Digital Technology News

Hi All,

Welcome back to Term 3. I hope everyone had a nice break.

In recent times, large online social networking platforms have been using personal information of their subscribers for personal gain and sharing that information with others. You may have noticed recently that Facebook now is advertising on television about how they will keep our information secure in an effort to try and gain the trust back of their users.

Here is an extract from an email that I received from the Digital Technologies Hub in the last week or two. It really made me think about how we leave a ‘Digital Footprint’ with the things we use technology for, and how we need to be careful to protect our information online.

Have you ever considered how your data is being used as you connect to the internet?

Data acquired from your smartphone or other connected digital device can reveal much about you, including the music you like, your location, who you communicate with and how, and your personal shopping habits, such as what you search for and buy online.

Linda McIver, from the Australian Data Science Education Institute, says ‘We are living in a data driven world. Data science decides what search results and news reports you see. What books you might like to buy. The best route for you to get to work, depending on current traffic conditions. Even your medical test results and treatment options.’

I think this would be a great topic to discuss with your children, so that they realise there’s always traces left behind with the things they do online these days, and once it’s there, it’s there for good.

Thanks,

Simon Taylor

Digital Technologies Leader