‘Tis the season for festive viewing. At least in our home it is as we plan to celebrate Christmas and that means a lot of holiday movies and shows to watch! Yes, even as the kids have gotten older, this is one tradition that no one outgrows, at least in our home.
Larry Gonick is a pioneer of non-fiction cartooning; starting with Blood From A Stone: A Cartoon Guide to Tax Reform in 1971, he has made a career out of explaining complicated topics in comic format. In 1978 he published the first issue of The Cartoon History of the Universe as a comic book, starting with the Big Bang and ending with the evolution of humanity. Issues of that series were collected first in 1982 and again in 1990; later two sequels appeared, The Cartoon History of the Universe II and III, and in 2007 the series continued as The Cartoon History of the Modern World. With the second volume of that series, published this fall, Gonick brings his history up to late 2008. Throughout the series Gonick has consistently made history entertaining and approachable as well as accurate (each volume ends with an annotated bibliography) and has shed light on the history of often-neglected parts of the world such as China, India and pre-Columbian America. Among his other works are The Cartoon History of the United States and the Cartoon Guide series, which provide grounding in topics ranging from physics to communication theory to sex; his works have been among the most influential in bringing comics into the classroom.
It's been noted more than once that for young people, the Internet is an essentially social environment: besides activities such as social networking, other popular online pastimes such as multiplayer games and even file-sharing all have social components. With all the information youth are sharing online comes concerns about online privacy – and concerns, among parents and educators, about how little concern youth often have about their privacy.
Students will…
3. Assess textual, numerical, aural, and visual information, as well as the source of the media, to determine context, perspective, bias, and/or motive. (G-3.2)
4. Self-assess ICT representations and go beyond established criteria by enhancing meaning and/or artistry, according to topic, audience, purpose, and occasion. (Pr-3.2)
Students will…
3. Assess textual, numerical, aural, and visual information, as well as the source of the media, to determine context, perspective, bias, and/or motive. (G-3.2)
4. Self-assess ICT representations and go beyond established criteria by enhancing meaning and/or artistry, according to topic, audience, purpose, and occasion. (Pr-3.2)
In this lesson, students are introduced to the idea that privacy is a fundamental human right and that their personal information is valuable. The lesson focuses on the “economics” of personal information and that most "free" apps and online services make some or all of their revenue by collecting (and in some cases reselling) users' personal information. Students will watch a video that illustrates the idea that they may be paying with their privacy and then discuss some of the ramifications of this. They will learn about tools and techniques for minimizing the personal information they share and create a public service announcement that helps them and their peers "know the deal" about the value of privacy.
Overall Expectation
1.1.1 Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of interactions between people.
Outcomes
MediaSmarts Resources
Curricular Competencies
Students are expected to be able to do the following:
Applied Design
Defining
Ideating
Explore and create