Teaching Impacts of Technology: Data Collection, Use, and Privacy

University of California San Diego via Coursera

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/teach-impacts-technology-data

Introduction

### Course Review and Recommendation: Teaching Impacts of Technology: Data Collection, Use, and Privacy In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, understanding the complexities of data collection, its uses, and privacy concerns is essential, particularly for educators in the K-12 environment. The course **Teaching Impacts of Technology: Data Collection, Use, and Privacy** on Coursera provides a comprehensive exploration of these crucial topics, offering teachers the tools they need to convey these concepts to their students effectively. #### Course Overview This course delves into how constant data collection and the analysis of big data impact our lives daily. The curriculum is designed to help educators understand the crucial interplay between data usage and protection while considering the implications for their students' futures. Each module is balanced between examining specific instances of computing impacts and the technological concepts that enable these realities, all tailored to a K-12 audience. #### Detailed Syllabus Breakdown 1. **Course Orientation**: The journey begins by inviting educators to engage in problem-based learning. Participants will explore the foundations of networks, data analysis, and algorithmic concepts. An interesting element is a focus on children's literature, with readings from "The Secret Code Menace." This section sets the tone for a fun and engaging learning experience. 2. **Data Collection**: This module addresses the mechanics of personalized online experiences. The course neatly explains how businesses leverage data to predict user behavior and preferences. Learners will uncover how cookies function, the role of web servers, and the importance of secure connections via HTTPS. This foundational knowledge is critical for teachers who wish to navigate these topics with their students. 3. **Data Privacy**: In an era of increasing concern over personal data usage, this section takes a vital look at boundaries. Educators will grapple with questions of personal data usage, safety measures, and the control individuals have over their information. By exploring cryptography, ciphers, and the nuances between the deep web and the dark web, teachers will be equipped to instill a sense of data responsibility in their students. 4. **Data Use**: Broadening the scope, this week introduces the concept of big data. Participants learn how data is utilized and how machine learning plays a role in the contemporary digital landscape. This module promotes engagement through interactive activities designed to solidify understanding, making this content both enjoyable and informative. 5. **Impacts of Computing and Pedagogy**: The final module allows educators the freedom to choose what aspects of computing impacts they wish to explore further. Instructional strategies are also emphasized here, with discussions on effective pedagogical techniques such as retrieval practice and learning objectives framed within Bloom's taxonomy. Furthermore, revisiting "The Secret Code Menace" allows educators to think critically about real-world applications of the fictional narrative in teaching computer science concepts. #### Recommendation I wholeheartedly recommend **Teaching Impacts of Technology: Data Collection, Use, and Privacy** for educators looking to enhance their understanding of technology's influence on education and society. Its well-structured syllabus enables participants to build upon foundational knowledge while promoting critical thinking about data use and privacy. The course’s practicality is enhanced by the focus on problem-based learning and the incorporation of engaging storytelling through children's literature. Moreover, it equips educators to deliver these essential lessons effectively, fostering a generation of students who are not only informed consumers of technology but also responsible stewards of their personal data. In an age where digital literacy is paramount, this course is an invaluable resource that aligns educational practices with the realities of our data-driven world. Take the step to enroll today and empower yourself with the knowledge to shape the online safety and data privacy awareness of future generations.

Syllabus

Course Orientation

Welcome! Are you interested in teaching about the impacts of your personal data in the digital world? To learn more about the computation and computing concepts that underlie the technologies using that data? We'll be using a problem-based approach to explore interesting ways to teach concepts of networks and the internet, data and analysis, and even algorithms and data representation. Finally, we'll read a chapter from a children's fiction book -- "The Secret Code Menace" and identify some computer science learning outcomes for that chapter.

Data Collection

Why is it that when you are shopping for an item on one website, you start seeing ads for it other in other places? How do websites know (and quite well) what products and services to recommend their customers and users? We'll look at how the internet has evolved to personalize people's experiences while online. Then to finish up this week, we will learn about how cookies and web servers work, as well as how HTTPS keeps connections secure.

Data Privacy

This week we'll look at aspects of our personal data such as -- when we we do not want it used, how we can keep it safe, and what control we have. In this Technology Exploration, we'll learn about ciphers, hashing, cryptography, and encryption. Also, do you know the difference between the "deep" web and the "dark" web? (You will know by the end of this week!)

Data Use

So far we have learned about data collection and privacy. Now we will spend the week covering some ways that data is used, so we must introduce big data. Along with our exploration of this progressive concept, we will help you connect the use of big data to machine learning though an activity designed to guide your understanding in a fun way!

Impacts of Computing and Pedagogy

Next we'll let you choose what you want to explore around "impacts of computing" for the technologies we've explored in this world. Along with that, we'll introduce another "Formative Classroom Assessment Technique" (FACT) and have you practice how you would use this in the classroom. For our pedagogical focus, we'll look at how retrieval practice helps you learn far more effectively than "re-studying" and how to define the learning objectives for a given learning activity using Bloom's taxonomy. Finally, you'll get to read a short chapter from a children's fiction book "The Secret Code Menace" and identify for yourself what kids can learn from reading it!