student’s School to access the same Student Performance Information that has already been shared with the Student’s Teacher(s). We may also share Student Performance Information with 9 Dots’s co-teachers and teaching assistants in order to better facilitate and differentiate student learning in the classrooms that they support.

We may publish de-identified information about Student’s performance. This information will not identify any Student personally. De-identified information representing large populations of Students may be reported by demographic criteria such as age, general location, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

We may also share Student Survey Information and Teacher Survey Information in de-identified and aggregated form with our current and prospective business partners.

How we Protect Your Information

We take commercially reasonable steps to protect your information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Our Websites and Services store data via Google Cloud Firestore. Firestore automatically encrypts all data under the 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard. This provides an extra layer of protection for all data stored in our database. Please understand, however, that no security system is impenetrable. We cannot guarantee the security of our databases or the databases of the third parties with which we may share such Information, nor can we guarantee that the Information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted over the Internet. In particular, e-mail sent to us may not be secure, and you should therefore take special care in deciding what information you send to us via e-mail.

To protect your privacy and security, we take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting you account access or making corrections to your Personal Information. If you have any questions about how we handle or protect your personal data, please contact us at [email protected].

Accessing and Modifying Information; Deleting Accounts

Teachers may update, correct, or delete personal information in their Teacher and Students’ accounts at any time via their Settings and Class Settings pages. Teachers also have the ability to change the password of any Student account in their class. A Parent of a Student under the age of 18 may also review personal information and correct erroneous information, if any, by asking the Teacher to access the Student account.

In order to allow Users to recover deleted accounts, we will retain progress, code creations and related data for a commercially reasonable period of time after expiration of an applicable Agreement. A User can request permanent deletion of their account and all the associated data by sending a request via email to [email protected], or by mail to 9 Dots, 931 N. Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. A Teacher, School or a Parent may also request the deactivation or deletion of Student accounts or particular Student Data by contacting us using these same means. Please note that we may attempt to verify your identity and your relationship with the Student before processing your request. If you are a Parent and you have questions about your child's use of our Services and any information collected, you should discuss your questions with your child's Teacher or the School, or email 9 Dots directly at [email protected].

Children Under Age 13

We do not knowingly collect personal information from a child under 13 unless and until the child’s School has entered into an Agreement with us. We rely on the School to comply with applicable law when providing us with the personal information of Students including, as required, obtaining appropriate consents. If it comes to 9 Dots’s attention that personal information from children under the age of 13 has been collected without an Agreement in place, then 9 Dots will take appropriate steps to delete such information.

California Students Online Personal Information Protection Act (“SOPIPA”)

We do not (1) engage in targeted advertising based on Students’ personal information collected through our Websites or Services, or (2) use Students’ personal information to create Student profiles except as necessary to provide our Services. Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy, we do not sell Student Information.

Important Notice to Non-U.S. Residents

The Websites, Services and their servers are operated in the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, please be aware that any information you provide to us maybe transferred to, processed, maintained, and used on computers, servers, and systems located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your jurisdiction. If you are located outside the United States and choose to use the Websites and/or the Services, you do so at your own risk.

California Residents

We do not share User personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

9 Dots does not monitor, recognize, or honor any opt-out or do not track mechanisms, including general web browser “Do Not Track” settings and/or signals.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date stated at the top of this Privacy Policy. We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any such changes will be posted on the Websites. By accessing the Websites after the changes are posted, you are deemed to have accepted such changes. Please refer back to this Privacy Policy on a regular basis.

Contacting 9 Dots

Please contact 9 Dots with any questions or comments about this policy or the use of Personal Information by writing us at [email protected] or at 931 N. Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038.