Yael Arieff

SLM521

Internet Course Module

June 16, 2005

Internet Privacy: 101

Objective: Students will produce a set of guidelines for parents and first time internet users for maintaining the utmost in internet privacy.

Objective: Students will understand the importance of internet privacy.

Objective: Students will familiarize themselves with the do’s and don’t of internet privacy for adults and children.

Introduction:

Throughout this course, we have learned about the advantages and benefits of the World Wide Web, including its contributions to mankind in communication, learning, and research in all fields of study. As with anything that sounds too good to be true, there must always be a catch. This of course is the issue of privacy on the net. Public and semi-public online activities such as newsgroups, listserves, subscriber directories, domain registration, etc. can really end up exposing valuable personal information. The good news is that it can be avoided and prevented all together with the proper research and precautions.

Activity:

First it is essential to get understanding of what precautions need to be taken. Most people simply don’t know what information needs to be protected, and what the ramifications are of not being cautious. In addition to adult privacy, included in this assignment is the understanding of children’s privacy. Explore the following websites and find out about why privacy on the internet is important, how you can protect yourself, and what you can do to protect your kids.

Privacy websites:

· http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=tech&cat=internet_privacy – Read through a selection of articles about different internet privacy topics; discover internet privacy tips; links for further reading.

· http://www.privacyrights.org/netprivacy.htm - Extend your knowledge with many internet privacy fact sheets, articles and speeches about children’s policies, spam, workplace issues, etc.

· http://www.privacyresources.org/ - Mad Magazine’s mascot describes the importance of internet privacy and the important consequences.

· http://www.internetprivacyfordummies.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=listarticles&secid=3 – Easy to understand guidelines for tracking questionable internet behavior an protecting children; myriad of articles plus several links.

Assignment:

Create a set of clear guidelines for first time internet users for themselves and for their children (there are some different protection strategies for children). For each guideline, make sure to include a brief description of its importance in privacy protection.

Specifications: Include at least 8 guidelines with clear descriptions of why each is important and at least 3 for children’s privacy. Make sure your guidelines are easy to understand, and if they require more than one step, enumerate them in the most comprehensible terms possible. It can be in bulleted form or a list of do’s and don’ts.

Submission: Save your assignment as a Word document, and e-mail it to me at ya001@mcdaniel.edu

Rubric:

	UNACCEPTABLE	DEVELOPING	ACCOMPLISHED
Adult Guidelines	Less than 3, unclear descriptions	4-5 guidelines, somewhat clear, overly complicated descriptions	At least 5 guidelines, clear descriptions
Children Guidelines	Less than 2, unclear descriptions	2-3 guidelines, somewhat clear, overly complicated descriptions	At least 3 guidelines, clear descriptions
Understanding	Descriptions do not explain importance of guidelines with regards to internet privacy	Descriptions vaguely describe importance of guidelines	Descriptions clearly describe importance of guidelines