M5+Copyright

**The Site:**
I chose to investigate "Privacy Playground: The First Adventure of the Three CyberPigs" This site was created by "Media Awareness Network" (MNet). "MNet is a Canadian non-profit organization that has been pioneering the development of media and digital literacy programs since its incorporation in 1996." It is funded primarily by private donations but receives some money from the Canadian Government. (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/corporate/about_us/index.cfm)

The particular page I focused on ("CyberSense and Nonsense: The First Adventure of The Three CyberPigs") is an interactive flash video aimed at teaching children ages 8-10 how to stay safe and protect their privacy on the internet. It follows three pigs in an imaginary world who browse imaginary web sites giving sites information that they shouldn’t, getting spammed and almost getting eaten by a wolf/child predator (mom comes to the rescue). ([])

Application and Assessment:
I would most likely use this resource if I had a class of children who were about to begin research using the internet. The video focuses on guarding your privacy in the context of using the internet for entertainment, but I believe it will give kids general guidelines that they would need to stay safe while they do their research. The only downfall to using this resource in an introduction to research is that kids who are doing research would most likely be older than 8-10. This age appropriate discrepancy could be handled by the teacher having a light hearted attitude to how the content is provided while respecting the content itself (for example, giving them an overview of the safety principles that will be discussed then teasing them about loving the story of the 3 little pigs).

I believe this activity would work best as a whole group activity. I would display the video on the screen in the classroom (assuming I would have such luxuries) and let the kids comment as we go through the video. In the video, an alien often flies down from space and asks a question about what one of the characters should or should not have done. We would discuss the question and, once we have determined an answer, click on the answer and see if the alien tells us we’re right. I do not believe any formal assessment would be appropriate for this activity; rather, the questions given in the video would give students sufficient feedback about what they learn.