© Amanda Benson, 2012

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Issue 2: Digital Security.

January 2012

Happy New Year and welcome to a

year that I am sure will be filled with

exciting new opportunities for the

integration of technology into

Physical Education, Health, Physical

Activity and Outdoor Education.

Dr. Amanda Benson acbkiwi@gmail.com

Digital Security

and

Geotagging

The availability and portability of smartphone technology, tablets as well as digital and flip cameras has made it easier for teachers to integrate for example video analysis within their classroom and therefore the almost instant opportunity to upload to the web. This can easily be done with the options offered within the ‘app’ itself or by uploading to Facebook™, Twitter™ or to webpages and blogs. With the beginning of a new academic year and the ever expanding opportunities for the integration of technology within teaching, (some of which were discussed in Issue 1, December 2011), it may be worth considering the implications of this increased ease to share images for both teachers and students. In Issue 2 the digital footprint being created when uploading images and geotagging will be discussed.

What is your digital footprint?

What is your digital footprint? What do your images say about you or your

students?

New Zealand Christmas Tree - Pohutukawa acbkiwi@gmail.com

Many cameras and smart phones store information (metadata) about your images. Some of the information isn’t that interesting to strangers on the net such as the camera make and model and information about the picture settings.

However, if you are using a Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled device, which is most smartphones, to take your images then this could be very interesting to a stranger as it leaves a high tech footprint of your movements by providing the coordinates (longitude and latitude) of where the photo was taken and at what time. © Amanda Benson, 2012 2

Geotagging and your digital footprint

What you or your students do with visual images affects the digital footprint that is being created for each image uploaded to the web.

What is your digital footprint?

The image itself is not the only information that you may be providing to a stranger on the web about your students or your students may be providing about themselves or each other. This may be something students need to be made aware of if they are analysing each others performance and are tempted to upload the image for others to see. Images captured on mobile devices very often leave a digital footprint unless this feature is turned off.

It is fairly easy to pull up a map, using for example Google Maps™ or Google Earth™ , using the longitude and latitude information and get a street view of where the image was taken. Potentially this provides details of where the student in the photo goes to school, their home or the local park or sports practice field, and therefore where these are located and when they are frequented and potentially a pattern of behaviour. And like all information that is uploaded to the web; once it is there it is difficult to take back.

So, what does your photo say about you or about

your student?

If you are intending sharing images and you don’t want or need to share the geotagging information then you can turn off the geotagging function in smartphones reasonably easily before taking the images and therefore they are not tagged with location information. If you are, for example, a surveyor it may be very useful to retain the geotagging information of an image so it will depend on what your plans for the image are once it is taken that will determine your decision on whether to leave on or turn off geotagging. Turning off this function is a little different in each type of phone. How to disable geotagging can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZcPQv_MDQ4

iPhone™ – settings, turn location services for photos or the ‘app’ you are using off.

Android™ – camera, store location, off OR GPS disabled, settings, location security, turn off ‘use

GPS satelittes’

Blackberry™ – camera, options, geotagging disabled.

If you want more information you can do a search for ‘disable geotagging’. If you happen to accidently turn GPS off completely instead of just for the photos then you won’t be able to use your maps if you use your smartphone for directions. Just turn the GPS back on and these will work again. If you have already taken photos that you are wanting to share then it is possible to download software that strips the metadata to create a privacy copy. Just do a search for remove metadata from photos and follow the instructions but it is easier to turn the geotagging function off before you take the images. Or a tutorial can be found at this link http://mobileactive.org/howtos/safer-photos-how-remove-location-information-mobile-images

What can you do about your Geotagging security?

© Amanda Benson, 2012 3

Recently there have been an increasing number of images taken using ‘apps’ (e.g. Burst Mode or Coach’s Eye) during Physical Education classes, from both Victoria and elsewhere, appearing in the public domain on sites such as Twitter™ and YouTube™.

Interestingly, the images are tagged as being from Physical Education classes and therefore it is very likely they were originally taken to provide students with feedback, enhance motivation for learning, provide opportunities to understand the theoretical application of basic biomechanical principles or for game analysis.

Given that privacy is an implicit attribute of the teaching profession it poses an interesting question about when and in what forum it is appropriate that images from classes are available on the web.

Perhaps a starting point from which to consider this is the likelihood of a teacher calling into the local shopping mall on their way home to place photos of their classes onto the notice boards and have the movie clips put onto the TV’s playing in the mall’s electronics store.

However, a far more likely scenario, and perhaps one for more lively debate, is that it is possible for teachers and students to, very easily and without much thought, upload images to an electronic medium (the web) that has a far larger and International audience compared with the local shopping mall.

The key attribute to consider may be what the original intent and consent for the use of the images was. The explosion of ‘apps’ that have the ability to quickly send or upload files creates an interesting dilemma for teachers and schools to consider. Many of you may have seen this cybersafety clip that very nicely links the use of posting images on a notice board with posting images on the web. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FIMO9QIckM

It may be a useful link to use with students or to share with colleagues to help think about what they will post and understand the reasons for some of the requirements of school policy if you are using for example digital analysis within class that could potentially be shared via the web.

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The Dilemma- to upload or not?

Budd:e cybersafety An Australian Government cybersafety initiative with Primary and Secondary School modules (teacher and student resources). https://budd-e.staysmartonline.gov.au/index.html

Cybersmart – An Australian Government initiative managed by Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Resources for teachers, students and parents. They also run professional development for teachers and pre-service teachers. www.cybersmart.gov.au Handywissen - using a mobile phone in school , handling risks and opportunities appropriately. Although this is an Austrian resource it poses some interesting questions, has practical advice and activity ideas. http://handywissen.at/uploads/media/Using_the_mobile_phone_in_school.pdf

Websites

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