Tag: data

Library, Library Science

Metadata Is More Than “Data About Data”

Laura Pasquini

For my Introduction to Digital Libraries course I enrolled in this summer, our final project was to create a digital library with at least one collection containing at least ten cataloged items. The secret librarian in me was excited to put together a comprehensive repository of the higher education learning & development items I have been studying in my research. Both the project and course have concluded, but I am still working on editing and updating this digital library. There are a few more things I want to organize and catalog before I share it; however you can get an idea of what I’m compiling from this call for resources tweeted below. (p.s. I promise to blog about this digital library for higher education colleagues soon, so others can add and contribute to it.)

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

What has me STILL working on this digital library project are two things:

  1. Rights – This requires me to identify what is the copyright or rights OR to get permission. A number of items I found are accessible online; however few have explicitly listed it’s copyright (e.g. Creative Commons, Public Domain, or other) to designate the “rights” and permission to use for library cataloging standards; and
  2. Metadata – adding the required and recommended descriptive, administrative, and structural information for each digital object/resource I’m adding to the collections in this digital library.

There are no shortage of standards, acronyms for these standards, and protocols required to guide the shared use of these metadata standards. I’m not planning to launch a full lesson on ALL of these metadata standards, but rather share what I am working with and learning about for my digital library “in progress.” If you’re interested in checking out this full glossary and visuals about metadata, have at it with these brilliant Creative Common metadata maps/visuals created by Jenn Riley & Devin Becker:

Seeing Standards: A Visualization of the Metadata Universe

First, let’s define the term, metadata. It’s all around us! Some say it’s “data about data,” however this simplistic definition does not explain the complexity of what metadata does and how it operates in the world today. Monson (2017, pp. 88-89) better defines metadata as

“structured data that is associated with an information resource. It may be either created by hand or captured by a computer system… [and] can be described in terms of its functionality, which includes finding, identifying, sorting, selecting, gathering obtaining, and navigating items within collections of resources because it is structured according to certain sets of rule – purpose for search, discovery, browsing ,and collocation, identification and access.”

With ubiquitous technologies and connected systems of information metadata is all around us. Metadata helps us to buy books, find photos, and search for ALL THE THINGS! Formally known as “information in the library catalog” we now see metadata on a number of digital objects and things we use every day – music, podcasts, videos, books, phone calls, text messages, articles, websites, magazines, files, documents, and more. That being said, I don’t even want to think about the amount of data and metadata even being produced at this given moment — it IS exhausting (Pomerantz, 2019):

From cataloging digital objects, I have learned that metadata work should NOT be a solo project. Metadata creation should be a collaborative effort of people working together — just like we work today (Baca, 2016). This metadata creation process not only contributes to identifying items for a collection or to provide information for individual resources, but it also provides other perspectives and input as to how items will be found and shared. Monson (2017, pp. 89-90) shares the types of metadata required for each resource or object I have be cataloging:

Descriptive metadata: data that describes and objective. This is closely associated with the functionalities of searching and browsing to find the item, e.g. creator or author, title, data of creation, type of object, and subject or keyword associated with the object.

Administrative metadata: data that contributes to the management and administration of objects within a collection; this includes data such as data of digitization, type of equipment used to digitize, file name, and name of the organization that created the digital object e.g. pdf, mp4, mp3, jpeg, png

Structural metadata: how the items within a collection re logically grouped and presented on the screen; it provides information about the internal or “physical” structure of a digital resources, tied to components to form a whole. e.g. text, image, internet media type, StillImage, MovingImage

Metadata provides meaning as it offers explicit information about indexing, accessing, preserving, sharing [rights], and discovering digital resources. As we accrue a growing volume of digital information and objects, both online and offline, it is critical to have standards that offer ways for users to find, retrieve, and manage within our digital networks and overwhelmingly, complex information in our own evolving world. This might be from how things are classified to how the end user will find, navigate, and utilize this resource. I am using the Consortium Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI), specifically this best practice for descriptive metadata in these CARLI Guidelines for the Creation of Digital Collections [PDF]. These were the suggested metadata standards recommended to guide our work from the original project, so I’m continuing to follow these protocols. This guide also follows a commonly used standard in many academic libraries, that is, the Dublin Core metadata scheme: https://www.dublincore.org/ which is similar to what is currently utilized at my own institution => UNT Libraries Quick-Start Metadata Guide. For each element that is “required” and “recommended” by CARLI (2017) that I am searching, imputing, and cataloging for EACH resource for my digital library, and a few of the “optional” elements that are available for each object:

Element

Definition

Example
Title

(required)

 A name given to the resource; this would describe or identify the file name or object The OER Starter Kit

TOPcast: Teaching Online Podcast

Research Shorts
Creator

(recommended)

 An entity primarily responsible for making the resource; this can be an individual, group of people, or organization/institution Pasquini, Laura

TechKNOWtools, LLC

University of North Texas
Contributor

(optional)

 An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource; good if there is a team or group(s) making this item Austin, Jane

Pixar Productions

US Department of Education
Description

(recommended)

 An account of the resource; this might be the table of contents, abstract, overview, or “about” page/section of the object detailing what this resources is about The Academic Advising (#AcAdv) Twitter Chat discussing advising and student support issues on Twitter every other Tuesday from 12-1 pm CST. We tweet with the hashtag: #AcAdv

YouTube Channel to disseminate and share scholarly work using whiteboard animations.
Publisher

(optional)

 An entity responsible for making the resource available; could be a publisher, platform, group, or individual. WordPress

Journal of Comics and Graphic Novels

MIT Press

University of Guelph
Date

(recommended)

 A point or period of time associated with an event in the life cycle of the resource; created, valid, available or issued, copyright date, or date accepted/submitted 2001-11-24

2018-05

1999
Subject

(recommended)

 The topic of the resource; general information about the item, object, or resource Indie band posters

Sustainable eating practices

The Global Community for Academic Advising (NACADA) — History
Language

(required)

 A language of the resource (if applicable) eng

spa

fre
Type

(required)

 

 The nature or genre of the resource; this would identify the DCMI type of vocabulary from the Dublin Core Image, SillImage, MovingImage

InteractiveResource, Sound

Dataset, Event, Physical Object
Format

(recommended)

 The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource; extent wav, mp4, mp3, jpeg, png

csv, doc, pdf
Coverage

(optional)

 The spatial or temporal topic of the resources, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resources is relevant Texas (state)

Niagara Falls (waterfall)

1999-01-31
Source

(optional)

 A related resource from which the described resource is derived, e.g. IBSN for books, or URL for websites https://techknowtools.com/

9780349108391

https://flic.kr/p/XrroZS
Identifier

(recommended)

 An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context; might be part of a bibliographic citation with a unique number scheme or code to the file. doi: 10.9776/13527

978-0-9952692-1-7

http://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.7228223.v1

 
Relation

(required)

 A related resource; it has version, is replaced by, replaces, is required by, requires, is part of; OR has part, is referenced by, references, format of, has format, etc. Public Domain Picks (The New York Public Library)

Community Media (The Internet Archive)

Miniature Book Collection (University of North Texas)
Rights

(required)

 Information about rights held in and over the resource; access rights; license pertaining to copyright and permission; open education resources will typically share with a Creative Commons license. Permission is granted under a Creative Commons Attribution License to replicate, copy, distribute, transmit, or adapt this report freely provided that attribution is provided as illustrated in the citation below. View this license: http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Public domain

We interact and create digital objects every day and with increased digital/information structures, we need to think about how we are naming, storing, and cataloging resources, especially in the digital. That being said, metadata also carries some consequences for that create a digital shadow to follow and track. With increased privacy and personal data concerns, it’s not just what the metadata information says, but also what and who is attached to this information.

It’s critical to consider what the metadata says about a particular collection. To make digital resources shareable, metadata gives these objects meaning in terms of the proper context, content coherence, standard vocabularies, and consistency (CARLI, 2017). Digitization and digital content does not necessarily mean equal access for all. Digital copies or making materials digital does not make these objects “findable, understandable, or utilizable to our ever-expanding audience of online users. But digitization combined with the creation of carefully crafted metadata can significantly enhance end-user access” (Baca, 2016). It is essential for metadata creators to consider how these classifications within the descriptive metadata is formed. We need to think about who is saying what about particular resources with the metadata schemes we use (Pomerantz, 2015):

This side project of mine is making me think more about metadata and how we classify information, data, resources, and objects in the digital age (or even how many of us do not). Don’t be surprised if you get a DM, email, or e-nudge from me asking you about permission/rights AND to give me some feedback on what I am creating. Knowing that the best digital libraries require collaboration, I will be reaching out soon to get your input, feedback, advice, suggestions, and contributions for this digital library. Back to my metadata descriptives and digital library cataloging for now, as I continue to learn and absorb these concepts.

References:

Baca, M. (2016). Introduction to Metadata, 3rd Ed. Getty Publications. Los Angeles, CA: Retrieved from http://www.getty.edu/publications/intrometadata/

Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI). (2017, January 9). Guidelines for the creation of digital collections: Best practices for descriptive metadata. CARLI Created Content Committee. Retrieved from https://www.carli.illinois.edu/sites/files/digital_collections/documentation/guidelines_for_metadata.pdf

Monson, J. D. (2017). Getting started with digital collections: Scaling to fit your organization. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Pomerantz, J. (2015). Metadata. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Book Review, Digital Literacy, Reflections

Under Surveillance: Privacy, Rights, and Those Capitalizing On Us

Laura Pasquini

“I don’t care who sees or reads what I post online. I am an open book — I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Have you heard this before? This is a common response I usually hear when talking with a students, staff, and faculty in higher ed about their personal data and privacy online. Not all take this stance; however, most feel like it is almost too late to take back what is already available and online — this includes their identification, their behaviors, and more. Have we past the point of no personal data return for what we share online?  Are there things we should be thinking about our digital behaviors? Have we thought about how to optimize privacy on these portable computers we bring everywhere — our phones? Is digital privacy possible?

This is a topic I’ve written and spoke about before, as I often feel caught in the privacy paradox in my own digital life. Earlier this year I have began auditing where and how I take up digital real estate. I don’t think giving away our personal data for a “free service” or online account is a fair trade. I have thought more about the fine print in the terms of services for a number of my social media and digital accounts, especially controlling who can collect my data and in “opting out” to control who might use my personal information. This is really important as we see more companies gobble up social media sites and grow their own data collection business based on online information they can find — I’m looking at you Facebook and Google. Whether you share a product on Instagram or tweet about an event, these companies are interested in scooping of this information.

You can go nowhere unseen… We found this ‘camera’ on a window pane in a small staircase to the attic, in the most remote corner of an abandoned hospital.
Flickr image c/o Fabian https://www.flickr.com/photos/snapsi42/3925435964/

I just finished reading Shoshana Zuboff ‘s latest book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, where she defines surveillance capitalism as “a new economic order that claims [private] human experience as free raw material for hidden commercial practices of extraction, prediction, and sales.” This is directly connected to our digital behaviors, such as our clicks, views, impressions, and even who we are. We share a vast amount of information accessed through our social media accounts, mobile apps, digital platforms, and smart devices — ask your personal digital assistant, Alexa, Siri, and/or Google Home all about it.

In the privacy camp, you can find a number of postsecondary colleagues and learners who are concerned about protecting their personal data and digital information. Similar to others online, most want to know how to maintain digital control of their data and manage their online reputation. Just over 60% of Americans WOULD  LIKE to do more about their privacy; however, their social media use is mostly unchanged since 2018 and I suspect most would value the cost of privacy at $0. Do you think people would pay to protect their information? Who would pay to use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. if it meant more control of who uses their data? I have my doubts that many would actually pay to use apps and social technologies.

Last year, negative impacts of the personal digital life included connectedness overload, trust tensions, personal identity issues, and failing to focus. Privacy, data collection, and surveillance are loaded issues. They are not issues we can tackle on our own. It can be so overwhelming for any one of us to deal with. This needs to be a collective movement for change in society — this might include efforts to push for accountability from technology giants, pushing for regulation, demanding specific privacy standards, and encouraging more of us to change our own behaviors so our actions are not feeding into the business opportunities of surveillance capitalism and data collection. We need to do more than just secure our own data. We need to work on ways to secure all of our personal data and identify standards that block opportunistic actions from technology companies.

Choosing to not use these tools, devices, or platforms is not a viable option to solve this problem. Data security and information collection impacts everyone. Whether you are active on a digital platform or opting out, there are pieces of data and information connected to you in some shape or form. Surveillance and data collection is so ubiquitous that we often take it for granted (Lewis, 2017).  Privacy is less of a paradox, and more of a fact of life, whether we like it or not:

“We can’t buy rooms at the panopticon hotel and then complain about the surveillance.” The internet cliché “You are the product” is wrong, argues @DKThomp. We are neither products nor workers in surveillance capitalism’s quest for data. We are a passive source of raw material—a field to be harvested, or a mountain to be strip-mined. To counter the “nothing to hide” quote that started this post, Zuboff thinks: “If you have nothing to hide, then you are nothing.”

Take a listen to the Crazy/Genius podcast episode to hear more of their conversation: Why Should We Care About Privacy?

Want to hear more about privacy, data and surveillance? Check out these past podcast episodes:

References:

Lewis, R. (2017). Under surveillance: Being watched in modern America. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

Zuboff, S. (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power. New York, NY: PublicAffairs.

Digital Literacy, Needs Assessment, Networked Practice, privacy, Reflections, technology

My Digital Audit: Where Do I Want to Be Online?

Laura Pasquini

Do you know how much we weave social media platforms and online technology companies into our daily lives? Would it be possible to not live with Google, Facebook, Apple or other technology companies? It’s been something I have been thinking about for a while (like others), and often how much do we test these questions in the wild. If you have not seen the technology blocking experiment conducted by @Gizmodo‘s reporter, Kasmir Hill, you should. Kahsmir tries to take on and live without the technology giants, Amazon, Facebook (which includes owned companies, Whatsapp & Instagram), Google, Microsoft, and Apple. Impressive, right? But is it impossible? Even if you don’t plan to say, “Ciao!,” to these platforms this “Goodbye Big Five” investigation and hands-on reporting will inform you about how much we let these companies invade (most) of our lives, take our money, use our data, and capture our attention.

It is far too easy to sign up or sign on to websites, apps, and platforms with a simple click. No need to read those terms of service agreements. Nah! Also, all you need is my email, mobile phone number or one of those big tech accounts to sign up (e.g. Facebook, Google or Twitter), than why not join? Apps and social media platforms want to make our online user experiences fluid and seamless — which also allows the same platforms and apps to track your digital movement and access your personal data through your connected accounts.

Image c/o Vitor Sá: https://www.flickr.com/photos/virgu/12496426/

For the past 6 years, I have been doing an alright job of tracking of my digital life and auditing where/how I am online. I use a simple spreadsheet to itemize the account name, log in, information, connected accounts, purpose, and more for this digital audit. If interested, here’s a blank spreadsheet you can copy/download to use as you review your apps and online accounts yourself:

Digital/Web Audit TEMPLATE

That being said, it has been a while since I have given it a proper review to include where my personal data lies and maybe the social media apps, online accounts, and forgotten sign-ins that I have not really examined as closely. It is no longer easy to use JustDelete.me and a delete button to remove your data from online accounts. Our existence online is more complex and often woven into one another between the platforms we use and the shifts in these mediums. Maybe I have grown up a bit, but so have these digital platforms, and I’m not so sure they have matured into the tech adults I would like them to be. Here are a few platforms concerns with and why I’m considering closing a few of my own social media spaces, just to name a few:

Beyond policies, practices, and costs, I was trying to determine where I want to “live” online and what it means now that some of these platforms have merged or have experienced new management change. Back in January, I facilitated a workshop about managing your digital identity and being a professional online in higher education. Some of the big questions I challenge participants to reflect about as they consider their online self and where they want to be include:

  1. Why do I want to share my knowledge and expertise? What interests me about “being” online and maybe even connected to my peers?
  2. Where do you want to be online? How do I want others to find and connect with me?
  3. What digital/social platforms would be best for how and what I want to share? Where will I find my professional networks online?

I shared how my own digital presence or “being” online has evolved. Although I used to be in a log of social and digital spaces, that is not the case anymore. A number of platforms have been deactivated (RIP Google Reader & Delicious). While others might have been just a platform to test out or try on. That being said, if something does not resonates with me or find a purpose in my digital life, than I’m okay to say goodbye. So, if any digital space or online place does not “bring you joy” (hat tip to the digital #MarieKondo practice), maybe it’s time to bid farewell. Here is the main focus of my personal digital and data audit:

Where do I want to be online?

Some of my digital self review has been going on for a while, but this year is the year to finish and probably shut down a few social media platforms and online accounts for good. Permanently. It’s time to simplify my streams and declutter my social (media) life. I have started the process and initiated the review of the audit spreadsheet to determine what accounts are active and to itemize what is happening online. Here are a few things I did to start this digital and data audit of me:

  1. Unsubscribe: I used Unroll.me to start the initial clean up and unsubscribe of email lists, advertising, listservs, and duplicate groups/listservs from all my email accounts (personally/professionally).
  2. Revoke/Remove Connections: By logging into your social media platforms, online apps, and digital accounts, you might see you have granted 3rd party access to other applications/users/accounts — remove said things.
  3. Identify the Accounts Where Your Personal Information Lies: Using the various emails, I used Deseat.me to get a list of my accounts and apps that I have signed up for to identify and delete the ones I am not using OR to add these to my digital/web audit spreadsheet to track. This method offers a GDPR message template (thanks, EU GDPR!) to send a template email to the platform administrator to remove yourself from online and social media accounts. This might (and does) require follow up messaging, emails, and sometimes confirmation contracts to remove your information and personal data from certain accounts. It might take some time to get responses and confirmations for deleting yourself from various platforms, communities, or online programs (I know. I am in week 4 of this process.)
  4. Download Your Personal Data: For the accounts and platforms you are thinking about deleting, consider downloading your account data. This might be an archive of activity, posts, etc (e.g. Facebook). Or it could be a files, images, and other items within each account (e.g. Flickr). Part of this download may require you to determine storage elsewhere, such as, in another cloud-based service OR external hard drive (or both). Figure out the how much of data and your use of it, to determine your next steps.
  5. Delete Yourself: Depending on your goals, you may just want to wipe your accounts online to remove all that is there. There are a few guides to get yourself off the grid to get you started. Deseat.me will remove your data and delete some of your accounts, but you will need to visit each account/platform you have to manually complete the deletion process. Check out these suggestions for finding/deleting accounts from the Internet, a list of “how to” delete yourself from social media platforms, and suggestions for deleting (or locking down) your Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The above is just a start — but I thought I’d share what I’ve been working on, ironically, offline and online to audit my digital and data self. Let me know if you have suggestions, resources, or ideas for this review process. I would love to hear how your own audit, review, and reflections are going if you are pondering the same thing.
#AcDigID, #EdDigID, #HEdigID

Being a Higher Ed Professional Online (#HEdigID) Is Complicated: Join the Conversation?

Laura Pasquini

A growing number of practitioners, professionals, and administrators in higher education engage and share their professional practice in digital spaces. There is no surprise that these educators are social, networked, and keen to learn from one another online. These non-traditional spaces offer ways to share resources, access professional development, and learn from other professionals beyond their institution or even functional area of work.  Other higher ed professionals also seek out spaces for personal support, issues on campus, and communities that connect to their social identities, values, and/or beliefs.

This week I’m facilitating the Online Learning Consortium online workshop: Developing Your Social Media and Digital Presence for Higher Ed Professionals (#HEdigID). This 7-day, workshop was originally created to help faculty and staff in higher education craft an online presence; however, there are more issues about “being” online in today’s digital network. The goal was to introduce digital and social ways to connect, learn, and present yourself and work in online spaces. With the shift and scale of a number of social networks and online platforms, I’m not so sure everyone needs to be everywhere online. Some might need an academic persona … whereas other college/university staff may not or might be struggling with their digital, professional lives. Being a higher ed professional online is quite complicated. Asking and learning about professionals digital selves unpacks the complexity of living our individual networked experiences. Being a digital professional might differ based on the culture of the institution, support (or lack there of) from peers and/or a supervisor, ability to participate (or not) based on geographic location, and the social identities that travel with professionals via online platforms. The decision to “be” a professional online is not a simple or straightforward “how to” guide. And, I think it’s something that often gets overlooked or not really talked about it among higher ed faculty and staff — so let’s change that. Let’s talk about it!

Learning Objectives

  • Evaluate social media and digital platforms for professional development and connected learning.
  • Establish effective strategies for developing an online digital identity within the open, networked higher ed community online.
  • Outline the benefits and challenges of open and digital practice in higher education, specifically with regards to social media and other networked platforms.

Workshop Schedule

This is an asynchronous, week-long online workshop which will begin on a Monday (May 14th) and end on the following Sunday (May 20th). If you want a look at the #HEdigID workshop agenda, here is the outline for short-course:

  • Why Does Social & Digital Identity Matter in Higher Ed?
    • Getting started, digital identity development, and state of postsecondary practitioners and administrators online
  • The Tools of the Digital Professional Trade: Social Media
    • Twitter, hashtags, blogging, podcasting, LinkedIn, and more for creating and sharing online.
  • Being a Connected and Digital Practitioner
    • Digital research impact and influence: Slack, websites, YouTube Live, ORCID iD, ResearchGate, etc.
  • Openness in Academia: Benefits & Challenges
    • Working “in the open” and the tension between benefits & challenges of digitally engaging.
  • Building Your Social and Digital Presence Online
    • Creating your own space and place for your professional work and sharing among practitioners.
  • Developing Your Digital Academic Identity
    • Bonus: Ways to aggregate and showcase your digital, professional self and the work you’re doing on campus.

Dates Offered: May 14-20, 2018; Registration Page (to sign up)

Join the Conversation?

If you can join us in the actual course — great! If you are not able to commit to this short course — but you’re interested in this TOPIC and DISCUSSION, here are a few ways you can engage in the Higher Ed Digital Identity (#hedigid) Workshop this week:

  • ADD TO THE TWITTER LIST: Are you on the“Academics Who Tweet” Twitter list? I would like to get a variety of folks from academia from all disciplines and functional work areas in higher education. Let me know (comments or directly on Twitter) if YOU or someone else should be added.
  • USE the #HEdigID Workshop HASHTAG this week to introduce yourself, say hello, share resources, or offer advice. I am encouraging learners to follow, read, and use this same hashtag during the week of May 14-20, 2018.
  • PARTICIPATE & TWEET during the #HEdigID Twitter Chat: Join us for the Twitter chat on Friday, May 18th for the ALL DAY conversation. Using the workshop hashtag, #HEdigID, I will moderate a chat over the course of the day to dig into the questions, challenges, and ideas/suggestions for being a networked professionals. I will be posting the questions and reminding y’all about the chat in a couple of days BEFORE Friday. Learn more about the #HEdigID chat here and how YOU can sign up to moderate a future conversations online: https://techknowtools.com/twitter-chats/hedigid/
  • TELL YOUR #HEdigID STORY: Interested in joining an online, synchronous conversation to share about your own #HEdigID experience? Want to tell a story about how being a networked scholar/practitioner impacts your work in higher ed?  Want to tell the workshop participants about a connected community you are a part of in these networked spaces? Let me know – happy to have you join during our #HEdigID Online, Synchronous Meeting this FRIDAY, May 18, 2018 from 12-12:40 pm EST. [Drop me a DM on Twitter: @laurapasquini or a comment]

Being online and living in the network impacts our personal and professional lives. What it was to be connected or sharing in the network looks and feels much different in 2018. What does it mean to be a networked professional now to you? How has your participation changed, shifted, or grown in these social networks? What questions or considerations are you making about your online self to preserve your digital identity? Join the conversation to reflect and discuss what it means to be a higher ed professional in digitally connected spaces.

#HEdigID, Higher Education, highered, Learning Community, Networked Community, networkedscholar, PLN, Reflections

#HEdigID Chat No. 3: Privacy and Personal Data in Networked Spaces

Laura Pasquini

If you are online and networked, your data and personal information is out there and it does not necessarily belong to you anymore. A number of us have signed up for a service, an application, or even a network under the assumption that it is “free.” What harm is there in answering a few personal questions to join an app, network, or online service?  Who would really be interested in my personal information I used when I completed that form or online agreement on that website? With a number of higher education colleagues living and working in networked spaces, we need to talk about how we have all (myself included) given away LOADS OF DATA to support our networked practices.

An introduction to the world of data online: Take a listen to Mozilla’s IRL (Online Life is Real Life) Podcast Episode 1: All Your Data Are Belong To Us.

“While you may think it’s no big deal to give away your personal data in exchange for free online services, how can you know that what you get for what you give is a fair trade?”

~Veronica Belmont, IRL Podcast: irlpodcast.org

Many of us have exchanged personal information for a “free” service, tool, technology platform, app, or network. This is common practice and almost a necessity to collaborate and communicate with others. How else can we stay in touch, share information, and participate in our personal and professional networks? Until the last few years, we have not thought much about the platforms or digital rights we have given away within these networked and digital spaces. We have witnessed a number of data breaches on popular platforms (e.g. LinkedIn and Dropbox) and we are currently gaining more insights into how scaled social networks, like Facebook, share our data with 3rd party providers (like Cambridge Analytica) and makes money off our individual profile contributions and participation in this platform.

I have been thinking about how we guide and support postsecondary stakeholders on social media and in digital networks for quite some time [see: socialmediaguidance.wordpress.com].  As social media permeates our personal and professional lives, a growing number of higher ed colleagues (like me) have been questioning the “privacy” (a.k.a. data) policies that exist on networked platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. [e.g. listen to @BreakDrink podcast episode, no. 10].

I am not sure the answer is to delete or leave a networked space. As our personal information and data is already out there, and a number of us are reliant on some of these tools to do our work and lead our lives. I don’t think these networked platforms are broken, disrupted, or that we need to even save social media. I just think we need to have a frank and open conversation about the things higher ed (as a whole) have been ignoring about these network spaces and platforms. Social media is no longer viewed as a trends or a passing fad. In the past, social and digital networks, were viewed as being on the periphery of the college/university experience. As these platforms have scaled and been embraced in our society, we are witnessing real impacts and implications within our campus communities.

It’s about time we have some REAL talk about individual privacy and personal data on social networks and digital platforms used by and among higher ed professionals. This month’s Higher Ed Digital Identity Chat on Friday, April 13th will be discussing the following TOPIC: “Privacy and Personal Data in Networked Spaces.”

Here are few QUESTIONS that will roll out on Twitter and are posted in the open Google doc for the #HEdigID Friday (April 13th) ALL-DAY digital conversation. In previous #HEdigID conversations we have talked about the affordances and challenges, but we have not touched upon our own personal data and privacy after we agree to an app or platforms terms of service. We need to discuss ways to support staff, faculty, and students using social media in higher ed, specifically in asking:

  1. As a networked higher education professional, what issues, topics, and questions SHOULD we be talking about with regards to our own privacy and personal data?
  2. What are your ultimate “Terms of Service” for sharing your personal data, updating your information, and putting yourself on digital/networked platforms? Share your philosophy or approach. [What are the things you are willing to give up when you sign up, log in, or share in networked spaces?]
  3. How does your higher ed institution or professional organizations educate and/or train yourself and colleagues about personal data and privacy online? Please share.
  4. How does your college/university guide or support community standards (e.g. policy, protocols, etc.) related to individual privacy or personal data in networked & digital spaces?
  5. For those who want to learn more about personal data, privacy, & security in #highered, what RESOURCES do you suggest? Please list & share (e.g. articles, websites, books, training, etc.).

What questions, issues, or challenges should we be discussing with our peers in networked spaces? How are we thinking about data and the use of data with our learners online? Are there ways to support engaged networked learning without compromising privacy or our personal data?  Feel free to answer any of the questions above as these are shared today (my Thursday, April 12th afternoon) until the afternoon of April 13, 2018 (in my timezone, Central Standard Time). This SLOW style Twitter chat is designed to allow more higher ed colleagues and friends to join in the conversation to account for different geographic regions, multiple time zones, busy schedules, and more

Join us on Friday, April 13, 2018 to discuss these questions and more! You can participate by:

  • Tweeting a response using this hashtag on Twitter: #HEdigID

  • Draft a longer response in the open OPEN Google Doc: http://bit.ly/hedigid3

  • Take any (or all) of these questions to create your OWN response in any media or format, you want: journal, blog post, video/audio reflection, drawing, or offline discussion. 🙂

I am open to YOUR suggestions. What QUESTIONS or ISSUES should we consider for this chat? Please share in the Google doc above or comments below. I’m looking forward to the conversation and contribution in Twitter and in the Google doc.