(Copyright  CyberSmart! Education. Used with permission)

Level: Grades 6-8; Time required: 1/2 to 1 class period

ABOUT THIS LESSON: Students explore the concept of privacy in their everyday lives and as it relates to visiting Web sites. This lesson and related ones from Cybersmart! and other sites can provide students with an important early introduction to Internet use fundamentals.

Objectives:

• Explore the concept of privacy in a real-world setting and in cyberspace
• Explain why companies collect information about visitors on their Web sites
• Learn and use online privacy terms

Teachers, please also read Letter to Educators about Internet safety and security from CyberSmart!

The related Home Connection sheet can be downloaded and sent home to parents and guardians.

NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS:

1. Digital Citizenship: advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
2. Technology Operations and Concepts: understand and use technology systems.

MATERIALS:

• Student Activity Sheets for printout in PDF format.

VOCABULARY:

cookies, aggregate data, third party, anonymity.

PROCESS:

Introduce

Tell students, “Our principal has hired a research company to collect information that will help us make the school better for you. Several observers will watch students and record where each of you goes, how many times you go there, and how long you stay there, including to the water fountain, your locker, the bathroom, the cafeteria, and to visit another student. You will be identified only by a number. At the end of the day, the research company will put all the data together and write a report to the principal.”

Have students think about what you just told them and jot down any questions or concerns they have or think other students might have.

Teach 1

Ask: What concerns do you have about this research? Guide students to consider whether the collection of such data is fair or justified, who else might see it, whether the number can be linked to their name by the principal, whether some of the information should remain private, and whether they will be allowed to review the data collected about them.

Point out that these are the same kinds of concerns that parents, privacy organizations, watchdog groups, and elected officials have about information collected by Web sites.

Teach 2

Distribute the activity sheet for students to read and discuss.

Have them relate the concepts about online privacy to the real world privacy scenario about their school. (Is collecting such information fair? What are you being offered in return for such information? Is the exchange worth it to you?)

Teach 3

Have students use the terms on the activity sheet to write a paragraph describing their own definitions of privacy. Allow volunteers to share their results.

Close

Ask: What is an example of a privacy issue in the real world? In cyberspace?

Ask: Why do site owners want information about their visitors? (They use the information to decide how to change the site, to decide how much to charge advertisers, and to customize a site for each visitor to encourage them to buy more. Without your knowledge, some sites may also share your information with others in exchange for more information about you or in exchange for money.)

Ask: What is a cookie? Aggregate data? A third party? Anonymity?

EXTEND:

The following activity can be added for students who completed this lesson in a previous grade.

Have students go online to read the privacy policy at one of their favorite sites. Have them use the glossary on the activity sheet to interpret what they read, specifically identifying how the site says information will be collected and how it will be used. Ask students to react to this in light of their new knowledge about privacy issues/concerns.

Extend this classroom lesson with Cybersmart activities that support a cyber safety and security awareness campaign for your school, families, and community. These include lessons on cyberbullying and etiquette, as well as online teacher workshops.

Copyright CyberSmart! Education www.cybersmart.org

Filed under: Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans

Tags: Computer Engineering