Social Smarts: Nothing Personal! Lesson Plan
A new smartphone is a big responsibility for kids, who have a lot to learn about using them safely, especially when it comes to protecting their privacy.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has created a graphic novel, Social Smarts: Nothing Personal! to help young Canadians to better understand and navigate privacy issues in the online world. The 12-page graphic novel is designed to appeal to kids aged 8-10.
You can use Social Smarts: Nothing Personal! in your classroom to generate discussions about real-life situations to help young people learn to navigate online privacy risks. This graphic novel explores what happens when a girl is given her brother’s old phone and has to learn about some of the privacy concerns that can arise when using a mobile device. The graphic novel also covers topics such as data collection, targeted advertising, cybersecurity and online gaming.
The graphic novel includes detailed black and white illustrations so it can be easily reproduced by educators and parents. However, you can also request copies of Social Smarts: Nothing Personal! for your library or classroom by emailing jeunes-youth@priv.gc.ca.
Learning Goals / Big Ideas
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
- Explain why strategies like using pseudonyms online, clearing cookies, and using and protecting passwords can help mitigate risks to online privacy;
- Understand how data collected about them when they use Internet-connected devices can come back to haunt them;
- Explain why it can be very difficult to delete a picture or comment once it has been posted online;
- Make good choices about others’ privacy when using Internet-connected devices;
- Suggest strategies to better protect privacy and navigate privacy issues in the online world; and
- Learn to be aware of the potential privacy risks of new digital communications technologies, such as new social media apps and games.