Introduction
If you’re reading this, you’ve likely got a Facebook account. If you don’t, I imagine you might already be aware of some of the topics we’re going to explore together—especially the risks. In any case, it should come as no surprise to you that companies like Facebook and Google are household names and that you, a close friend, or a family member uses these services daily.
So what’s so special about these services? Well, they add so much convenience to our lives! We can connect with faraway friends and relatives, network with business contacts, check out what movies that cute guy or girl likes to break the ice, and access a world of knowledge and information with just a few keystrokes. What’s more, these services are free! You don’t have to pay a single cent to get access to e-mail, a phone number, or a ton of great ways to connect with friends.
In addition to all of these great features, these services have made the world smaller, too! We can reach more people and we can reach them faster than we could even dream of fifty or even ten years ago. Twitter, blogging, and video services like YouTube have enabled close to real-time information broadcasts which have, in turn, enabled widespread change movements such as the Arab Spring.
So what’s the big deal? Why did I hint that these things might be a bad idea? After all, we’re getting everything for free! What’s the downside? In answer to that question, I’d like to share a slightly different world view with you. Hopefully you’ll pick up a qualitative feel for the hidden impact these services have on our lives and learn some ways to mitigate any risks these services present in the process.
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Helpful Insets
As we go through this WebQuest together, I’ll use little insets to help you along like these:
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As you work through this WebQuest, please keep these five competencies in your mind:
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Lifelong Learning
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A passion for continual improvement in knowledge and skills with the understanding that the prioritization of which skills and what knowledge changes over time.
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Creativity
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The synthesis of existing knowledge and skills for a useful, often original outcome through a diverge, filter, and combine process.
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Analytical Skills
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A structured, adaptable methodology for engaging in effective comparison evaluation.
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Integrity
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The evaluation of the effects of one actions or inaction on oneself, those nearby, and society as a whole with the explicit purpose of advancing the greater good.
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Metacognitive Habits
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Habits which encourage introspection, a cataloging of one’s strengths and weaknesses, and feedback which results in cognitive restructuring.
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I believe that you will have to make use of each one of these competencies to really get the most out of the following exercises. Please pay special attention to the Integrity competency, as we’ll be dealing with private information and its impact on people’s lives.
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Competencies? Am I saying you’re incompetent?
Don’t worry, you’re very clever and good at things. I’m just using these five competencies to help you frame your learning. If you want to read more about these five competencies, you can look at this document. While it’s framed as an exit-exam proposal for a high school, it defines and makes a case for the importance of each competency. |
This WebQuest is intended to be completed serially over the course of three 1-hour sessions—plus homework assignments, sorry! I encourage you to read over the Task section before moving on to the Process section, as doing so will give you some more context for what we hope to accomplish.
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What’s with all the links? Should you click on all of them?
Let’s be honest with one another. You’re sitting at a computer, doing a WebQuest. We all know that the Internet is a big time sink and there’s a very real danger that you might spend your time on Facebook or Wikipedia, or some equally (exciting?) website. So why have I made things worse by dropping links all over the place? Well, I believe that context is a very important part of the learning process and the WebQuest format lends itself well to a small-world network model of knowledge structure. The links are there to enrich your knowledge, help you situate what you learn in a broader context, and build connections between different knowledge disciplines. So please, feel free to click away, but it’s probably better if you dive deep into the roiling, nebulous sea of knowledge outside of the 1-hour period we have together in class. |
That said, have at it! As always, I’d love to hear any comments, criticisms, complaints, or any feedback at all on this WebQuest. There’s always room for improvement. I hope you have as much fun doing this WebQuest as I had writing it.