 Are our schools filled with budding cyber criminals unaware of the consequences of their online activities? Should educators scramble to institute a formal cyber ethics curriculum? Or should schools ban the use of the Internet? Read what one expert says! Included: Ten guidelines of computer ethics, online resources for teaching ethics and Internet safety, and eight tips for establishing a "culture of proper use" of technology in the classroom!
High School Student Arrested for Online Investment Fraud
A 14-year-old recently purchased inexpensive stocks, lied about their
potential value in an investment chat room, and reaped hundreds of thousands
of dollars when other investors bought his lies -- and the stocks!
Poll Reveals Kids Think Hacking Is OK!
Nearly half the elementary and middle school students who responded to
a recent poll conducted by Scholastic, Inc., said they don't believe hacking
is a crime.
Cyber Ethics Conference Convened in Maryland!
In 2000, the Cyber Citizen Partnership, a joint effort of the U.S. Department
of Justice and the Technology Association of America, sponsored the first-ever
national conference on cyber ethics.
FBI Calls for Cyber Ethics Curriculum!
At the conclusion of the recent cyber ethics conference, the FBI called
on educators to institute programs to teach cyber ethics in schools.
Is cyber crime an epidemic? Are our schools filled
with budding cyber criminals unaware of, or unconcerned with, the consequences
of their online activities? Should educators scramble to institute a formal
cyber ethics curriculum? Or should schools simply ban the use of the Internet?
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1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files.
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.
7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.
9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write or the system you design.
10. Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration of and respect for your fellow humans.
Copyright: Computer Ethics Institute Author: Dr. Ramon C. Barquin
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The answer to all those questions is no, according to Jerry Crystal, technology
coordinator at Carmen Arace Middle School in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Educators
do need to address cyber ethics, Crystal told Education World, but they
can address it in the context of their current curriculum and incorporate
the lessons into ongoing programs.
Crystal should know. At Carmen Arace, a school with a minority population
of nearly 90 percent, every one of the school's students is provided with
a laptop with Internet access at the beginning of the school year -- and
every teacher is expected to integrate technology into the curriculum.
"Every teacher at the school teaches technology," Crystal told Education
World, "and every instructional team at the school has a regular tech
time each week. During that time, teachers learn to deal with all sorts
of technology issues, including cyber ethics."
For more information about the Carmen Arace laptop program,
see the Education World story
Laptops Change Curriculum -- and Students.
What are the cyber ethics issues Carmen Arace teachers must deal with?
According to Crystal, the most common problem isn't hacking (illegally
accessing Web sites) or cracking (vandalizing Web sites); It's the unauthorized
downloading of games and software.
"We deal with those cases by making students aware that how technology
is used is as much an ethical issue as hacking or cracking," Crystal said.
"If everyone does whatever they want on a network, it uses up a ton of
space and interferes with other users. ... If they download a virus along
with the software, they risk destroying the entire system -- incurring
a tremendous financial loss."
Another ethical issue that educators at Carmen Arace, and most other
schools, deal with is the misuse of intellectual property, or copyright
violations.
"In those cases, we make the issue personally relevant," Crystal said.
"We put student work on our Web site to help get across the point that
they are creators of online intellectual property. Then we discuss how
they would feel if their work was copied by someone else without their
permission."
The use of inappropriate Web sites is a problem that has received a
great deal of press. At Carmen Arace, where students frequently use the
Internet as textbooks, most research involves directed searches at sites
provided by the teacher.
Students also surf the Web, but that's much less of a problem than you
might expect. The school uses a filtering program, but "for the most part,
our kids don't want to go to porno places," Crystal noted. "They're more
interested in sports, music, and game sites. We've found that a better
protector against inappropriate Web sites is establishing a culture of
proper use of the technology."
The best time to begin establishing a culture of proper use is the first
day you introduce your students to technology, Crystal said, pointing
out that teaching good practices is much easier than eliminating bad ones.
If technology is already an established part of your students' educational
experience, however, he recommends starting over with a clean slate.
"Develop a detailed universal plan for technology use and lay it out
for everyone at once," said Crystal. "Hold training sessions for parents
and kids together. Show videos and discuss the issues. Make it clear to
everyone that the ethical rules they live by also apply to technology."
"Above all," Crystal said, "don't separate the online world and the
offline world. Try to blend them together. It's the same world online
and off. Just because there's a sense of anonymity online doesn't mean
the rules change."
The middle school is the ideal place to focus on cyber ethics, Crystal
believes, because that is where kids begin to develop their awareness
of ethical behavior. "If we provide positive images and effectively communicate
ethical values in all areas of their lives, those values will be reflected
in the technological environment as well. How we teach kids to view themselves
and their use of technology at this level is what they will carry with
them into adulthood," he said.
Crystal offers these suggestions for incorporating cyber ethics into
the classroom culture:
- Draw parallels between the real world and the electronic world. Make
direct comparisons between what students do on the Internet and how
they behave in their daily lives.
- Involve students in constructive activities. Ask them to develop
ten rules for a classroom acceptable use policy, for example.
- Post a written acceptable use policy in your classroom, and include
the consequences for violating it.
- Reinforce proper behavior. Treat offenses as mistakes rather than
"crimes," especially in the beginning.
- Assign students to work with technology buddies, other students who
have already worked with technology and will set a good example. Peers
can help sell a point that students might not accept from adults. In
addition, kids who are working together are less likely to get off task.
- Take advantage of every teachable moment. You can't overstate the
issue.
- Don't model inappropriate behavior.
- Instill a sense of responsibility, point out the real costs of misusing
technology, and express a belief in students' ability to handle technology
properly. Students will live up to or down to your expectations.
Wouldn't it be easier to simply ban Internet use in the classroom, or
at least limit its use to areas where strict supervision can be provided?
Crystal doesn't think so.
"Since we've begun providing students with laptops, the school has seen
a dramatic decrease in discipline problems," he told Education World.
"In- and out-of-school suspensions are way down, as are student and teacher
absenteeism. Connecticut Mastery Test scores -- especially reading scores
-- have risen, and our media center director says that more books are
checked out every year. Kids are more actively involved in research through
project-based activities, teachers are more active, and students are less
bored. Intelligent use of technology gives kids groundwork and framework
-- and provides the opportunity to reinforce the value of ethical behavior
in all areas of their lives.
"The Internet," Crystal said, "has often been compared to Pandora's
box, which when opened released a multitude of evils -- and only a single
good quality -- into the world. The difference between Pandora's box and
the Internet is that the Internet provides kids with an overwhelming amount
of good information and opportunities for positive use. We can protect
kids against the few evils that emerge by teaching them how to use technology
in positive and ethical ways."
The following Web sites provide information and activities you can use
to teach kids about the ethical use of technology.
Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2000 Education World
Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2003 Education World
Updated 08/04/2005
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