TEAM PROJECTS

At the beginning of the course you will sign up for one of the Team Projects described below, indicating your first and second choices.* Each team will consist of  roughly 10 students who will work on the projects both in and out of class. Although the bulk of the time spent on the Projects will be in the Spring semester, students will need to meet certain milestones throughout the year. In addition to a tangible report, each team will orally present the completed Project to the class and to one other University group. The professors will act as Project facilitators and provide assistance as needed and appropriate. These projects are designed to (a) emphasize collaboration (b) foster planning, organizational, and group decision-making skills and (c) incorporate skills learned in the affiliated BlockU courses.

Project 1: A Personal and Composite Surveillance Footprint

For a consecutive four week period you will keep a daily log that documents the various surveillance and tracking systems and applications that monitor and/or collect personal information as you go about your everyday activities. The log should include time both on and off campus and cover all monitoring and collection of personal information (physical, electronic, online, etc.) of you by others. As a group, you will also design and conduct a survey of your peers on campus to determine what kinds of surveillance they are subjected to and their attitudes about surveillance and privacy. At the end of the collection period you will prepare a surveillance footprint of a “composite” person of your age that incorporates the information from the individual logs and survey results. A written report will be prepared summarizing the composite “surveillance footprint,” analyzing how realistic it is to avoid the systems identified and cataloging and discussing the benefits of the surveillance and any privacy tradeoffs. 

Project 2: A Surveillance Map of the University

You will design and prepare a map or other visual depiction noting the location of all the surveillance and other information gathering systems or devices in use on the University campus. This will include taking digital photos of each system (e.g. surveillance cameras, access card readers, etc.), noting their locations (e.g. GPS coordinates or locations within particular buildings), and plotting this data on a map. You will also individually describe the systems or devices, their purposes, how they operate, who has access to the data, how long the data is retained, what data security and other practices apply, and other operational information such as notices to the public about their use.

* We will work to have an even number of people on each team. Though we will make every attempt to see that you get to work on the project that is of most interest to you, we cannot guarantee that each student will get his or her first choice.