Lesson plans on the Children’s Code

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (the UK’s independent regulator for Data Protection and Freedom of Information) has produced "a [free] suite of school resources for teachers to use when discussing privacy issues and the value of personal data [with children]. The lesson plans cover what counts as personal data, why it’s valuable and how to keep it safe when using social media."
"The Children’s code is a set of rules designed to make the internet a safer place for children to learn explore and play. It requires organisations to put the best interests of the child first when they are designing and developing apps, games, connected toys and websites that are likely to be accessed by young people."
There are worksheets and lesson resources for primary and for secondary schools, separately for England, Wales (in Welsh and English), Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Go to https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/childrens-information/school-resources/

Intercultural perspectives on Information Literacy

There are recordings from the Intercultural perspectives on Information Literacy project's Intercultural Perspectives on Information Literacy and Metaliteracy conference, that took place on 25 February 2023. This project involves experts and students from different countries working together, and then the students making presentations on their projects. In 2022/3 it was Intercultural Perspectives on Information Literacy and Metaliteracy: A transnational online course with partners from Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, India and the USA (see here). The student presentation videos are
- Researching and comparing national initiatives to foster information literacy
- Impact of algorithms on information consumption - Gamification of information literacy learning scenarios
- Corporate misinformation and financial scandals
- Digital rights for a digitally literate citizen
- Building Research Capacity through Information Literacy
- Surveillance and data protection on the Internet
- Google as an information gatekeeper
The recordings are at https://www.youtube.com/@interculturalperspectiveso2656/videos

Image created by Sheila Webber and Midjourney AI, using prompt Intercultural, transnational, Information Literacy, Metaliteracy, online, learning, paul klee

Mind the five

An interesting initiative to protect the data privacy of the vulnerable is Mind the Five. It lays out five principles that should be learned and understood by those dealing with vulnerable people, notably migrants "it is easy to overlook the additional vulnerabilities and unintended risks that the careless collection, storage, and use of personal information about migrants can cause. The use of information and communication technologies also involves data- and privacy-related risks, as electronic data can be subject to security breakages, leaks, hacks, inadvertent disclosure, and disclosure through legal processes ..." The 5 principles are:
"1. Exercise prudence. Limit the collection of personal information; include only information that is necessary.
"2. Protect and secure information from and about migrants. Pay attention to mitigating risks from both technological and human factors.
"3. Provide training. Ensure that volunteers and staff are aware and trained regarding privacy- and security-related protocols. Empower migrants to be more privacy aware.
"4. Share-alike. Work with collaborators and partners to improve privacy and security practices, based on ongoing evaluation and refinement.
"5. Practice non-discrimination. Provide humanitarian services to everybody, including those who prefer not to share their personal information."
There are materials (flyer, poster, leaflet and card game) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial license. Go to https://sites.uw.edu/rgomez/mind-the-five/

Libraries for privacy: a digital security and privacy toolkit

A publication from Scottish PEN is: Libraries for privacy: a digital security and privacy toolkit: protecting library staff and users in the age of big data. It was published earlier in the year. It aims to give "clear and practical guidance, as well as facilitating broad, open and inclusive debate on the vital issues facing the realisation and understanding of our fundamental freedoms in digital spaces, within the context of Scottish libraries." It is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jNAGkv69F4L9Tr-LSyQPncjZ7tdih8DH/view
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn leaves, November 2018

Information collected by Google

I see from the Google Friends newsletter there is a video on Youtube which explains what kinds of information Google collects when you search it e.g. cookies. It is straightforward, with a female talking head and some writing on a flip chart, but nicely done and could provide a starting point for discussion on data privacy. Some of the comments are also thought-provoking (I wasn't thinking of the "She's hot!" comment, but I suppose that indicates that the video will appeal to a wide audience ;-)
Google Search Privacy: Plain and Simple http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLgJYBRzUXY