Module 3 EDU 790: Privacy
Wowza, as I am writing this post, I have already turned on about a dozen or so important privacy settings so that it is harder for Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook to track down my information. It feels like a small win against these huge technology giants! This was all thanks to an extremely useful and user friendly guide created by the Washington Post that outlines what settings to change. If that's not one of the articles you read this week, please take the extra time to read it and be ready to click more privacy into place. I was most surprised by how invasive Amazon and Microsoft were. I guess I had always realized that Facebook and Google were intrusive, but I usually associate Microsoft with word documents and not with privacy violations. As far as Amazon was concerned, they default your wish list to public, which is very uncomfortable especially as a teacher to have students be able to access that. Lastly, I could not believe that Amazon records AND saves every interaction with Alexa, but you can schedule to delete that history, which I have now turned on. This article also seems manageable and easy to share with my high school students so that they have some guidance about what they are sharing. Could easily turn this into an assignment in my psychology course!
I also found the Time article about how much privacy we all give away each day to be very useful with practical tips that can be implemented quickly. My fiancé has been recommending using a password manager app and I have been putting it off, but I have now officially put it on my spring break to do list. I have been blessed thus far with not having my identity stolen or social media hacked, but so many people I know have had incidences where this has happened. Any small steps that can help or make us feel more in control are greatly appreciated. I think this is especially important for my generation who are digital immigrants and not digital natives like many of my students and younger educators. Although I feel like a young 37 year old, I belong to probably the last generation that remembers what life was like before the internet and smart phones. I share this with my students and they cannot believe that I have used a pay phone or that I did not get a cell phone until I was a sophomore in college or that phones had cords! For better or for worse, the internet and social media has changed the way we connect and communicate with our environment.
I imagine that there is a TON of social media content you could teach in your psychology course!
ReplyDeleteI love the term digital immigrants and not digital natives! That's me. I remember when, my grandma would hang out by the phone with a long cord and sit on the chair and talk for hours with her friends. I also have seen so many horrifying videos about Facebook and the likes but still have not deleted the app. No worries, we are human. Yet, we can reduce are dependency on it and understand the relationship is not a healthy one. Little by little we will get stronger and we can help our students remain aware of this power dynamic along the way too!
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking the Washington Post article!! Ever since I started teaching I have been pretty cautious about what is private and public on Facebook, but I didn't even think to look at Amazon or Microsoft!! I have an Alexa in my kitchen and did not even realize all of my conversations are being recorded on the app. Lucky for me, I don't use Cortana, but that's crazy to think Microsoft can track your location, speech, and search history. Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteHi Kassandra!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the information about Alexa. I am going to also let my parents know about this. I also read an article about Alexa and how they record our conversations. There is a setting to opt out of our recordings used by Amazon.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/26/perspectives/amazon-echo-listening-alaimo/index.html
I think it is great that you have shared previous means of communication with your students. It is interesting to see their reactions to older devices. I bought old three dollar devices from Goodwill for my second graders to take apart. They did not know what any of them were, besides a keyboard. The kids loved doing this activity!