Genio for Education Information

Lakehead Student Accessibility Services will be using Genio for Education for some students to capture of lecture materials in the classroom. It is 'the study tool that boosts class engagement' and has an excellent record for both student and faculty satisfaction. As Faculty you may like to check out the Genio Faculty FAQ's.

Which students have access to Genio software?
At Lakehead, Genio is provided to students accessing SAS whose academic barriers can be removed through the functions of this software (i.e., note taking, recording audio, and access to transcriptions). Not all students registered with SAS will receive access to Genio, rather this accommodation (like other SAS accommodations) is provided based on a student's unique functional impacts/limitations with the goal of removing that student's particular academic barriers.
What about confidentiality of information?
Lakehead Student Accessibility Services have developed procedures for our students with regard to Genio. Students with the Genio Accommodation sign the Audio/Zoom recording agreement.
Where and How an End User's Content is stored ?

Content created by a Genio user, like audio recordings and electronic notes, are stored locally on the user's device and then uploaded to Genio's cloud storage. The data is saved locally so that a user is able to record and edit their content while offline. Providing users with the ability to work offline was critical to the design of the Genio platform; we understand that notetaking shouldn't be dependent on having an internet connection. 

Secure local storage

Data saved locally is stored on hard disk in a Genio-readable format.

Secure cloud storage

Data is uploaded to Genio's cloud storage, which is hosted across Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud platforms in UK data centers. At this time, Genio does not provide data storage in any other territory.

More important stuff

  • Audio data is stored encrypted at rest and is only transmitted over encrypted channels between the browser and Genio's cloud servers.

  • When online, the browser uploads data to the cloud. An end user's audio data is sent directly to AWS S3 servers and all other data (such as electronic notes and audio visualization data) is sent to Genio's database via the backend.

  • All data is uploaded using a secure connection (HTTPS), and is saved in IndexedDB (a database built into the browser) so that Genio works offline.

  • Audio files are captured in binary long objects, or blobs as we call them, and are encrypted and stored on AWS S3. The blobs are decrypted on retrieval and reassembled on the end user's browser.

  • Communication between the browser and AWS S3 (for upload and download) is done via pre-signed URLs. The URLs are only valid for the upload of a particular blob (they are only valid for a single destination address in AWS S3), and are valid for a limited time.

Which other third parties do you work with?

Genio's list of current subcontractors can be viewed on our Security page here. These third parties process customer and end user data because they are central to Genio being able to deliver its software and service. Glean vets third party providers carefully and ensures that it has the appropriate data protection and data security contractual provisions in place with each one.
Can audio recorded in Genio be shared and/or exported?
Genio doesn't provide users with the option to share or download their audio recordings outside of the Genio platform. If your institution has a Genio subscription, you'll have the option to enable the send a copy feature in your customer account (which means that all users will have this feature enabled). Send a copy allows a user to send a copy of their Event to another user within the institution. Additionally, the option can be selected to allow users to send a copy of an Event to an individual outside of the institution (that person will also need to have a Genio account to access it). An Event that has been shared using send a copy can only be accessed in the Genio platform. The send a copy feature is disabled by default in your customer account, so your institution can decide whether or not to enable it.
I am concerned about my intellectual property being recorded and captured in the software - would Genio claim ownership?

Genio's position is that the legality of content captured in the platform (audio recordings, slides etc.,) does not change just because it's in there. So, if the content legally belonged to the user, or to a faculty member before being captured in Genio, this remains the case when it's in the platform. Ownership and intellectual property rights never transfer to Genio. Genio makes this clear in the Service Agreement that it enters into with the user during the account sign-up process, which can be viewed here (see Section 6 Your Data). Ultimately, the user is responsible for the content they capture in the Genio platform, which is why it's important that a user and their institution work together to make sure that an individual's use of Genio complies with any recording and/or intellectual property policies that the institution has in place.

If you are concerned that a user's use of Genio has breached your institution's internal policy, our advice would be to reach out to the specific user directly and work with them to resolve the issue. A user does have the ability to delete Events (you can read more about Event deletion below).

I have general concerns about being recorded in class.
Genio's take on this (and please note, this isn't legal advice) is that, if an individual wants to record in class to aid their learning, they will. This means recording may take place covertly without your knowledge, for example, by using a mobile phone's recording functionality. With recording technologies becoming more and more popular in the classroom, especially post-COVID 19, Genio is proud to provide a comprehensive learning solution that includes the option to record in addition to upload files, input and mark-up notes, search and add images from the web, and transcribe content. Genio provides an institution with a secure and robust tool that meets the needs of its learners whilst also offering peace of mind to teaching staff, because it has been vetted and approved by the institution itself - there's nothing sneaky going on! Further, Genio enters into separate contractual agreements with the customer (the institution) and the user. The agreements set out the obligations and responsibilities of each party. Genio encourages staff and students to work together to make sure the software is used in line with the specific rules and policies of their institution, so that everyone is on the same page.
Can audio recordings be deleted?

Yes, a user has the ability to delete Events from their individual Genio account. After a user deletes their Event, it will no longer take up any space on their device and it won't be available to them (this is a 'soft' deletion). Genio retains deleted Events and their data for 90 days on its database so that anything that was mistakenly deleted can be recovered. When the 90 days is up, the deleted Event and associated data are gone for good. Glean also maintains backups of user data to aid in disaster recovery scenarios (e.g. data corruption caused by a bug, an issue with Genio's database hosting service, or a ransomware attack). The longest Genio retains any such backup is 90 days - and again, it's then gone for good.

The institution and/or the Genio Administrator isn't able to access an individual's Genio account and delete Events, since this would violate the terms of the end user Service Agreement and Privacy Policy that Genio has entered into with the user - a user's account is private to them.

What's unique about the Genio software that isn't offered by other providers?
For legal reasons we can't claim that Genio is unique, since the learning technology space is constantly evolving. What we can confidently say is that Genio has been designed specifically to improve learning outcomes - and it shows: 95% of students said using Genio helped improve how they learn. Rather than focus simply on productivity and efficiency like many other products, Genio is built around a learning method that scaffolds the study process, allowing users to capture everything from class, organize the information, refine it, and apply it to their studies. It’s a process built on learning best practice and years of research and feedback. Genio combines slides, audio, transcripts, images, definitions and more in an engaging study space to ensure students get the most out of class content.
I'm concerned that allowing recording devices into my classroom may prevent open discussions with students.
We recognise that it may not be desirable to have students recording during all classroom discussions, especially those where students may share personal experiences. This is one of the reasons why we developed the pause feature in Genio, so students can quickly stop the recording when necessary and then resume it easily when appropriate. To help set expectations with students, some institutions even build into their recording policy that students must comply with pausing the recording in certain situations, like more sensitive classroom discussions.
The use of laptops to take notes can be distracting for students.
We hear you - more tech usually means more distractions. In fact, reducing distractions in the classroom was one of our key goals when designing Genio. That’s why Genio has a very simple user interface that brings audio, slides, transcripts and more into a single workspace so students can focus on their learning, and also includes features such as Lighting Mode that further reduces the number of buttons the student has to use.