Technology+Report

** __Technology Report__ ** // By: Cherie Stanley // // EDLD 5306 Cohort 19 // Technology ethics is a real concern among the educational realm. Many students spend their time trying to find something for free. Freebies are always good, but not at the expense of someone else’s hard work. When a student steals a game, the person who created that game is the one who loses out. It is the educators job to help the students to better understand why it is wrong and unethical to download songs that they did not pay for, or find websites to bypass the districts internet filters. Students are unaware of the dangers involved, including legal danger. We need to help them understand, not just tell them they cannot do it. The Computer Ethics Institute (2008) created a “Ten Commandments” list for computer ethics. This list should be displayed near every computer in the district. It is as follows: “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 computer 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 social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are designing. 10. Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for fellow humans.” This list is a great example of what good technology ethics looks like. Educators hear students talk about the different ways they have found to copy illegal software, copy other people’s work, or get around the school’s internet filter. We need to pull up this list and explain why those things are wrong, and what consequences they could be facing. Ethics is basically right from wrong. So many of our students are not being taught this at home. Some are even encouraged to participate in the wrong behaviors. We must integrate ethics lessons as often as we can in the wrong behaviors. We must integrate ethics lessons as often as possible into out district’s daily teachings. Ethics can be taught in science, math, geology, and even band class. Students come to us knowing how to “beat the system”. It is the educator’s job to prevent this from happening any longer. Mendels (2000) states, “schools have been so absorbed in bringing technology to the classrooms that ethics have often been neglected.” It is essential that districts adopt an ethics policy to be enforced in every classroom. The negative ramifications could be devastating in the end. A crash course in ethics will not do justice to the problem we’re faced with. The lessons over ethics will need to be in place and consistently reinforced on a daily basis. Ethics need to be embedded into the student’s brains. They need to understand that they are hurting others when they make poor choices. The Code of Technology Ethics for Educators (2001) is a lengthy and thorough document that each school district should introduce to every employee. The document states that, “not only must educators exhibit ethical excellence in how technology is used in their profession, but educators must instill the same standards in their students.” As with many aspects of school like it starts at the top. Educators must model the appropriate use of technology. When students are exposed to excellence they will duplicate excellence. When they see that there is a no tolerance policy for technology ethics, they will respect the process. REFERENCES: Barcalow, T., et al. (2001). Code of Technology Ethics for Educators. Mendels, P. (2000). Technology Cyber Times: Online Ethics Should Begin in Classroom, Educators Say. // New York Times, //February 16, 2000. The Computer Ethics Institute. (2008). The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics.