EDTC 6433 TEACHING DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP ISSUES OF LEGAL USE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Autumn 2017

How can I demonstrate and teach my students a) legal and ethical behavior regarding the use of online resources such as images, music, videos, and documents; and b) social responsibilities that accompany an online presence?

PowerPoint presentations, Prezis, digital storytelling, YouTube videos: these are all wonderful ways for students to use technology to integrate digital tools and media with content in a creative form of expression. However, with these formats comes another facet of technology that students must learn: not everything online is available for use. Images, music and other audio resources, videos, and documents such as articles, textbooks, and handouts, may be placed online for viewers to see, not share, modify, alter, or use personally or commercially. Students must be taught

Digital Law: As in Real Life (RL), if something is taken which has value, it is stealing. Students need to see the connection between RL (Real Life) and OL (Online Life) and understand that those basic laws apply to the OL, as well as the RL. (Ribble & Miller, 2013, p. 140)

Waters & Burt’s (2017) The Educator's Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons is a great place to start for clear definitions of these terms, as well as helpful videos that are appropriate for teachers and students alike. It also explains Creative Commons as “an organization which provides free content license known as a creative commons license that people can apply to their work,” allowing “everyone to share and adapt creative work without the concern of copyright infringement” (Waters & Burt, 2017). One particular resource recommended is Photos for Class,  a search engine for student-safe images in Creative Commons Flickr. One great feature in Photos for Class is the automatic watermarked image that states the name and author of the image, a link to the original, and the licensing allowing it to be used:

Not only is this an easy way for students to learn how to correctly attribute the author of works with “no worry about plagiarism or stolen work” (Photos for Class), it is a great way for teachers to quickly check if a student’s work is properly shared and cited. Using Photos for Class imagery in my own presentations would model these techniques for students as well. My classmate also recommended 11 Free Resources For Your Next Presentation with 11 different links to websites offering free use of photographs, including animated characters, vintage, and abstract, giving students even more opportunities to stretch their creativity legally.

In addition to considerations concerning Digital Law, teachers must also address:

Digital Etiquette: Starting at a young age, educational leaders need to begin make [sic] parallels for students between being good to each other both in the classroom and in the digital world.” (Ribble & Miller, 2013, p. 139)

Ribble & Miller (2013) discuss the connection between technology misuse and lack of empathy:

Increased exposure to media content (three times more than in the past) was mentioned, and the increase of violent media that “numbs people to the pain of others” [11, p.2]. In addition, the lack of face-to-face interaction can serve to dehumanize the other person, adding to this lack of emotional connection. (p. 139)

Gimenez Gualdo, Hunter, Durkin, Arnaiz, & Maquilon (2015) also noted “that the absence of direct contact between perpetrator and victim lowers the cyberbully’s emotional engagement regarding feelings of remorse” (p. 232). In light of this, it seems clear that, much like teachers must teach the similarities of Real Life and Online Life with regards to digital law (Ribble & Miller, 2013, p.140), teachers must teach the similarities between cruelty on the playground and cruelty online.

             Common Sense Education  has a K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum “designed to empower students to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly in our digital world” (https://www.commonsense.org/education/scope-and-sequence). With units entitled “Turn Down the Dial on Cyberbullying” and “My Online Code: What does it mean to do the right thing online?” this curriculum covers social responsibility, safety, privacy, and copyright laws organized by grade level. Each lesson is aligned with Common Core State Standards, ISTE Standards, lesson objectives, and assessments. The lesson plan may include videos and handouts as well, and the materials are free. Teachers can use these in the classroom before students begin a media project or online search, or even at the beginning of the school year when classroom expectations regarding cell phone and technology use are explained. I can also imagine beginning the school year with a small group activity where each group creates a short presentation covering different topics such as copyright law, public domain, internet privacy, etc. Each group could share their presentation, and then everyone in the class would learn from each other about digital law concerning the use of online images, music, videos, and documents, and digital etiquette, including cyberbullying, privacy, safety, and other aspects of online social responsibility.

Gimenez Gualdo, A.M., Hunter, S.C., Durkin, K., Arnaiz, P. & Maquilon, J.J. (2015). The emotional impact of cyberbullying: Differences in perceptions and experiences as a function of role. Computers and Education 82, 228-235.

Ribble, M. & Miller, T.N. (2013). Educational Leadership in an Online World: Connecting Students to Technology Responsibly, Safely, and Ethically. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 17(1), 137-145.

Waters, S. & Burt, R. (2017, January 20). The Educator’s Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons. The Edublogger. Retrieved from https://www.theedublogger.com/2017/01/20/copyright-fair-use-and-creative-commons/