A few of you have mentioned concerns over security and online communication. I found this story about iPad security leaks. I have had issues in the past over leaked, secure information by a college I attended. Is anything really secure? I remember not too long ago, you would hear people being scammed by people going through their trash. It seems that yes, the risk is higher now, but I think there has always been some risk with personal information going public.
To bring this to blogs and other Web 2.0 tools, what can we do to reassure parents (and ourselves) that students are safe online?
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I work with college students so I don't have to worry about parents' permission. But still I think we should be cautious about web use in terms of privacy and security. I want my students to set up blogs in the fall, and I've been thinking of what method to use to shield their identity. I think I will go with first name and last initial, like Robert M. I don't like using a pen name, as I think that gives them too much cover to own up to what they write; they should stand up and be held responsible for their blog. Also, I can imagine the types of pen names they might choose (I can recall some student email addresses that were pretty unprofessional!).
ReplyDeleteThe number one way to keep people safe is to inform them of the dangers. If people were more aware of the dangers of their personal information being leaked and misused, they would be more selective in where or how they are willing to release it. We need to also keep in mind that many of the worst leaks have come from government and corporations, the institutions that either demand our information or request it as a requirement of business transactions.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of where education would benefit is Facebook. Facebook has a very poor privacy record in my opinion. Many peoples' profiles have opened certain information to public view that the person was not aware of because of changes Facebook makes and default opt-in policies.
Robert, the first and last initial are good ideas. It will help you with grading too, instead of pen names that have no meaning to you.
ReplyDeleteThomas, I have been opening my eyes to this recently, too. I tend to think, "Oh, it will be okay, why would I have a privacy violation out of all the people online?" But, that is ridiculous thinking given that I have had issues in the past!
Sherry,
ReplyDeletethis is a very pertinent issue indeed, especially considering the news in today\'s headlines, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38405052/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/?GT1=43001
I think that while informing people of the dangers, as Thomas pointed out, is a very good start on a solution, I think in time we will also being adding much more security verification. especially as Cyber Attack becomes more of a defense issue. I worked for the military teaching a history course, and this often came up as a topic in our discussion as a "new field of battle."
Jim