Privacy issues related to the Internet-Worksheet

Topic area Privacy and Spam
Target audience Undergraduate and graduate IS/CS/CE/EE majors in general
Activity type Reading assignment, worksheet, class discussion
Time required The activity will take 30 minutes or more depending on how long you let the discussion last. The students will probably be able to complete the worksheet and reading assignment in 1 hour.
Attachments Worksheet
Additional materials Lawton, G. The Internet's Challenge to Privacy. IEEE Computer. June 1998. IEEE Computer Society Press. Los Alamitos, CA. Pages 16-18.
Quick, R. On-Line Groups are Offering Up Privacy Plans.
The Wall Street Journal. Monday, June 22, 1998.
Background needed to complete the assignment Students need to be given copies of the articles, or need to be able to locate copies.
References Most books written for ethics and engineering or computer science will have a section on privacy issues. The following books have sections on privacy:
  1. Ethics and Computing: Living Responsibly in a Computerized World. K. Bowyer. IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, CA, 1996.
  2. Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age. J. Kizza. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, 1998.
Related articles found using Lexis-Nexis Universe:
  1. Lawton, V. How to Protect your Privacy on the Net. The Toronto Star Newspaper. October 23, 1997.
  2. Dobbin, M. Bills Aim to Shield Privacy in Electronic Age. Sacramento Bee Newspaper, December 29, 1997.
  3. Markoff, J. Differences over Privacy on the Internet. The New York Times, July 1, 1998.
Last modified August 1998
Abstract:
The assignment is to read 2 articles about privacy and the Internet, in order to encourage students to think about the loss of privacy that all of us face due to computer technology and the Internet. The articles mention several ways that our privacy is being eroded from cookie files to on-line databases. The on-line industry is trying to keep government from regulating it by coming up with their own standards. The worksheet is to get students to read the articles before the next class period and the discussion questions are to elicit group discussion about a problem related to technology.

Goals for the activity:
The goals are as follows:

  1. To understand the extent of our loss of privacy and why so many people have concerns about privacy on the Internet,
  2. to learn that businesses or professional organizations want to be self-regulating so that the Government won't regulate them, and
  3. to improve discussion skills.

Knowledge / skills / attitudes to be developed (behavioral objectives):
Students will develop an understanding of privacy concerns related to computer technology such as on-line databases, cookie files, data collected by companies over the Internet, and data available in on-line databases. Students will learn that industry is attempting to become self-regulating instead of government-regulated. Discussion skills will be improved.

Procedure:
Give the students the 2 articles and the worksheet. Ask them to read the articles and bring the completed worksheet to the next class. Collect the worksheets if they are to be graded.

Start discussion by having students answer the questions on the worksheet then ask the questions on the discussion sheet. You might consider having the students form a circle so that they can see each other as they discuss. Also talk with the students about discussions in general. Remind them that everyone's opinion is important and that everyone should be encouraged to comment. Classroom discussions are not forums for 1 or 2 students. It might be a good idea to make name cards that students can sit on their desks. That way everyone knows everyone else's name.

Assessing outcomes:
The worksheet can be graded and classroom discussion can also be graded. If classroom discussions are held frequently you might consider having each student in the class lead a discussion and develop the questions. This is a good way to let them see how hard it is to get other students to talk and how hard it is to keep the discussion on subject.

Additional remarks:
A writing assignment was devised around the same two articles.

Author contact information:
Professor Nancy Wahl
Computer Science Department
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, TN 37027
E-mail: wahl@mtsu.edu

Page maintained by: kwb@csee.usf.edu