I am looking to attempt an experiment during the course I am teaching right now. The idea is to give the course participants the opportunity to examine how much personal information is available online.
To do this, participants are divided into groups. Each group is then given the name of a person and then digs up any and all information they can about that person.
The teams will have to account for:
- The information they find
- How & where they found the information
- Make assessment of the details of credibility.
One of the major “problems” in conducting this experiment is the selection of the person to be examined. Choosing a public figure could be an option but it is difficult to assess the credibility of information acquired. Therefore what remains is to put oneself on the line and the students study their lecturer. Which leads to a question I must ask myself – Do I have something I do not want to find out about myself…
I would really appreciate comments on this idea….