Maintaining privacy while using the myriad electronic devices at their disposal is at the core of a new common-sense curriculum being offered to B.C. students this fall.
B.C. information and privacy commissioner Michael McEvoy said his office has joined with other privacy offices across the country to create four online lesson plans — three for Grades 6-9 and one for Grades 9-12 — to look at the need for students to control personal information on their devices.
“Any parent will know that students today rely on and use smartphones, iPads, laptops, just about every type of technology,” said McEvoy, a former chairman of the Greater Victoria school board and president of the Canadian School Boards’ Association. “It’s pretty clear to us that digital education is absolutely critical in today’s schools for today’s kids.”
One aspect of maintaining privacy is simply taking care by thinking critically about what information you give online, McEvoy said.
That issue is presented through animation in one of the lesson plans. “The analogy is toothpaste out of a toothpaste container,” McEvoy said.
“Once it’s squeezed, it’s almost impossible to get it back.”
Valuable online education is already taking place, McEvoy said.
“I think we’ve been pretty good at teaching kids about safety issues online,” he said.
“I think we’ve also been very good at teaching kids about using technology so that they are able to use those skills in the labour force.”
But privacy matters should have more attention, he said, noting that that they come up often on social-media sites or in applications. He said students can be skilful at using their devices but might not understand the “behind-the-scene” activities online, such as the way apps or sites can collect information.
In many cases, he said advertisers pull personal information from people using an app or a site. Along with that, McEvoy said apps might be free but they can also be used to gather information to sell to advertisers.
Users can prevent that by using a different app with a better privacy policy, he said.
Locator mechanisms online also affect your privacy, McEvoy said. “There are simple ways to turn it off if you’re aware of the privacy settings.”
Considering privacy issues when sharing someone else’s information is also important, he said.
McEvoy said a recent survey by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation indicated that more than 90 per cent of teachers support the need for more online education, while over 75 per cent feel confident in their ability to teach it.
The lesson plans are at oipc.bc.ca/resources/lesson-plans.
