The Digital Citizen Acceptable use agreement details six facets of behaviour that a digital citizen should follow to be an appropriate and respectful digital citizen. The statements are kept deliberately broad and generalised and provide outlines for suitable behaviour.

As we are working to implement this, I have been asked to expand on the different aspects or facets and give the students some more concrete ideas about what they need to do to be respectful and protect themselves. So the list below represents some starting points for taking the Six facets of digital citizenship into the real world we operate in.

Respecting and Protecting yourself by:

1. looking after your hardware appropriately, carrying your laptop/mobile device in a bag, securing it in a safe place and keeping it charged

2. saving your work regularly

3. backing up important data regularly (recommended minimum is weekly)

4. scanning your computer for viruses regularly, update the virus definitions regularly.

5. applying patches and updates to your operating systems and software

6. selecting suitable online names, that you can use in professional communications

7. selecting strong passwords and changing these regularly. Recommendations are:

• 8 characters or more

• Number and letters

• Special characters

• Upper and lower case

8. protecting your passwords, don’t share these with anyone. Locking your computer.

9. managing your files

10. using descriptive file names

11. creating and organising into folders

12. considering what personal information is made public. This can be on your social networking site, when you sign up to services or register software.

13. only put required information in online profiles.

14. considering who you allow to be your friends online.

15. building positive relationships online, keeping these open and transparent. Being cautious in who we share information with and who we meet.

16. posting only material that portrays you in a positive light.

17. consider which images of yourself you publish

18. keep email addresses and personal details private

19. considering carefully when and where I use my credit card details etc

20. remembering anything you say online is public and usually permanent

21. reporting any attacks or inappropriate behaviour directed at you

22. acting with integrity and respect.

Respecting and Protecting others by:

1. reporting abuse to appropriate authorities when I see it.

2. not flaming or abusing people

3. not forwarding junk mail, spam or inappropriate materials

4. not visiting sites that are degrading or inappropriate

5. not entering private spaces or change other people pages

6. informing people appropriately when they have left open their profile etc

7. not using anyone else accounts, log ons etc.

8. asking permission before I publish images ot content that may contain details about other people.

9. respecting other people’s rights to privacy and anonymity

10. respecting the trust others have in me by protecting other people email, IM and skype addresses and contact details.

11. protecting other on my network by having a protected, updated and antivirus checked computer.

12. always acting with integrity and respect.

Respecting and Protecting Intellectual Property by:

1. having an understanding of the rules and laws applying to:

• copyright
• intellectual property
• Fair use
• creative commons

2. asking permission before I use materials and respect the owners decision regarding this material.

3. only using software and media that I have permission to use. This can be material made available under creative commons or the public domain, material I have purchased etc.

4. not sharing my media or software with others unless the license allows me to do this.

5. using free and open source alternative software and medias instead of pirating licensed or copy written ones.

6. registering my software and alway considering what information I need to provide the company. I will read the options and make sure that I understand that my information and details may be distributed and sold.

7. validating all information sources

8. citing my information sources using a suitable bibliography method.

9. giving credit to and acknowledge people and sources that have influenced my thinking or products.

10. Acting with integrity and respect

This is not meant to replace the six facets rather is an expansion and some detail on what each means. I would as always appreciate any feedback regarding this.

This material is available as a PDF or in an expanded form on the Edorigami wiki

]]> http://edorigami.edublogs.org/2009/10/29/digital-citizenship-aup-expanded/feed/ 3 http://edorigami.edublogs.org/2009/10/22/on-the-wire-12/ http://edorigami.edublogs.org/2009/10/22/on-the-wire-12/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:16:46 +0000 andrewch http://edorigami.edublogs.org/?p=1062 In this weeks catch from the net we have Mathematics and data sources, infographic maps, web 2.0 tools and more.

1. The Maths Apprentice - http://www.mathapprentice.com/Activity/explore.html – this is a fun primary and middle years site for mathematics. Directed at the younger audience. Worth considering using with an IWB.

2. Kids online – me and mymaths - http://www.kidsolr.com/math/math.html – again for the yiounger middle years audience, but a useful amth site with potential for IWB use too.

3. Dan’s Maths - http://www.dansmath.com/ – this sit is directed at the more senior school audience but is still applicable to midle school students

4. Maths helpAtube - http://www.mathatube.com/ – Video tutorialsa dn resources for mathematics – this is a great site well worth a forage. While not directly associated but worth investigating is teachertube – http://www.teachertube.com

5. US Government Data - http://www.data.gov/ this is a great source of accurate information and statistics. Applicable to mathematics, humanities and many other subject areas. This is a great resource.

6. Infographic Maps – http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/10/30-superb-examples-of-infographic-maps/ Web designer depot is a blog I subscribe to and it provide a wide range of interesting sites and resources. This one has some excellent examples of inforgraphics that are well worth looking at.

7. Ofcom report on Children and Media – http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumer/2009/10/more-children-have-broadband-in-the-bedroom/ OfCom is the Office of Communication in the UK. This offering is a report on Media and children. Here is one statistic worth considering “35 per cent of 12-15s and 16 per cent of 8-11s now have web access in their bedrooms“. Worth also visiting is the mashable post on net usage http://mashable.com/2009/10/14/net-usage-nielsen/

8. Online comic creation tool – Howtoons – http://www.howtoons.com/ – A nice online cartoon/comic tool which allows you to export as a PDF file. Free

9. How to give a lousy presentation – http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/aug2009/sb20090825_379576.htm This is one of those time to refelct articles. As you read through this post do you cringle a little?

As always these sites are also posted on my Delicious account - http://del.icio.us/achurches

Accessing recreational sites during classes and while at work is an issue facing employers [3] and schools alike. The cost, in dollar terms, can be huge and in lost productivity, is significant. Various strategies are employed to manage this but these are often ineffective, draconian or dictatorial. How can we manage this issue better?

The digital world we live in provides us with ample opportunities to work any where and conversely play anywhere. We often see our students sitting in the corridors, on the edge of wireless connectivity, web surfing during their break times, lunch hours and before and after school. The ubiquitous connectivity that modern devices presents us means that essentially we are online anytime. This is both a blessing and a curse.

Recent articles in ITNEWS[2] and the New Zealand Herald [1] have highlighted the cost that universal connectivity can bring to industry. IT News reported that as much as 40% of the companies bandwidth is used for non business related web activity.[2] The New Zealand Herald reported that this level of activity cost the New Zealand economy 2.7 million dollars a day.[1] At work, unlike school such activities can have huge repercussions for the work including dismissal [4].

As teachers, we must prepare our students for the world they live in now, but also for the world beyond the walls and boundaries of our institutions. This includes when it is appropriate to surf and when it is not.

The Digital Citizen [5] has an understanding of when and where it is appropriate to use the internet and online resources for recreational purposes. They know what time it is!

As teachers and administrators, we can help to develop and scaffold the self management skills and attitudes of our digital citizens. These will stand them well in the wider world beyond our gates. We do this, not by having restrictions, rather by gradually removing them; by encouraging an ethical approach to the use of technologies rather than applying draconian measures.

So how can we educate our students? Is it appropriate to unleash unfettered internet access on Middle School students? The answer is no. Students, particularly those in the middle years live in the now. They are in a period of great change, growth and are often experimenting and pushing boundaries. Here we need to provide guidelines and restrictions as they are often morally and ethically immature.

But as the students enter into the Senior School, it is appropriate to shift the focus of control from the teachers to the students. This is not to say “its all open, of you go” rather it is appropriate to gradually release the controls and shift the onus of responsibility on to the students.

We need to have clearly established guidelines for what is and is not acceptable, and we also need to be able to justify why these are not acceptable. For some aspects this is easy. For example surfing pornography is unacceptable for a number of reasons ranging from the legal to the ethical and moral aspects of it being an industry founded on abuse, portraying an unrealistic and inappropriate view of relationships and sex.

But what about facebook, myspace and other social networking sites? These are not fundamentally unethical. Often schools will block these sites as they are potentially opportunities for cyberbullying. But this strategy will not stop them being used for this rather it drives the practice underground and after school.

A better and more constructive approach to social networking sites (and other recreational sites) is to set clear guidelines for their use and make them available. Informing the students that the use of computers in class is strictly for educational purposes and other activities are detracting from their learning, sets the foundations for this. Informing them, Senior Students, that they can in their own time (before and after school, interval and lunch) access social networking/recreational sites, as long as their behaviour is appropriate and acceptable, brings the use of these sites from the realm of proxy tunnels and hidden activity and into the open. Student surfing and accessing social networking sites during learning time are suitably dealt with, while appropriate use in their own time is rewarded by continued access.

This style of approach prepares students for a world where the consequences of inappropriate activity are far more severe and potentially far reaching. We, as educators facilitate appropriate behaviours and chastise those that fail to reach these. The students who use technologies that bypass our restrictions are obviously accessing sites that are deemed unacceptable and inappropriate, rather than just trying to access their social networks or email.

The traditional approach of blocking just drives the behaviours underground and away from school environments. These approaches, blocking and banning do reduce the incidents at school but are hardly a holistic approach. Where as a partnership, based on trust and understanding, supported by the six facets of digital citizenship [5] makes the use of these site open, manageable and transparent. Students develop the skills and attitudes that will stand them in good stead beyond our gates, in the world of employment and further education.

References:

1. Hart. Steve, Saturday Jul 19, 2008 Slackers hurting net result http://www.nzherald.co.nz/employment/news/article.cfm?c_id=11&objectid=10522283
2. Williams Ian, Feb 11, 2009 IT Managers losing control of the network http://www.itnews.com.au/News/136844,it-managers-losing-control-of-the-network.aspx

3. staff writer 11 September 2007 facebooks costs businesses dear http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6989100.stm

4. staff writer Saturday, 25 April 2009 ‘Ill’ worker fired over Facebook http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8018329.stm

5. Churches, Andrew. The Digital Citizen. http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/The+Digital+Citizen

1. Microsoft Security Essentials -  http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/ This is a security package from Microsoft. It covers viruses, trojans rootkits etc. Its free, but you do need to be running windows genuine advantage.

2. Apple Apps store – http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20090928/apples-apps-flying-off-the-virtual-shelves-6-6-million-downloads-per-day/ This is an interesting article and for the collectors of statisitics its a good article. Current rate of downloads from the apple store 6.6 million per day. That is 275000 downloads per hour or approximately 4600 downloads per minute or 74 downloads a second.

3. Get body smart - http://www.getbodysmart.com/index.htm this is a good site for health, science and physical education. This is an online tool for anatomy

4. How Teens use Media – http://www.threebillion.com/?p=528 this is a nielson report on teenagers and their use of media. The report is hosted on scribd and if you are a member you can download this.

5. Khan Academy’s Science channel on You tube – http://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy – this is a series of videos from the Khan Academy hosted on youtube. Well worth a visit and seeing the various resources they have uploaded and shared – Well done guys!

Facebook and other social networking sites are for many, many administrators a bone of contention. Many look at it with a degree of fear and trepidation because of “potential” for inappropriate activity. This can be cyberbullying, bad publicity or just good old fashion time and resource wasting.  There is a large element of lack of control too. So as a direct result Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and a host of other sites are banned/blocked etc.

This school, like many is actively encouraging the senior students to bring their own digital devices and connect them to the wireless network – a facility called Senior WiFi has been made available. But with this proliferation of machines comes concerns and the conversation turned to “Should we block facebook”.

The answer was a resounding no – they could block it and other sites through the proxy server – but why. Instead the approach taken was this:

• Your laptops are your own property, you can bring them to school for educational use. This is a privilege
• Your use of them in class is for education.
• If you use them for other purposes in class you may have the privilege revoked
• at lunch, breaks or before and after school you use social networking sites that is fine as long as your use is appropriate
• If your use of technology is inappropriate there will be consequences.

This as a solution has transparency. It solves not only the social networking issues but actually address a wider range of issues to. Surfing hate/sex/porn/racist etc sites is inappropriate… Cyberbullying/flaming/outing etc are inappropriate. Students have to take ownership for their actions.

This is an excellent outcome. The students are free to make informed choices and therefore accept consequences of their actions. It is preparing them for a world beyond the school gates, where such actions – use of facebook etc  – can have severe consequence. It brings out into the open student actions, rather than using proxy anonymising sites to connect, students can connect directly(and this can be traced). Student have to manage and take ownership for their internet usage, behaviours and quota.

All in all very positive.

The background to the facebook post is a romantic liaison between two people. A matter that should be kept from the public domain. A matter only between the 2 people involved.

But a lack of fundamental understanding has led to this embarrassing point. Tracey has posted inadvertently her exploits to a wide and very public audience and concequently she is the subject of much humour and ridicule.

The privacy setting on facebook are weak at the best of times and even if she had set her Facebook as private, she would still have revealed far more than she intended to her circle of friends. Instead, with a click of a button she potentially shared this with everyone.

Some things are best said in person or using a media that is not easily recorded and replayed. This, I suspect, is one of them. As we have seen from email messages in a similar vein these two have an embarassing habit of becoming public discussion points.

The best point raised in this sorry incident is from here friend Donna “Seriously, did you think Facebook was private?“. If you consider anything you put in an email, webpage, tweet, post, comment or update to be in the public domain from the moment you send or post, you are probably correct.

Remember the adage – “Send in haste, repent at leisure“.

There is a thread rolling around that Tracey has been Hacked. Either way, whether this was accidental disclosure or deliberate act, there is a vital lesson to be learnt. A lesson that applies to each and everyone of us, digital natives, digital immigrants and digital emigrants too:

• Think before you post
• Does what I am saying have ramifications and repercussions
• Is it libellous, confidential, private or sensitive
• Who is my target audience? Who should see it and who could see it?
• What is the purpose of what I am sharing?
• Should I say it?
• Is this a considered & reasoned action or one in the heat of the moment?

The Author Samantha Rose-Hunt outlines 4 steps for this:

• Setting boundaries
• Ceasing notitifications
• Thinking of the other thinks you can be doing
• if all else fails blocking it.

This is good advice but it raises some wider questions for me as well.

There is too much of a good thing, Internet addiction is real and causes real issues. Games can be compelling and engaging and yes addictive. So the guidelines above are appropriate for many situations where people want to change.

But I wonder too about what is being percieved as too much time spent on social networks.

As a teenager my sister was notorious for occupying the Phone for hours, too the point of frustration for many of us and eventually rules were established to curb what was seen as excessive use. There were boundaries set for length of use, my sister had her calls filtered – mum or dad answered the phone, she (and also the rest of us by default) had specific times where we were able to talk.

At the time this was a major issue about the house. There was frustration and angst. I remember many comments that mirror the ones I hear now about social networks being spoken about my sisters “excessive” phone use.

Now of course we have cell phones and often more than one and we are forever on the phone.

I suspect that we are sitting in the same position now with social networks that we were 20-30 years ago with telephones. My sister by current standards was not being excessive in her use of the phone and in reality she was not spending a huge amount of time on the phone back then. But! But it was a change from what was deemed to be normal.

For many of us observing digital natives on social networking sites, those of us who are not as adept, it is easy to say they are not really communicating, it is a poor cousin to face to face communications and that this is a trivial waste of time.

But I suspect that the reality is different. The circle of friends and peers they interact with cover the globe. They are knowingly or not exposed to a wide range of cultures and experience that would not be available to them if they played F2F with their neighbours. In a world often dominated by media driven reporting of violence, conflict and war such social interactions have immense benefits.

I am not saying that a person should socialise only through social networks, far from it. There is a need for balance and moderation, but I suspect that what we are currently seeing as “excessive” will only be seen as this for a short period of time as we as a people and as a culture adapt to this new medium of communication.

The case has made headlines because of the the international nature of the crime involving people rather than just the revolting nature of the persons action.

One of the aspects that is proposed in the Digital Citizen is protecting yourself and particularly in considering  online name you select for yourself. The importance of this is highlighted here as the child in question called himself “tightass15″.

The names that user assume are often seen as reflections of how they are going to behave, act or want to be treated. I wonder how many students have labeled themselves with pseudonyms  which have unintentionally attracted attention from the abusers and predators.

Resources

http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Digital+Citizen+AUA

http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/The+Digital+Citizen

From the start this site concerns me. Omegle is a chat site that carries the banner “Talk to strangers”. Essentially you go to the site, start a chat and are randomly connected to a stranger. The stranger is anonymous (as are you) and the conversation is unmoderated. If the conversation gets bad you disconnect. Anecdotally students have told me that disconnecting, because of weird conversations, is a regular, actually very regular thing.

As an educator and as a parent this site is a great big concern. We try to teach our students the basic tenets of Digital Citizenship – respecting and protecting yourself. This site by its very nature presents places users at risk. And given the feedback from the students the conversations got “weird”.

Links:

• http://omegle.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omegle

Six tenets of Digital Citizenship

1. Respect Yourself. I will show respect for myself through my actions. I will select online names that are appropriate, I will consider the information and images that I post online. I will consider what personal information about my life, experiences, experimentation or relationships I post. I will not be obscene.
2. Protect Yourself. I will ensure that the information, images and materials I post online will not put me at risk. I will not publish my personal details, contact details or a schedule of my activities. I will report any attacks or inappropriate behaviour directed at me. I will protect passwords, accounts and resources.
3. Respect Others. I will show respect to others. I will not use electronic mediums to flame, bully, harass or stalk other people. I will show respect for other people in my choice of websites, I will not visit sites that are degrading, pornographic, racist or inappropriate. I will not abuse my rights of access and I will not enter other people’s private spaces or areas.
4. Protect Others. I will protect others by reporting abuse, not forwarding inappropriate materials or communications; and not visiting sites that are degrading, pornographic, racist or inappropriate.
5. Respect Intellectual property. I will request permission to use resources. I will suitably cite any and all use of websites, books, media etc. I will validate information. I will use and abide by the fair use rules.
6. Protect Intellectual Property. I will request to use the software and media others produce. I will use free and open source alternatives rather than pirating software. I will purchase, license and register all software. I will purchase my music and media, and refrain from distributing these in a manner that violates their licenses. I will act with integrity.

But with such easy access also comes responcibility. From my perspective the students need to be safe. By safe I do not mean wrapped in cotton wool and shielded, rather I mean they act in a manner that is both ethical and moral, they know what to do should they encounter unacceptable actions or material and know how they should act/publish/behave.

I believe that, like many things, schools are an appropriate place for young people to learn to use technologies like these. For us, as teachers, to overlook, avoid or ignore these opportunities does little to prepare our students for the world outside our campus. In a school environment, mistakes, misadventures and inappropriate activities can be dealt with in a manner that is supportive, controlled and appropriate. This can be lacking in the wider world we live in.

So here are my thoughts in the form of student website agreement:

These principles covers the use of web publishing through homepages, calendars, blogs and blog comments, wikis, podcasting & vodcasting, chatrooms and sharing files.

It is expected that you will always act in an ethical and moral manner.

Basis principles

• I will use the facilities for the purpose they were intended, my posts, comments and content will have an educational focus.

• I will respect and protect myself and others by ensuring that the content I add to my website shows me, my peers, the school and the wider community in the best light and perspective.

• I will not endanger myself or my peers by posting material that could put me or them at risk.

• I will moderate all comments posted on my blog. I will remove comments that are inappropriate or could cause offense to other people

• I will ensure that the material I upload does not violate anyones intellectual property and I will acknowledge the source of my materials.

• I will, in all matters, conduct myself as a young adult acting in a moral and ethical manner.

• I will always report abuse or inappropriate behaviour to safe guard my safety and the safety of my peers and community.

• I understand that all material published is not private and is subject to view by a wide range of people including members of the school as well as the wider community.

I leave you again with Dean Shareski’s quote

Source: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3557/3352272716_a42d75c0f5.jpg?v=0