Teaching Students about Privacy (or the lack of) on the Internet

Friday, December 11th 2009 by Megan DolmancloseAuthor: Megan Dolman Name: Megan Dolman
Email: mdolman@iste.org
Site: http://www.iste.org
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Social networks can provide amazing learning opportunities for students, and so as social media increasingly becomes a large part of school and everyday life, educators have a responsibility to educate students about what is appropriate behavior online.

A lot of students have a false sense of privacy when using the Internet and social networking sites. They don’t realize that the information, pictures, and comments that they post are visible to a lot of people.

The authors of Safe Practices for Life Online: A Guide for Middle and High School, Doug Fodeman and Marje Monroe, provide educators with information on this subject, and ideas and exercises that teach students how to be safe and responsible online. Take a look at an excerpt from the book:

“Is It Really Private?

Many people are searching social networking sites. Social networks are being searched by police, college admissions officers, private high school admissions directors, employers, directors of intern programs, scholarship committees, summer camp directors, the military, athletic associations, and other adults who are trying to evaluate an individual. Unfortunately, there have been some very real, negative consequences for students who have posted photos or other content revealing illegal activities or embarrassing or inappropriate behavior. Some reported examples:

• Duke University has denied admission based on content found on a high school student’s MySpace page. (personal communication)
• An Abbotsford High School student, in Canada, was expelled for threatening to kick a teacher. The posting appeared on his Facebook page, and he claimed it was a joke. (Luymes, 2007)
• Fisher College, in Boston, expelled two students for making plans to target and harass a Fisher employee. (Schweitzer,
2005)
• Oxford University, in England, charged a student with disorderly conduct based on evidence found on the student’s Facebook account. (Gosden, 2007)
• Valdosta State University, in Georgia, expelled a student for posting content on his Facebook account that was interpreted as threatening. (Guess, 2008)
• Louisiana State University removed two students from its swim team after they posted disparaging remarks about one of their coaches. (Camire, 2007)
• Southern Illinois University, in Edwardsville, brought disciplinary charges against a student for creating a Facebook page dedicated to fictitious claims of an intimate relationship with another student. (Savo, 2007)
• Iowa Western Community College expelled a student who said on his MySpace page that other students “needed to be shot.” (Fischman, 2007)

“Private Pages aren’t Private!

“Over the years hackers have created numerous methods to break into private pages. Phishers have artfully captured IDs and passwords using phony e-mails, and unsuspecting users have actually given their login information to scammers through third party software they’re conned into installing. Many teens consider it a violation for adults to view their social networking sites. Often they’ll cite privacy rights in arguments to parents. In reality, however, everything online is public. There is no assumption of privacy online, and once a site is visited everything can be copied and used by the visitor. Every year there are news reports about someone who was publicly humiliated when content from their “private” social networking pages became public!
Survey data and informal research suggest that as many as 90% of the strangers who knock on the private doors of social network accounts are let in! Do your students let strangers into their accounts? Ask them: Is it possible that the people you, and others on your network, allow in are not who they say they are?

“College admissions officers and human resources departments have specifically searched social networks for information about college applicants and candidates for jobs. Some students have been denied entry into colleges or passed over for jobs because of content they posted on their “private” pages.

“Conduct an anonymous survey. Hand out slips of paper to your students in Grades 8 and higher. Tell them that this survey is completely anonymous and ask for volunteers to count the results. Ask your students two questions:

1. Have you ever had an account on a social network?
2. Have you ever “friended” a stranger or allowed a stranger to view your private pages? Remind them that a “friend of a friend” is still a stranger!

“Have students collect and collate the answers. You may be surprised at just how many students regularly befriend complete strangers online.”

How have you worked with students, not only so they understand that they are responsible for what they do online, but so that they understand appropriate behavior?

Copyright 2009, ISTE ® (International Society for Technology in Education), Safe Practices for Life Online, Doug Fodeman and Marje Monroe. 1.800.336.5191 or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), iste@iste.org, www.iste.org. All rights reserved. Distribution and copying of this excerpt is allowed for educational purposes and use with full attribution to ISTE.

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