Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Digital Ethics

Blogging is a very public activity. Anything that gets posted on the internet stays there. Forever. Deleting a post simply removes it from the blog it was posted to. Copies of the post may exist scattered all over the internet. I have come across posts from my students on blogs as far away as Sweden! That is why we are being so careful to respect your privacy and using first names only. We do not use pictures of ourselves. If you really want a graphic image associated with your posting use an avatar -- a picture of something that represents you but IS NOT of you.

Here are a few videos that illustrate some of what I want you to think about:



Two teachers in the U.S.A. worked with their classes to come up with a list of guidelines for student bloggers.

One of them, Bud Hunt, has these suggestions, among others:

  1. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for our blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.


  2. Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on our blog. Our blog exists as a public space on the Internet. Don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. For your safety, be careful what you say, too. Don’t give out your phone number or home address. This is particularly important to remember if you have a personal online journal or blog elsewhere.


  3. Again, your blog is a public space. And if you put it on the Internet, odds are really good that it will stay on the Internet. Always. That means ten years from now when you are looking for a job, it might be possible for an employer to discover some really hateful and immature things you said when you were younger and more prone to foolish things. Be sure that anything you write you are proud of. It can come back to haunt you if you don’t.


  4. Never link to something you haven’t read. While it isn’t your job to police the Internet, when you link to something, you should make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be creepy or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably try a different source.


Look over the guidelines and add your own, if you like, in the comments section below this post. I think Bud's suggestions are excellent. We'll be using the one's I highlighted above as a basis for how we will use our blog.

Cheers,
Mr. K.

16 comments:

  1. alright! first! so i watched the videos except the last video won't work on my computer for some reason...the link connecting to Steve's class rules or something didn't work as well...but yeah, i guess i agree with the rules for blogging...and i don't think there's anything i want to add...

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  2. I read the rules and watched the videos, and the last video wont work on my computer either. I agree with all the rules and dont have anything to add. (:

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  3. Well i watched all the videos and agree with the rules about blogging and do not plan to break them. All the videos worked sucessfully except the last one, it says the video is not there, so it has probably been deleted but I'm sure everyone gets the point. I have nothing to add either all the rules are straight forward :).

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  4. I've watched the videos and read the rules, although I couldn't view the last video or steves rules. I absolutely agree with the rules and don't really have anything to add right now.

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  5. These rules make sense and there's nothing I would change about them. I don't have any future plans to break those guidelines. I think that there's nothing much to add to this list. After four posts I'm sure it's very evident that the last video and the link to Steve's class don't work so yea.

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  6. i have watched the videos that were available and have read the guidelines by bud hunt. i totally agree to adhere to the guidelines and am fully responsbible for my actions. i don't plan to break the rules nor think that i should add anything to the rules. i think everyone can conceive the messages of the videos easily, so that is all =D

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  7. I watched the videos and read the rules. I'm tottaly down with everything!!! Everything makes sense and is straight forward!! Haul up the anchor on this blog and lets sail!! XD

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  8. I don't know if a short 'agreed!' will suffice so yes, I've watched all the videos that could be viewed (yeah, excluding the last one) and I've read the rules and I agree to follow them.

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  9. whoa, the videos were more effective than i thought! on the side note, i''ve read/understood the rules, and am more than willing to follow them. ohh and the steve rule link did't work for me as well. i dont know about the last video, i just watched until it the playlist stoped.

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  10. Ok i'm totally agree with the rules. i watched the video and like everybody, i couldn't watch the last video and couldn't connecting to the steve's rules. Anyway, have nothing to add about the rules

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  11. The videos and the rules all make sense and I promise to follow them. I have nothing more to add to the rules because it basically covered everything.

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  12. I've watched the videos, and read the rules, and I agree to follow them.

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  13. As with everybody else, the last video in the playlist along with the link to Steve's guidelines would not work for me~

    Again, along with everybody else I have read the guidelines and agree to the terms stated. There really isn't anything I feel the need to add because all grounds were basically covered.

    I must add though, those videos were pretty dramatic :O!

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  14. Finally on the blog! I agree with all the rules and find they are all well thought out.

    I also found the videos pretty strong and dramatic. They sent a strong message.

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  15. i watched the videos and read though the rules.( second time)
    Well I think I will try my best to not break any of these rules.

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  16. Hi Mr. Kuropatwa,

    Thanks for posting your this information about digital ethics. I am a graduate student studying education technology. Digital ethics, policy, and practice is still really new for teachers and school administrators. I see a clear benefit to using web 2.0 technologies in the classroom. However, some teachers, school administrators, and possibly parents are concerned about the dangers of using the open or public internet tools for classroom learning. What are the biggest concerns, problems, or dangers you have encountered regarding the use of such technologies. Is there unforeseeable legal liabilities? Do the students’ ages matter? Are there any misconceptions about using these technologies in the classroom?

    Thanks,
    Greg, ISU Grad Student

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