Digital Citizenship - Element 9: Digital Security
Learning Objectives
By the end of this workshop, you should be able to:
Describe digital security.
Explain how the lack of digital security knowledge can negatively impact a student.
Develop ideas as to how digital security can be taught to students.
Determine examples of digital security in your personal or professional life.
Describe digital security.
Explain how the lack of digital security knowledge can negatively impact a student.
Develop ideas as to how digital security can be taught to students.
Determine examples of digital security in your personal or professional life.
Digital Security Overview
There are nine elements to digital citizenship. I will be discussing each element on its own page. The ninth element is digital security. Just like you protect your home with locks, security systems, smoke alarms, etc., you need to protect your computer and digital devices (Ribble, 2015). Without virus protection, firewalls, and passwords on your internet connection, your computers and devices are open to anyone with the ability to hack into your system. It is crucial that our students know the importance of protecting their digital technology from intruders. Students also need to understand the dangers of strangers on the internet (Ribble, 2015). Not everyone can be trusted and hackers are very good at what they do, so don't accept a "friend" or "follower" that you do not know.
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According to Ribble (2015), some examples of inappropriate digital security are: texting in situations you shouldn't and communicating on social media without knowing the rules or responsibilities. And examples of appropriate digital security are: working together to determine what can be shared on cell phones, laptops, tablets, etc and when it is appropriate and learning the rules of a group before becoming involved (i.e. messaging app, message boards, etc.) (Ribble, 2015).
Connections to Personal Experiences
As annoying as it is to update our computers (because we are typically prompted at the most inopportune time) it is important to do it. I have denied my update from time to time but I always do it. Until recently, I never had a passcode on my iPhone. I know I should have but it was kind of a pain to enter that every time I wanted to check something. When I last upgraded, I was able to finally get the fingerprint sensor technology and I it does make unlocking my phone significantly easier. The iPhone also gives you the option to scan several fingers, which makes it convenient if you need to give a spouse or someone you trust access to your phone. Personally, I have both thumbs registered on mine to make unlocking a little easier.
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Connections to Field and/or Discipline
We have a BYOD (bring your own device) policy at the school of medicine. Our students need to ensure that their systems are protected and supported or they may experience difficulties taking exams. There are many programs available through our university Computing and Telecommunications Services department. They have a list of free security software, so if a student is not sure what to purchase or which free program to download, they have a resource available. We also have an in house IT department that can help them with any questions they may have.
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NPR Radio Broadcast
In this section you will find one NPR broadcasts related to digital security.
NPR Broadcast
Headline: Apple files motion to vacate court order forcing it to unlock iPhone
Date: February 25, 2016
Length: 4:35
Summary: Apple was court ordered to unlock the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. Apple is fighting the ruling on the grounds that this violates the First and Fifth Amendments, as well as set a precedent that could be dangerous. This discussion is not about the one iPhone, it's about hacking into phones in general. This has never been an issue before but now Apple has made the technology so secure that they cannot even access their users information.
http://www.npr.org/2016/02/25/468149391/apple-files-motion-to-vacate-court-order-forcing-it-to-unlock-iphone
Date: February 25, 2016
Length: 4:35
Summary: Apple was court ordered to unlock the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. Apple is fighting the ruling on the grounds that this violates the First and Fifth Amendments, as well as set a precedent that could be dangerous. This discussion is not about the one iPhone, it's about hacking into phones in general. This has never been an issue before but now Apple has made the technology so secure that they cannot even access their users information.
http://www.npr.org/2016/02/25/468149391/apple-files-motion-to-vacate-court-order-forcing-it-to-unlock-iphone
Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know (3rd ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society of Technology in Education.