I found this week’s topic for EDCI 336 to be super relevant as I prepare for my upcoming practicum at Lansdowne Middle School. We talked less about the “how-to” instructional side of technology and more about the ethics of online life, like privacy, digital footprints, and how we can stay safe as both teachers and humans in our personal lives while also keeping students safe and informed.
Video Credit: Internet Society via YouTube
Listening Phone
One of the most interesting parts of the class was when we talked about the common myth of “Is my phone really listening to me?” Like everyone else, I’ve had those moments where I talk about something, like a specific area or a makeup brand I’m interested in, and then an ad appears on my feed like an hour later. It was actually a bit of a relief (and also more terrifying) to learn that it isn’t audio recording but that it’s browser fingerprinting and lookalike modelling. Basically, because I’m near my friends and we share similar data points, the algorithm predicts what I want before I even look for it. This was super informative for me, and I learned a lot more about my own location data and the “social graph” that’s being sold by data brokers.
Video Credit: BBC News via YouTube
Digital Footprints and Professionalism
During the class, we also Googled ourselves. Not much came up for me besides some past published poetry pieces from high school and academic achievements like being on the honour roll and graduating high school on the mainland in 2021, as well as being in the UVIC spring graduating class of 2025. While that’s part of my professional and academic identity, and it doesn’t bother me, it did make me think about how there could be potential equity issues here. Not every upcoming professional may have a clean digital footprint. Some might have family situations or past mistakes that follow them forever as a result of how data is stored, and I don’t really think that’s fair.
Also, as a teacher candidate, I have to be extra careful. The BC Online Safety document is pretty clear: we shouldn’t be interacting or connecting with any students on social media. It protects us while simultaneously protecting their privacy. I don’t need to see their weekend highlights, and they definitely don’t need to see mine.
Image Credit: Screenshot via Google Search
Online Tools
I created a chart to summarise the tools we discussed in class for protecting our data.
| Tool | Purpose | My Take |
| uBlock Origin | Blocks trackers | A must-have for school computers. |
| Brave/Firefox | Prevents fingerprinting | Great for personal use to stay off the “social graph”. |
| Incogni | Deletes broker data | Expensive ($140/year!), but maybe worth it for teachers? |
Reflection
Looking ahead to my practicum at Lansdowne Middle School, I’m realizing that digital citizenship isn’t just a one-off lesson; it’s more something that’s going to come up every time a student pulls out their phone. It’s easy to focus on the concerning side of data tracking, but the main takeaway for me is the responsibility we have to help students navigate a world that’s constantly trying to profile them. I want to make sure my classroom is a space where students can learn to be skeptical of the “social graph” and protective of their own privacy before they even realise or know how much of it is at risk.