Objective: 

Students will explore ancient Greek governmental structures through role-play and evaluate the trade-offs between transparency and privacy in decision-making processes.

Materials Needed:

• Role cards for citizens, rulers, council members

• Conditional cards describing what actions can be taken based on the form of government (e.g., voting rights, decision-making authority)

• Discussion prompts about public versus private information in each government type

Steps:

• Introduction: 

  • Students explore Ancient Greece's government structures, including tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy, highlighting the key differences between them.

• Role Assignment: 

  • Assign each student a role as a citizen, ruler, or council member. 

  • Explain how their actions will be dictated by the form of government they are under, using conditional cards that describe the limits of their power or actions.

• Role-Play Activity: 

  • Students act out scenarios such as making laws or addressing crises, using their conditional cards to guide their actions. 

  • In democracy, citizens vote; in tyranny, the ruler decides, and so on. They also explore what information is made public (e.g., voting records) and what remains private (e.g., personal preferences).

• Debrief and Discussion: 

  • After the role-play, lead a discussion on how the different governmental systems handled information and decision-making. 

  • Ask students to reflect on the trade-offs between transparency and privacy in each system and how these concepts relate to modern issues like online privacy.

Equity and Access:

Offer alternative participation options for students who prefer not to act, such as observing and taking notes for the discussion. Ensure roles rotate to provide equitable speaking opportunities.

Real-World Application:

Connect the role-play to modern digital systems, such as online voting or social media, where decisions about what information is public or private affect privacy and security today.

CS Practice(s):

• Recognizing and Defining Computational Problems: Students identify how governmental systems can present privacy and security challenges similar to modern computing systems.

• Collaborating Around Computing: Students work together in a simulated government, experiencing how decisions about transparency and privacy must be made collectively.

Standard(s):

• CA HSS 6.4.2, 6.4.3

• CA CS 6-8.IC.24

Objective: 

Students will compare the privacy implications of modern technology laws under different Ancient Greek governmental structures through an online debate, developing their ability to assess privacy trade-offs in decision-making processes.

Materials Needed:

• Computers or tablets with internet access

• Digital discussion board platform (e.g., Google Classroom, Padlet)

• Role cards for democratic citizens, oligarchic leaders, and tyrants

• Guiding questions about modern technology laws and privacy (e.g., online voting, data collection)

Steps:

• Introduction: 

  • Students explore the various forms of government in Ancient Greece: democracy, oligarchy, and tyranny. 

  • Explain how each government type had different approaches to decision-making and public versus private information.

• Assign Roles: 

  • Students are assigned roles as citizens, council members, or rulers from a specific governmental system. 

  • Provide them with guiding questions about privacy and modern technology (e.g., "How should data from an online voting system be handled? Should personal voting information be public or private?").

• Digital Debate Setup: 

  • Set up an online discussion board where students can post their arguments. 

  • Encourage them to express the viewpoints of their assigned government system. 

  • For example, democratic citizens may advocate for transparency and public voting records, while oligarchic leaders may suggest restricting access to information for the sake of power consolidation.

• Debate and Collaboration: 

  • Students post responses, comment on each other’s ideas, and respond to counter-arguments based on their roles. The debate will evolve as students weigh the privacy implications of different laws in the context of their governmental system.

• Reflection and Conclusion: 

  • End the activity by facilitating a class discussion that compares the privacy and security concerns of Ancient Greek government types with modern privacy issues in technology. 

  • Students should reflect on the trade-offs between transparency and control that exist in both ancient governance and modern digital systems.

Equity and Access:

Ensure that all students have access to a device and the internet. Provide alternative ways to participate, such as submitting written responses, for students with limited access to digital tools.

Real-World Application:

Link the debate to current events, such as data privacy laws, social media, and government surveillance. Discuss how modern societies grapple with the same privacy versus transparency questions that ancient governments faced, especially in the digital age.

CS Practice(s):

• Communicating about Computing: Students articulate and debate the privacy implications of modern technologies, drawing parallels between ancient and contemporary governance.

• Recognizing and Defining Computational Problems: Students explore how governmental structures shape the privacy and security of citizens' data in digital systems.

Standard(s):

• CA HSS 6.4.2, 6.4.3

• CA CS 6-8.IC.24