Reflect
Data ethics & critical inquiry
Overview
Synthesize your experiences from Activities 1 and 2 through guided reflection on personal geography, data ethics, and your relationship to place. Consider what your data reveals, who controls it, and what it means to see yourself as data.
How to Complete This Activity
Revisit Your Data Journey
Before reflecting, take 10 minutes to review your experience. Look back at your GPX tracks from Activity 1 and your visualizations from Activity 2. What stands out? What surprised you? What did you learn about your daily patterns?
Watch: Reflecting on Personal Data
Watch this video featuring educators discussing how to think critically about the data you've collected and what it reveals about your relationship to place.
Individual Written Reflection
Spend 15-20 minutes writing responses to 2-3 of the guiding questions below. Write freely—this is for your own thinking, not for grading. Focus on questions that resonate with your experience.
Consider the "So What?"
Now think critically: What does it mean that you generated all this data just by living your life? Who else might have access to similar data about you? How does it feel to see yourself represented as points and paths on a map?
Small Group Discussion
In groups of 3-4, share one insight from your reflection. Listen to how others experienced the same activities differently. Discuss: What patterns did you notice across the group? What surprised you about others' experiences?
Explore Data Ethics Concepts
Review the key concepts below (surveillance capitalism, informed consent, data sovereignty). Discuss with your group: How do these concepts connect to your experience collecting and visualizing your own data?
Whole Class Synthesis
As a class, discuss: What have we learned about personal geography? About data and privacy? About our relationship to the places we inhabit? What questions remain?
Personal Takeaways
End by writing 2-3 personal takeaways. How has this experience changed how you think about location data? About your daily geography? What, if anything, will you do differently?
Important Considerations
- Reflection can surface unexpected emotions. Some students may feel empowered by seeing their data; others may feel exposed or uncomfortable.
- Create a safe space for discussion. Students should share only what they're comfortable sharing.
- There are no "right answers" to these questions—the goal is thoughtful engagement, not correct conclusions.
- Connect personal experience to broader systems. Help students see how their individual data exists within larger contexts of surveillance, commerce, and social inequality.
Guiding Questions
What have I learned about myself through this data collection process?
How comfortable am I with companies having access to my location data?
What are the benefits and risks of location tracking at a societal level?
How might location data be used to discriminate or control?
What rights should people have over their personal geographic data?
How can we advocate for ethical data practices in our communities?
How does reflecting on personal data relate to concepts of fairness and privacy?
Key Concepts
Data Ethics
The branch of ethics that studies and evaluates moral problems related to data, including privacy, consent, and the fairness of data-driven systems.
Surveillance Capitalism
An economic system centered on the commodification of personal data, where companies profit from predicting and modifying human behavior.
Informed Consent
The principle that individuals should understand and agree to how their data is collected and used before participating in data collection.
Data Sovereignty
The concept that individuals or communities have the right to control data about themselves and their activities.
Algorithmic Bias
Systematic errors in computer systems that create unfair outcomes, often reflecting and amplifying existing social inequalities.
Mobility Capital
The ability to be mobile, influenced by access to transportation, physical ability, financial resources, and social networks.
Congratulations!
You've completed all three activities of the MaSelfS framework.