cognitive flexibility hypertext - k-12 - watchers on the web

Detailed Description:

The New Millennium Institute at a prestigious university is expanding its "Society and Technology" curriculum to include a course on "Privacy in the Digital Age." The course will address the balance between personal privacy, freedom of speech, and national security by examining the government's responses to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Some citizens have applauded the government's efforts; others have worried about abuses of power and potential weakening of 1st and 4th Amendment rights.

The "Privacy in the Digital Age" course must develop a student's ability to assess and weigh potential security benefits against the possible infringement of citizens' rights in a democracy, and to apply those judgments to a variety of complex situations related to Internet and computer usage. Students will study a range of cases, including those pertaining to the USA Patriot Act, the Cyber Security Enhancement Act, the Department of Homeland Security, and electronic surveillance technologies such as Carnivore. They will examine the cases from several perspectives, judging their relevance to legal, political, constitutional, ethical, practical, technological, or cultural considerations. The course will provide the students with an increased ability to apply a variety of concepts to a complex scenario in a consistent and reflective manner.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to analyze the issues, weigh the merits of conflicting opinions on a situation, and justify their own conclusions. Specifically, students should be able to:

  • Apply skills of critical reading, analysis, and persuasive discourse (either oral or written)
  • Comprehend the capabilities of the current "snoop" technologies and identify their potential uses
  • Discuss the "right to privacy" implied in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights
  • Outline the responsibilities the US government has to protect its citizens as implied in the Constitution and other important documents
  • Contrast the "American" view of freedom of speech to that of selected non-democratic countries
  • Describe the concepts of privacy and security in general and cite relevant examples
  • Formulate arguments for and against rights of the individual vs. the need to protect its citizens
  • Identify the ethical principles and "practical realities" embedded in their own arguments and that of other students
  • Select a line of reasoning and conclusion they feel is most realistic and ideologically defensible.