1.
What does your Facebook
say about you?
Issues of privacy and security for students
and staff
Lyn Parker & Sheila
Webber
Information Literacy Network
event June 2008

2.
Issues
• Data privacy
• Data protection
• Intellectual property (yours & others)
• Ethical use of Facebook
• Academic vs. social relationships
• Should Facebook be used as a teaching tool?
6/10/2008 © The authors

3.
Organisations you care about,
or which might be held
Your (future) responsible for your actions
employers
Your identity
Organisations
making Your actions
judgements You & history
about you
Your creations
Your friends
and family Rights holders –
creators of
music, videos,
photos etc
6/10/2008 © The authors

4.
“Greater Manchester Police has become one of the
first forces in the country to use Facebook to
combat crime” 16 April 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7350804.stm
CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
“I've been speaking with August 6 2007
Dave Evans of the A Facebook cheating ring?
Information Commissioner's
Office about the issue of What happens on Facebook seldom stays
how easy it is to delete on Facebook, so the social networking site
would seem like a terrible place to
your profile should you organize a cheating ring. But a group of
wish to leave Facebook.” students at Cardiff University in Wales
Vallance (2008) may have done just that, campus officials
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ipm/2008/01
say.
/leaving_facebook_the_icos_conc.shtml
6/10/2008 © The authors

5.
Applications in/
connecting to
Facebook
Linking to profile
information within
Arrington, M. (2008) “He said
Facebook
she said in Google v.
Giving people freedom
Facebook.” Techcrunch. 15
to configure their data
May.
how they like? – or -
http://www.techcrunch.com/2
making Friends even
008/05/15/he-said-she-said-in-
more vulnerable?
google-v-facebook/
Our data seen as a
business asset
6/10/2008 © The authors

6.
Phishing
• Email that appears to come from your
bank, credit card company, or other
trusted organisations.
• Counterfeit website
• Both contain valid reason for logging in
with username and password
6/10/2008 © The authors

7.
Issues from participants’
discussion at event at
Sheffield University on 10
June 2008
6/10/2008 © The authors

8.
Changing (use of) learning
& communication tools
• Speed of access as opposed to (slower) Virtual Learning
Environment (VLE)
• Students’ speed of response to Facebook communications
• Discussion on Facebook rather than discussion groups on VLE
(move from VLE by students)
• Not technically suitable to support multiple groups
• Students no longer using University email account, regulations?!
(point also that is useful to have one contact point students know
they have to check)
• University need a SNS within a closed environment equivalent to
Facebook that can use as teaching tool
• Some staff felt strongly that Facebook should not be used for
teaching (perhaps: for learning but not for teaching?)
• Generation gap – what is the next favourite tool?
• Plagiarism, collusion versus sharing of ideas; private pages within
groups: not necessarily new behaviour, but becomes more visible?
6/10/2008 © The authors

9.
Security/ Privacy
• More guidance on privacy needed …
• Security, how much information are you sharing
about yourself!!!
• Beware of forcing people to do it as not closed
environment; peer pressure to have to join, miss
out if don’t, socially and academically
• Since it is not a university-controlled site – no
control over data, preservation of information for
marking
• Legislation issues over hosting country
Issues from participants’ discussion (continued)
6/10/2008 © The authors

10.
Academic/social use/roles
• Some student opinion: that Facebook is social only, and
NOT be used for academic work
• Beware of forcing people to do it as not closed
environment; though also peer pressure to have to join,
miss out if don’t, socially and academically
• Should staff be friends with students? Dilemmas occur:
whether / when to intervene or comment
• What is the staff’s responsibility for monitoring
discussion?
• Rate my Professor (and other sites with comments on
lecturers) – available previously, Facebook is not the
only place
• What action to take when there are offensive comments
about lecturers? Disciplinary; face to face meetings.
Issues from participants’ discussion (continued)
6/10/2008 © The authors

11.
Opportunities/ Positive uses…
• Ability to think through ideas and research
by discussion
• Communication with students – including
incoming students
• Sharing experience including with
academics, blurring of boundaries
Issues from participants’ discussion (continued)
6/10/2008 © The authors

12.
Examples of using Facebook
• Group on “Inclusive Curricula” – 100 students, 5 staff;
passionate about topic
• Management – Facebook group for 3 different cohorts,
posted material but little discussion
• CILASS Student Ambassador Network Facebook group,
joined but no discussion in group, rather takes place on
walls: can be useful for quick decisions
• Department of Information Studies – Optional group for
1st years to interact with Canadian students
Issues from participants’ discussion (final slide)
6/10/2008 © The authors

13.
Advice
and
guidelines…
…useful but not
enough…
Coming soon … student produced page with guidance about Facebook!
6/10/2008 © The authors

14.
Ofcom Report on Social
Networking April 2008
• Privacy and safety are not ‘top of mind’ for
most users
• All users, even those confident with ICT,
found settings difficult to understand and
manipulate
6/10/2008 © The authors

15.
Further discussion points
• How to support understanding of issues such as
data privacy, identity, intellectual property
• How to use Facebook as a tool for developing
information literacy skills e.g. sharing and using
information
• Use of different levels/modes of Facebook e.g.
groups without full disclosure
6/10/2008 © The authors

16.
Lyn Parker
l.a.parker@sheffield.ac.uk
Sheila Webber
s.webber@sheffield.ac.uk
6/10/2008 © The authors

17.
References
Get Safe Online Report (2007)
http://www.getsafeonline.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1469 Accessed 30th May 2008
Hogben, G. ed. (2007) Security issues and recommendations for online social
networks. ENISA Position Paper No. 1. Available from:
http://www.enisa.europa.eu/doc/pdf/deliverables/enisa_pp_social_networks.pdf
Accessed 30th May 2008
JISC (2007) Understanding the issues and benefits of social software.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/elearningpedagogy/iowpersonalsoftwarepdf.pdf
Accessed 30th May 2008
Ofcom (2008) Social networking.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/socialnetworking/
Accessed 30th May 2008
Russell, E. (2007) The Use of Facebook Functions and the Effect it Has on Other
Methods of Communication. MSc dissertation. Sheffield: University of Sheffield
Department of Information Studies. http://dagda.shef.ac.uk/dissertations/2006-
07/External/Russell_Edward_MScIM.pdf
6/10/2008 © The authors