Overview

Our first unit will focus around social media, data, and privacy. If you're active on social media, you may already have experienced some of the issues we'll be talking about. If you're not, you'll have a chance to learn about them -- and to provide your perspective. 

This week, we'll start with two recent articles from The New York Times. The first is a news analysis piece published in the opinion section by New York Times technology reporter Natasha Singer. The second is a much older article by Singer that describes certain practices that some web sites use to record data or trick users. Because the first article was posted quite recently, I'm linking directly to them at the New York Times website. However, if you have any trouble accessing them there, they should also be available through the LBCC library article database. You can also e-mail me if you encounter any difficulty in accessing them.

Reading Online

Reading texts online requires a different type of attention than reading printed materials does. If you find it difficult to focus on the text on a screen, try these steps:

    four icons at the top of the NYT story; the arrow icon leads to a print option
  • Outline as you read by writing a quick numbered list (by hand or in a computer document) and then writing, in a few words, the main ideas of the paragraphs you're reading.
  • Summarize the reading after every few paragraphs or at every section break. Again, writing by hand or in a separate document may be useful.
  • Print the reading (there is a Share button at the top of the reading; you'll find a Print icon there. An example is at the right). 
  • Read the article out loud, or use a screen reader to read it to you.

However you choose to read, remember that active reading will require you to not just skim but also understand what you're reading. This means looking up definitions of words you don't understand and recording (through writing or other means) where you have questions about the texts.

The texts

Click on the title link to open the articles.

Singer, N. (2018, Sept. 22). Just don't call it privacy. The New York Times Sunday Review, SR4. 

Singer, N. (2016, May 14). When websites won't take no for an answer. The New York Times, BU3. 

آخر تعديل: الأحد، 23 سبتمبر 2018، 4:49 PM