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Activity 5.3 – Statement 2, page 135

Lise Auffray

Ray Reid and

Lee Purves

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Databases

Databases can store and classify

large amounts information in a central computer, allowing users to locate and/or change information quickly and efficiently, through use of keywords, given to describe a given search.

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Questions for Thought and Discussion

The increasing use of databases in our society, combined with pervasive use of the Internet, is making it very easy to get access to personal information about anyone.

What implications arise regarding the safety

and privacy of students in our schools? What is the teacher’s role in these privacy and security issues?

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The Impact of Database in Education

Databases are a permanent part of our culture!

The power of knowledge and ease of access they provide does not come without dangers.

Personal information about some, is easy for others to obtain, misuse and abuse.

Easy access to information about people has long been recognized as a threat to personal privacy.

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Personal Threat

Each of our names is listed, along with much of our personal information, on literally dozens of databases.

This information is shared among many information systems.

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Canadian Law

In Canada, the importance of protectiong personal information is recognized by law.

Bill C-6, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, came into effect on January 1, 2001.

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Teacher Responsibilities

Teachers must recognize their responsibility to safeguard private student information and protect it from unauthorized access.

This means keeping disks in secure places, keeping passwords secret, and even deleting information if parents or students request it.

Imagine if all your student addresses and phone numbers got into the hands of people of ill intentions!

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We must teach our students to …

Never give out personal information to anyone.

Not respond to pop-up ads that appear on their screens.

Not share their passwords with others.

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And …

Never to open email from someone whose name they don’t recognize.

Not to respond to SPAM messages from anyone.

Always to log off from a machine in a public computer room or even in the school computer lab, before leaving the room.

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Privacy and Security

Keeping these precautions in mind, do take advantage of the many unique capabilities offered by databases, and teach your

students to do so.