Gary Kovacs delivers a compelling message, both as  the CEO of Mozilla and as a parent, on the need to be aware of how our personal data is being collected and shared – with and without our knowledge or permission.  Mozilla now offers  Collusion, “an experimental add-on for Firefox that allows you to see all the third parties that are tracking your movements across the Web. It will show, in real time, how that data creates a spider-web of interaction between companies and other trackers.”

“Behavioral tracking” is big business, for good or for ill.  An essential component of digital citizenship is understanding and pro-actively protecting our privacy.  We commend Mozilla for providing a free tool to help keep track of who is tracking us. “It’s now time to watch the watchers.”

“Protecting one’s equipment is not only a matter of personal responsibility but also necessary for protecting the community.” Mike Ribble

For students to practice good digital citizenship, they need to value their privacy and understand how to protect their personal information. Here are a few resources we recommend:

• Protecting Online Privacy and Security – More great resources from Common Sense Media, a curriculum we are currently rolling out in our middle and high school sites.
• My Privacy Quiz – Excellent resource from the Canadian Commission on Privacy.
• Cybersecurity Posters for the Classroom – From Stay Safe Online, a collection of printable posters and lesson resources.
• Identity Theft – What Teens Need to Know - Short video from Highway Quest.
• Do You Really Have a Private Life Online? – Video animation – very informative!

We will continue to add resources on the topic of guarding online privacy.  Please join the conversation and add a comment if you have questions you’d like us to address or additional resources to share with our EGUSD community.