Legal, Social, and Ethical Issues Tracy Valentine

Ethical issues for safety and security Social networking, acceptable use policies, netiquette, cyber bullying, student data, and internet privacy

Social Networking Not good since parents are not watching and students are not making good choices Teachers should: Eliminate use of social networking on school computers Do not “friend” students Do not use your social networking while around students

Acceptable Use Policies Signed papers by all students and parents States that technology should only be used for educational purposes and that the user will act appropriately and not violate any privacy or copyright laws Baltimore County Public Schools Student AUP

Acceptable Use Policies cont. Teachers should: Require students to have the Acceptable Use Policy signed Remind students of the policy before each use of technology Demonstrate your following of the Acceptable Use Policy

Netiquette Students need to use appropriate language and avoid profanity or other offensive language Do not reveal personal information of you or anyone else Teachers should: Demonstrate proper netiquette have students practice writing emails that use proper writing techniques

Cyber Bullying Students hurt other students feelings- those students do not want to come to school It is hard to notice when cyber bullying is occurring and students do not always tell when it is happening

Cyber Bullying cont. Teachers should: Have discussions on cyber bullying and the effects of it including suicide Discuss consequences of cyber bullying Have students create a pledge against cyber bullying Demonstrate behavior that is against cyber bullying cyber bullying video

Student Data Students and parents are allowed to view education records of students Student records are protected under federal law and are not able to be disclosed to anyone other than parents or students

Student Data cont. Teachers should: Be careful with student records and do not allow anyone without permission to see them Teach students the importance of protecting their information including social security number and other personal information

Internet Privacy Student information shown online Students looking into website that are not protected Cookies on students’ computers

Internet Privacy cont. Teachers should: Teach students the importance of keeping their information private Discuss with students that they should be aware that most websites they go on are not private Show students that you keep your information private on the internet

Gender, socio economic, race, resource equity, and teacher bias Digital Divide Gender, socio economic, race, resource equity, and teacher bias

Gender Ratio of girls to boys using computers is 1:4 Boys enjoy computer games and mechanical toys more Girls are less likely to ask questions and share answers than boys

Gender cont. Teachers should: Make sure you are treating boys and girls the same Encourage girls to explore online information and games Have boys help the girls or have the girls work in groups to use each other for help Look for things online that girls would be more interested in and guide them towards those things

Socio Economic Many schools with low SES do not have money for computers and technology Schools with high SES use technology a lot Gap between low and high SES gets larger Low SES homes do not have computers while other students might have computers

Socio Economic cont. Teachers should: Do not require internet or computer use unless all students have access to computers and internet Do not assume all students have basic knowledge of computers or know how to use one Work with all students to teach proper computer use

Race Minority students are less likely to have computers at home Minority students are less likely to have computers in their schools Some races have more control over computers and technology than others Some races have more knowledge of technology than others

Race cont. Teachers should: Work with minority students and do not assign work that needs a computer at home Have students work in groups if there are not enough computers Work with students who have lower skills on computers Use programs and websites that are open to multiple race users and information

Resource Equity Some schools do not have as many resources as others Not all students are receiving equal treatment with technology and learning Standards are made without availability of resources in mind

Resource Equity cont. Teachers should: Use all available resources with all students Design lessons based on the resources available Ensure all students equal opportunity to learn Use technology to assist students to become successful

Teacher Bias Teachers prefer girls over boys with technology Teachers prefer high SES over low SES with technology Teachers assign plans that favor some students’ success over all

Teacher Bias cont. Teachers should: Create lessons that allow all students to succeed Work with all students to ensure learning Use technology with all students to help learning Watch your preferences so you are not favoring some students over others

Legal Use of digital media Copyright, fair use, and creative commons

Copyright Students are using illegal information from the internet Students are spending less time doing homework and more time just using information they found Teachers use illegal information as teaching aids

Copyright cont. Teach students about copyright laws Follow the copyright laws when providing students with information Teach students how to properly cite information Teach students where they can find legal information to use

Fair Use Restrictions on usage of copyrighted material Students can use material for educational uses and personal uses for job interviews Teachers can use material for education benefits or presentations

Fair Use cont. Teachers should: Be aware of fair use policies Make students aware of fair use policies and how they can follow them Demonstrate for students how to follow these policies

Creative Commons Online website Allows teachers and students to search for legal material to use and change Allows teachers and students to post material to be used Gives access to information on sharing and using material

Creative Commons cont. Teach students how to use Creative Commons Use Creative Commons in the classroom Promote legal use of material through Creative Commons

Citations Allman, Tony. Mean Behind the Screen. Compass Point Books. Minnesota 2009. An Educator’s Guide to Gender Bias Issues. Accessed December 15, 2009. http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/wp/access/gender.html. Applying Fair Use to New Technologies Part 4 of an Education World series on copyright and fair use. Updated September 28, 2005. Accessed December 15, 2009. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280d.shtml. Baltimore County Public Schools: Telecommunications Acceptable Use Policy for Students. Accessed December 15, 2009. http://www.bcps.org/offices/oit/cbtia/secondary/acceptable%20use%20policy/acceptableusepolicyresource1.ppt.pdf.

Citations cont. Chesapeake Elementary Schools. Internet Privacy Policy. Accessed December 15, 2009. http://www.cpschools.com/privacy_policy.php. Copyright and K-12: Who Pays in the Network Era? Last updated September 19, 2001. Accessed December 15, 2009. http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Futures/rothman.html. Creative Commons. Accessed December 15, 2009. http://creativecommons.org/. Critical Issue: Ensuring Equitable Use of Education Technology. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Posted 1997. Accessed December 15, 2009. http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te400.htm.

Citations cont. Drucker, M. J. (2006). Commentary: Crossing the digital divide: How race, class, and culture matter. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 6(1), 43-45. Marker, G. (Nov-Dec 1996). Social studies and the Internet: developing a school policy.  The Social Studies, 87, n6. p.244(5). Retrieved December 15, 2009, from General Reference Center Gold via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=GRGM&userGroupName=baltcntycpl Protecting the privacy of student education records.  April 1997 v67 n4 p139(2)Journal of School Health, 67, n4. p.139(2). Retrieved December 15, 2009, from General Reference Center Gold via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=GRGM&userGroupName=baltcntycpl

Citations cont. Willard, Nancy. Insuring Students Privacy on the Internet. Accessed December 15, 2009. http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech120.shtml. WiredSafety is the world’s largest online safety and help group. Accessed December 15, 2009. http://www.wiredsafety.org/law/privacy.html.