Jurors Turn to the Web

The influence of technology is now reaching the legal system in the United States. In this week’s article we look at some of the problems that have been created in trials because of technology. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

What is your opinion about the way in which technology is being used by jurors? How would you solve the problem? If you were serving on a jury and learned of another juror doing one of the things described in the article, how would you react?

Jurors Article

Social Networking’s Silver Streak

Social networks like Facebook have a minimum age requirement, but these sites do not have a maximum age limitation. As older members join online social networks, younger users react in different ways. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

Think of friends of yours who have Facebook pages. If their grandparents saw those pages, would they get the wrong idea about what kind of people their grandchildren are? What impression would your parents or grandparents get if they saw your Facebook profile? How will the presence of older users affect Facebook and the people who post there? If you were to post 25 random things about you, what would be the most interesting and unexpected?

Silver Streak Article

Google’s New Privacy Controls

We are all used to seeing ads on Web pages as we surf. Google ads seem to be very popular and they frequently are related to the topic of the Web page that you are looking at. This week’s article discusses how Google accomplishes this feat and how its programs have changed to be more effective. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

How might “interest-based ads” be good or bad? What do you think about “retargeting?” What kinds of information that is tracked by Google and other search engines should be kept private and not used in determining ads to display? How useful will the disclosing text that Google is now putting on the bottom of its ads be to consumers? Is this something that all search engines should do with their ads? What choices would you make with Google’s ad preference manager?

Privacy Controls Article

Wireless World, Digital Divide

This week’s article looks at an interesting United Nations report about ICT (Information and Communications Technology). The report compares the use of technology resources in rich and poor countries over a period of years. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

What aspect of the report surprised you the most? Why do you think that there has been such a large increase in cell phone use in developing countries? What percentage of the people at our school do you think have broadband access to the Internet from their homes? What do you think will happen to people in poor countries if the digital divide continues as it has in recent years?

Wireless World Article