Search ALEX...

Every day more data is being put online. Search engines are getting better, allowing “deeper” the searching of more types of data. Techniques for extracting and connecting information from different sources are getting more powerful. Furthermore, information that is not retrievable today may be retrievable tomorrow due to changes in terms of service, public policy, law, and technical privacy settings.

The lesson elements in this module teach students about the privacy principle “Just because something can’t be found today, doesn’t mean it can’t be found tomorrow.” They are designed to be independent and flexible, so you can incorporate them into any size lesson plan. Student resources are available at https://teachingprivacy.org/search-is-improving/. 

Summary of Learning Objectives: Students can explain how changes in technology and regulations can affect who has access to their data; students can use techniques to monitor and limit the exposure of their data.

Target Age: High school, college undergraduate.

Learning Objectives:

1. Students can describe (in general terms) how a search engine works, including that results are constantly being refreshed to include new information and that the search engine itself is continually updated to deal with newer types of information.
2. Students can provide examples of offline data that can be digitized and put online.
3. Students can give example scenarios describing how changes to laws and regulations could affect the availability of personal information.
4. Students can briefly summarize the purpose of privacy policies and the effects that their ever-changing nature has on users’ privacy.
5. Students can investigate what information about them is available online, and assess which types of information — social, financial, etc. — are currently available to different entities.
6. Students can monitor changes in privacy policies and default privacy settings and evaluate how those changes might affect who can see what information about them.

Learn about the exciting opportunities for and vital roles played by Cyber Security Analysts in the growing field of Cyber Security. Watch this Science Matters video to learn what it means to be a Cyber Security Analyst and see if this job could be the right fit for you.

Worms. Trojan Horses. Hackers and Clouds. It is not what’s happening in the movies, but what’s happening in cyberspace- that area that connects all of us and our computers to the internet and each other. Cyber Security is important to all of us and it's a HOT JOB of the future. This video comes with discussion questions. 

In this lesson, students will collaboratively investigate some datasets and use visualization tools to “discover a data story”. The lesson assumes that students know how to use some kind of visualization tool - in the previous lesson we used the charting tools of a basic spreadsheet program. Students should be working with a partner but without much teacher hand-holding. Most of the time should be spent with students poking around the data and trying to discover connections and trends using data visualization tools. It is up to them to discover a trend, make a chart, and accurately write about it.

Students will be able to:
- collaboratively investigate a dataset.
- create a visualization (chart) from provided data.
- identify possible trends or connections in a data set by creating visualizations of it.
- accurately communicate about a visualization of their own creation.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

The internet is filled with all kinds of interesting people, but sometimes, some of them can be mean to each other. With this role play, help your students understand why it's often easier to be mean online than in person, and how to deal with online meanness when they see it.

• Understand what online meanness can look like and how it can make people feel
• Identify ways to respond to mean words online, using S-T-O-P

Users will need to create a free account to access this resource. 

Use the PBS KIDS ScratchJr Cheat Sheet as a quick guide for various programming blocks. 

PBS KIDS ScratchJr app is now available for free from the App Store on iPad and from the Google Play store on Android tablets.

In this class students consider a number of computing devices to determine what types of inputs and outputs they use. Groups are assigned to a computing device and based on a teacher-provided definition of input and output, list the inputs and outputs of their device. To conclude the lesson, the class examines common activities they do on a computing device and select the inputs and outputs used for that activity from the chart.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

From selfies to social media, many of us create unique online identities for ourselves, and our students are no different. But do kids always understand how others might perceive what they post? Help your students think critically about the online identities they're creating.

Students will be able to:

• Consider how posting selfies or other images will lead others to make assumptions about them.
• Reflect on the most important parts of their unique identity.
• Identify ways they can post online to best reflect who they are.

What does it actually mean to "be yourself" or to "be "real"? Those are deep thoughts for any middle-schooler. For kids today, these questions matter online, too. Help your students explore why some people create different or alternate personas for themselves online and on social media.

• reflect on reasons why people might create fake social media accounts.
• identify the possible results of posting from a fake social media account.
• debate the benefits and drawbacks of posting from multiple accounts.

Users will need to create a free account to access this resource.

Hear about getting the most from the internet from the much-loved character Ruff Ruffman, in this animated, musical video from RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS. Ruff sings about all the great things you can do online. With his uniquely comical style, Ruff helps students to responsibly navigate twenty-first-century skills. This resource is part of the RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS Collection. This video can be played during a lesson on demonstrating an appropriate level of proficiency in performing tasks using a range of digital devices.

Steve Trash teaches kids about science with fun and magic. The show is filmed in Alabama.

Water pollution is never good. It’s even worse when your neighborhood cow is making it. Steve discusses the many ways that farmers and ranchers work to keep streams and ponds free of pollution as one example of how everyone can play a role. Then Steve delves into how scientists collect and use data.

This unplugged lesson explores the underlying behavior of variables. Using notecards and string to simulate variables within a program, the class implements a few short programs. Once comfortable with this syntax, the class uses the same process with sprite properties, tracking a sprite's progress across the screen.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

This webpage provides an introduction to how data is stored in computers, including a brief explanation of the binary numbering system. 

Computers can only work with digital information. Everything that they process must first be turned into a digital signal in one of two states: "on" or "off."

At a basic level, a computer processor is a collection of switches which can either be on or off. These switches are known as transistors. The computer processes information by switching transistors on and off automatically.

Information from input devices must be digitized so the information can be processed.

Well-crafted headlines benefit everyone. They help readers digest information and publishers sell news stories. But what if the headline is misleading? What if it's crafted just to get clicks and not to inform? "Clickbait" headlines may benefit advertisers and publishers, but they don't benefit readers. And when they go viral, they can badly misinform the public. Help students recognize and analyze clickbait when they see it.

Students will be able to:

• Describe how advertisers and publishers make money through online advertising.

• Describe how clickbait can contribute to the spread of fake news and misinformation.

• Take a position on whose responsibility it is to fight fake news and misinformation.

Users will need to create a free account to access this resource. 

How do we act when we are on the Internet? Here are some good manners when we are on the Internet. Use good words, not rude or bad words. Be patient with others. Sometimes others are beginners and are just learning how to use the Internet. This video can be played to demonstrate appropriate behaviors for working with others responsibly and kindly during a lesson on communicating in a digital environment.

The class programs their sprites to interact in new ways. After a brief review of how they used the isTouching block, the class brainstorms other ways that two sprites could interact. They then use isTouching to make one sprite push another across the screen before practicing with the four collision blocks (collide, displace, bounce, and bounceOff).

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

In Art, students create animations, interactive artwork, photograph filters, and other exciting, artistic projects.

Art is a complete theme designed to be completed over eight, 45-75 minute, sessions. For each Activity, students will watch a series of videos and create one coding project with opportunities to personalize their work using “Add-Ons”, which are mini-coding challenges that build on top of the core project.

Be sure to review the Materials tab for the lesson plan, starter guide, and more.

Users will need a Google account to use this resource.  

Trolling is not new behavior, but why do people do it? And what effects does it have? Trolls tend to antagonize communities in order to amuse themselves and get attention at the expense of others. Trolling has caused some online publications and news organizations to remove comments from their sites due to the effects the comments had on readers’ perceptions of the content, as well as the costs associated with moderating the comments. In this Lowdown lesson, students will analyze the research presented about why people post mean or negative “trolling” comments, as well as evaluate how trolling has affected online communities and reflect on how it should be addressed. This lesson plan will need to be downloaded. 

In this MARTHA SPEAKS video, follow Martha as she takes a made-up journey inside Alice’s computer. Students learn how computers can be used to communicate with other people and explore how to attach files to an email, store files in a folder, and send emails to others through a computer. When used as a part of Martha’s True Stories Buddies Program, buddy pairs watch the video, then plan out and write an email to Martha. 

Having developed, tested, and gathered feedback on a paper prototype, teams now move to App Lab to build the next iteration of their apps. Using the drag-and-drop Design Mode, each team member builds out at least one page of their team's app, responding to feedback that was received in the previous round of testing.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

Data compression reduces the amount of space needed to store files. If you can halve the size of a file, you can store twice as many files for the same cost, or you can download the files twice as fast (and at half the cost if you're paying for the download). Even though disks are getting bigger and high bandwidth is becoming common, it's nice to get even more value by working with smaller, compressed files. For large data warehouses, like those kept by Google and Facebook, halving the amount of space taken can represent a massive reduction in the space and computing required, and consequently big savings in power consumption and cooling, and a huge reduction in the impact on the environment.

Common forms of compression that are currently in use include JPEG (used for photos), MP3 (used for audio), MPEG (used for videos including DVDs), and ZIP (for many kinds of data). For example, the JPEG method reduces photos to a tenth or smaller of their original size, which means that a camera can store 10 times as many photos, and images on the web can be downloaded 10 times faster.

So what's the catch? Well, there can be an issue with the quality of the data – for example, a highly compressed JPEG image doesn't look as sharp as an image that hasn't been compressed. Also, it takes processing time to compress and decompress the data. In most cases, the tradeoff is worth it, but not always.

The FCC's net neutrality rules were adopted to guarantee equal access to all sites on the Internet. But an appeals court ruling releases broadband providers from those guidelines, allowing them to prioritize certain traffic.

This lesson will give students an idea of what to expect when they head to the computer lab. It begins with a brief discussion introducing them to computer lab manners, then they will progress into using a computer to complete online puzzles. The main goal of this lesson is to build students' experience with computers. By covering the most basic computer functions such as clicking, dragging, and dropping, we are creating a more equal playing field in the class for future puzzles. This lesson also provides a great opportunity to introduce proper computer lab behavior.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

This lesson, part of the Digital Literacy series, addresses the importance of locating and verifying reliable sources when working with online information. This lesson is aimed at a young audience and operates on the assumption that many students in the class are not yet reading and writing independently.

Students will be able to:

-Evaluate the reliability of online sources
-Honor their personal reactions to information presented online
-Question information that does not feel right to them

As technology advances and the social landscape shifts, it is crucial for students to become digitally literate citizens. In this series, elementary students will learn the ins and outs of media literacy, from choosing reliable sources and understanding online searches to navigating online security and participating in digital communities. More lessons in this series are listed under "Related Resources."

This interactive lesson, based on the series Breaking Views, frames the controversial issues of fake news and trust in the media with the historical context of yellow journalism and sensationalist reporting. In addition to learning more about how fake news has evolved over the years, students will learn strategies for improving their media literacy and will be able to identify both credible and non-credible news sources. After they complete the lesson students will be better prepared to critically analyze media using the Five Key Questions of media literacy, which will become a point of enduring understanding that young people need in order to be better 21st-century digital citizens in an era saturated by information.

In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to learn how to use events in Play Lab and apply all of the coding skills that they've learned to create an animated game. It's time to get creative and make a game in Play Lab!

Students will start by training the knight to move when an arrow key is pressed, then end with the opportunity to showcase the rest of the skills that they learned throughout this course, including sequence and looping, as part of the final free play puzzle.

Students will be able to:
- Identify actions that correlate to input events.
- Create an animated, interactive story using sequences and event-handlers.
- Share a creative artifact with other students.

Note: You must create a free account to access and use this resource. 

As a quick update (or introduction) to using loops, this stage will have students using the repeat block to get Scrat to the acorn more efficiently.

In this lesson, students will be learning more about loops and how to implement them in Blockly code. Using loops is an important skill in programming because manually repeating commands is tedious and inefficient. With these Code.org puzzles, students will learn to add instructions to existing loops, gather repeated code into loops, and recognize patterns that need to be repeated.

Students will be able to:
- construct a program using structures that repeat areas of code.
- improve existing code by finding areas of repetition and moving them into looping structures.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

A social network is an online community of people who use a website or app to communicate with each other by sharing comments, images, videos, resources, etc. Common examples include Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Using social networks can be a lot of fun and help us feel connected with the people we care most about. Adults also use social networks to share resources and look for jobs, while seniors and shut-ins benefit from being able to stay in touch with relatives and friends. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

When you have completed these activities you will:​

1. know what a social network is [Empowered Learner]

2. understand why it is important to manage your digital identity when using a social network [Digital Citizen]

3. understand why it is important to navigate social networks safely and post thoughtfully [Digital Citizen]

4. be able to create a set of personal guidelines for navigating social networks [Digital Citizen]

Since Joseph Marie Jacquard’s textile loom in 1801, there has been a demonstrated need to give our machines instructions. In the last few episodes, our instructions were already in our computer’s memory, but we need to talk about how they got there - this is the heart of programming. Today, we’re going to look at the history of programming.