You are responsible for completing the following deliverables this semester.
Engagement
Success in this course will require you to do more than simply appear in class twice a week and answer an occasional question. I expect that all of my students will be prepared to actively participate in our in class discussions since that is a key way to take as much away from the course as possible. Please review the Engagement Rubric in the Engagement section of this site.
Our conversations are ongoing so you must engage your classmates with commentary, reaction and/or analysis both in class and online. Remember, conversation ” … is a form of interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people …” and generally, ” … written exchanges are usually not referred to as conversations.” The good news is that Slack will allow us to engage in either synchronous or asynchronous written exchanges that will stand in for conversations.
Privacy Policy Analysis
You will complete this deliverable by posting your analysis via Slack DM.
Each student will select a technology company and analyze its privacy policy. Each analysis (in a minimum of 1,500 words) will identify and discuss specific aspects of the policy including, but not limited to, the information collected about users, such as contact, demographic, IP, interactions with third party and/or other tracking functionality, if, and what, clickstream data is collected, length of retention once the data is collected, what access and control users have over all of the different types of data collected about them, policies related to the sharing of data with affiliates, contractors and other third parties, the use and transferability of user data in the event of a merger or bankruptcy and any data enhancement made through the purchase of additional information about users from alternative sources.
I will evaluate your level of engagement, the clarity of your writing, spelling and grammar, your success in writing on a digital platform, appearance and satisfaction of form requirements; articulation of all potential issues developed and the quality and depth of analysis when assessing your submissions.
Please refer to the Course Schedule and calendar for details related to the submission schedule.
Privacy and Technology Analysis
You will complete this deliverable by posting your materials to the appropriate channel in Slack.
You will join a team that will be responsible for the management of all aspects of a project analyzing a technology that creates a privacy issue. The project topics include surveillance technologies, open source citizen-supplied data, private-sector data aggregators, genomic testing, biometrics and location tracking. You will develop a narrative and the materials necessary to support the project. The narrative (in a minimum of 2,500 words) and associated materials should include, but not be limited to (a) a description of the technology, (b) a discussion of the privacy issues related to the technology, (c) potential solutions to the issues described in (b) and (d) a discussion that provides context for the issues presented from a legal, social, cultural and political perspective. Each team will communicate their analysis, including supporting materials to their classmates and then lead a discussion of their project during class. Deadlines related to the project can be found in the Course Schedule.
The PTA Project will consist of four phases including a project proposal, project draft, video and discussion of each team’s project. Each narrative will address the legal, ethical and cultural implications raised by the project.
- Phase 1: Prepare a project proposal, including preliminary source materials, discussing and providing background on the team topic. The objective of this phase is to provide the materials necessary to fully describe the subject matter of the project.
- Phase 2: Prepare a draft narrative that further develops the information developed through the project proposal.
- Phase 3: Submit final PTA Project narrative.
- Phase 4: PTA Project presentations.
All phases will be available for review to allow the entire class to fully prepare for each team’s PTA Project presentation.
You will use your team’s Slack PTA channel to memorialize your discussions and supporting materials including, for example, web sources, documents and multimedia content for each project. Your final submission will be prepared using the post function in Slack. You will find resources related to composing and formatting posts at the Slack Help Center. Be sure to carefully review the materials included in Writing on a Digital Platform and Writing and Research. Never post a Word or Google doc.
I will evaluate your level of engagement, the clarity of your writing, spelling and grammar, your success in writing on a digital platform, appearance and satisfaction of form requirements; articulation of all potential issues developed and the quality and depth of analysis when assessing your submissions.
Please refer to the Course Schedule and calendar for details related to the submission schedule.
Case Simulation
You will complete Phase 1 of this deliverable by posting your memo to the appropriate channel in Slack.
We will complete two case simulations this semester. Links to the materials related to each case simulations are in the Course Schedule.
Each case simulation requires two phases.
The first phase will require you to review materials in the text. You will also study a case that examines issues related to the simulation topic, focusing on facts, a statutory excerpt and case law. Based on your knowledge of the particular area of law as a whole, you will then compose a neutral memorandum (not to exceed 750 words) that outlines each legal issue present with a short explanation of the applicable legal rules or doctrine. The sources of law for this memorandum are the text’s chapter on the area of law as well as any applicable statutory and case law. Your perspective is not that of an advocate. Rather, your analysis is as objective as possible in spotting any and all potential issues that could arise in the case and opine as to the likelihood of success on each point. You will complete this phase of the assignment individually. Be sure to carefully review the materials included in Writing on a Digital Platform and Writing and Research. Never post a Word or Google doc.
During the second phase you will prepare for an in-class Q & A discussion of the issues presented by the materials included in the first phase. You will be assigned to a team that will advocate for one side or the other during the discussion.
I will evaluate the following factors when I assess your contributions to the simulations:
- Phase 1: Assessment will be based on the clarity of your writing, spelling and grammar, document appearance and satisfaction of form requirements; articulation of all potential issues presented and the quality and depth of analysis. You will complete Phase 1 individually. Your issues memorandum should reflect a thoughtful, substantive and well-reasoned summary; and
- Phase 2: Assessment will be based on your mastery of the issues under consideration, contribution to the preparatory work of your team and participation in the give and take of the in-class discussion.
Grading
The following weights will be assigned to each component of your final grade:
- Engagement (20%)
- Privacy Policy Analysis (20%)
- Privacy and Technology Analysis (20%)
- Case Simulation #1 (20%)
- Case Simulation #2 (20%)