bryan short
Blackboard Connect: Exposed (Part 5)
The 30 business days that FIPPA allows for a public body to provide personal information expired on August 19th, 2016. I reached out to the University Office of Counsel and asked them when I was going to receive my data, and was informed that because of the “large volume of responsive records” that they’re dealing […]
Digital Identity Digest (August 14 – 20)
Hackers targeting medical records For most of us, our largest concern relating to digital security is exposing our banking information to cybercriminals. Whether it’s our credit card numbers our private chequing or savings account information, we’re willing to endure safeguards like chip and pin protocols and highly secretive passwords. However, and perhaps because of all these security […]
Blackboard Connect: Exposed (Part 4)
As I continue waiting for the return of my data from UBC’s Office of Counsel, I’ve begun examining the structure of the Connect system. For a Learning Management System, Connect effectively manages the amount of information that students can learn from it. The system is divided into three roles: that of the student, who creates the majority […]
Blackboard Connect: Exposed (Part 3)
Meaningful consent is a term that describes a certain level of understanding reached between a user and a service in order to qualify that agreement as fair and ethical. UBC, a publicly funded institution, should strive for the highest degree of meaningfulness in their user agreements by clearly explaining how their services operate to their users. Although there’s a difference […]
Apartment Rental Scam
My partner and I have been considering a move into a new rental apartment in Vancouver. The market is really competitive and we end up spending hours searching and not finding anything that meets our needs. So you can imagine our excitement when we finally discovered the perfect apartment at a great price. We emailed the person who had posted […]
Blackboard Connect: Exposed (Part 2)
(This post is the second in a series on UBC’s Learning Management System, Blackboard Connect. The first is viewable here.) I’ve received a response from the Office of University Counsel about my Freedom of Information (FOI) request. They’ve informed me that my request has been processed and will be returned by August 19th—thirty working days […]
The Peter Klein Interview
The Digital Tattoo sits down with Emmy-award winning journalist, founder of the Global Reporting Centre, and UBC professor Peter Klein to discuss the media’s changing landscape. He covers topics like how stories are being told, for what reasons, by whom, and will be incorporating it all into his course, JRNL 100A: New Media and Society.
The Internet’s Most Valuable Product
You’ve likely heard the old adage, “If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product.” Although the quote’s originator is unknown, it has been around since before the Internet boom of the 1990s. The phrase could have been said when cable television first began broadcasting over the airwaves. It could have been said during the first radio […]
UBC Streeters: Pokémon Go
We haven’t been able to avoid the hysteria surrounding Pokémon Go. Just outside the doors of Irving K. Barber library, crowds of students with their faces glued to their phones have been gathering around the fountain and under the clock tower. They’re all searching for Pokémon, and apparently the area is swarming with them. We talked with […]
Blackboard Connect: Exposed (Part 1)
Have you ever wondered how much and what kind of information is being collected when you use Connect? Maybe you’ve taken an online course and wondered how your participation grade was calculated? Your instructor might claim that it’s based on posts in the discussion forum, but the metrics probably go far deeper than that. It’s not as simple as […]
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