Computer Science
Grade 5
20 min
Keeping Personal Information Private
Understand the importance of keeping personal information safe and not sharing it with strangers.
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1
Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Identify at least five types of Personal Identifiable Information (PII).
Apply a conditional (IF-THEN-ELSE) algorithm to decide if information is safe to share online.
Explain the concept of a digital footprint and how loops can be used to review it.
Represent privacy settings (Public/Private) using binary (1/0).
Define phishing and describe a logical process to identify a phishing attempt.
Design a simple algorithm for creating a strong password.
If a game asked for your home address to send you a 'prize', what would you do? 🤔 Let's build a computer-like checklist to make the right choice!
In this lesson, we will explore advanced ways to protect our personal information online. We'll use computer science ideas like conditional logic...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
Personal Identifiable Information (PII)Any piece of data that can be used by itself or with other information to identify you. It's like your digital name tag.Your full name, home address, school name, phone number, or a photo of your face.
Digital FootprintThe trail of data you leave behind when you use the internet. It includes websites you visit, things you post, and information you share.A photo you posted last year, a comment on a video, or your high score in an online game are all part of your digital footprint.
PhishingA trick used by bad actors to steal your PII by pretending to be someone or something trustworthy, like a friend, a game company, or a school.An email that looks like it's from your favorite game, asking you to click a link and enter y...
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Core Syntax & Patterns
The PII Sharing Algorithm (Conditional Logic)
IF (information is PII) AND (you don't know the person/website well) THEN { action = 'Ask a trusted adult' } ELSE IF (information is NOT PII) THEN { action = 'Probably safe' } ELSE { action = 'Ask a trusted adult' }
Use this set of IF-THEN-ELSE rules whenever a website, app, or person online asks you for information. It helps you pause and think before you share.
The Digital Footprint Review Loop
FOR EACH post in your_online_history: IF (post contains PII) OR (post is unkind) THEN { set_post_to_private() }
Use this loop pattern to regularly check your online accounts. It reminds you to look at every single post, one by one, and check if it's safe and appropriate.
Strong Password Pattern...
4 more steps in this tutorial
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Challenging
You are creating a personal 'privacy algorithm,' a set of rules for sharing online. Which of the following rules is the strongest foundation for your algorithm?
A.IF my friends are sharing it, THEN it's okay for me to share it.
B.IF a website asks for my information, THEN I should give it to them.
C.IF I would not show this to a stranger in person, THEN I should not post it online.
D.IF it's a funny picture, THEN it's always okay to post it.
Challenging
To maximize your privacy on a public computer, you use a VPN, log out of your accounts, and clear the browser history. Which of these actions protects your data from being intercepted on the network, and which protects it from the next person who uses the computer?
A.VPN protects from network interception; logging out/clearing history protects from the next user.
B.Clearing history protects from network interception; the VPN protects from the next user.
C.Logging out protects from network interception; the VPN protects from the next user.
D.All three actions protect against both types of threats equally.
Challenging
You're at a friend's house using their Wi-Fi. You get a phishing email and click a link, which takes you to a fake banking site where you enter your password, 'P@ssw0rd1'. What was the WEAKEST link in this chain of events that led to your password being stolen?
A.Using your friend's Wi-Fi network.
B.Having a password that was too short.
C.The bank not having a better website.
D.Falling for the phishing trick and entering your password.
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