Unit 4 - Big Data and Privacy

Unit 4 Chapter 1 - What’s the story?

The story of this chapter is about coming to terms with the world of Big Data that we now inhabit, and addressing the new modern dilemmas that come along with it. In many ways, this unit acts as a current events unit, since the daily news is filled with examples: should the government get “backdoor keys” to encryption algorithms in order to unlock a cell phone used by a terrorist? Should a social media site be able to use the data it has about you and your relationships to direct advertising at you, or sell information about you to others? At the end of the unit, students are asked to develop an opinion supported by their own research about a dilemma related to either cybersecurity or personal privacy.

There are two main threads in this unit, which are interwoven: (1) Big Data and (2) Encryption/Security. Since it is nearly impossible to talk about big data without delving into the issues related to security and privacy, it’s a useful time to learn about encryption and how it works. Encryption can be an engrossing subject in its own right, since it involves interesting algorithms, mathematics, and problem solving, not to mention the aspects of societal impact. Indeed, there are entire undergraduate degrees on the subject - The main goal of our encryption lessons is to work up to understanding how public key encryption works, including the primary mathematical principles that make it possible for two people (or computers) to send encrypted messages to each other over the internet in a way that only the intended recipient can decrypt it.

Ready for the Explore PT?

We think that the end of this unit represents a minimum point at which students could complete a successful Explore performance task. Check out the Performance Task pacing section on page 32 for more details.

Our Approach to the Content

Many of the lessons in this unit are designed as practice for elements of the Explore Performance Task. In particular, lesson 2 “Rapid Research” is good practice for the relatively quick research and writing students will have to do for the Explore PT. The goal is for students to become adept with looking up sources, reading/skimming articles for their main points, and being able to explain both sides of an argument or dilemma related to big data, security and privacy. Since issues about personal privacy and security affect students’ daily lives, the research should be relevant and engaging for students.

Most of the activities in these first two weeks call for students to be engaged in online research, to use online tools to investigate issues, as well as to discuss and write about the issues. These lessons in particular are a great entry point for the teacher to assume the role of lead learner. The first week in the unit will feel like: big data is great! The second week, however, might feel like: big data is scary! Especially in the latter case, the teacher might need to attend to their students’ runaway paranoia about the harmful effects of big data. We want to present a balanced view, but it is a dilemma! Big data is both great and scary at times. Knowledge and awareness are the best tools to protect yourself.

The activities in the third week around data encryption should look and feel similar to lessons from Units 1 and 2. The general pattern is to introduce a concept through an unplugged activity or thinking prompt, and then “plug it in” by using a widget to explore the concept further. The purpose of the widgets is to allow students time to play with some of the encryption ideas, which are often mathematical in nature, to get sense for how they work. We want to give students space to be curious and use the tools to experiment, explore and discover some essential properties of encryption.

We encourage teachers to use the practice PT to dry-run some of the procedures and processes for the Explore Performance Task. In particular: put time constraints on the research and writing, grant students latitude to research what they want, monitor the appropriateness of students’ research choices, and help them get “unstuck,” or push them to be more specific, by appealing to the scoring guidelines and rubric.