Ethics: Are we being polite? Are we doing the right thing?
Brandon and Nathaniel
Joe: HEY MOLLY!
Molly: hey joe, whats up?
Joe: Not Much, doing some homework, IT'S SO BORING!
Joe: u?
Molly: ya i guess it is...
Molly: i'm studying for the up-coming test
...(and it continues)
Above is a typical online instant message conversation. According to online ethic experts onlinenetiquette.com, "etiquette online is a failing tradition." As shown above, Joe and Molly have two different ways of "talking." As you can tell by the all-caps words, Joe is yelling at Molly about how he feels. Molly on the other hand is being polite to Joe by typing in lower-case letters. Ethics, is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as , "the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group." In a one-to-one conversation, nobody would scream or yell at the other person. Using all-caps on the internet is the same as yelling. Joe did not demonstrate good online etiquette, or 'netiquette' as it is also known. In addition, conversations written in all-caps are difficult to read.
An online thesaurus,thesaurus.comit list synonyms that can replace 'ethics'. Words like:
Right and Wrong
Honesty
Honor
Rules of Conduct
The Golden Rule
As we see from these synonyms, the use of 'etiquette' and 'ethics' online can be used interchangeably.
Other common netiquettes include:
1. Keep emails, instant messages, blogs, websites, and anything else you post short and to the point. Nobodywants to read a long
email.
2. Words can be interpreted in anyway by the reader. As the
author, utilize smileys or emoticons to relaytone of voice.
3. As a reminder, anything that you post on the internet is
public domain and can be shown to anyone else on theinternet.
4. Honestly, use common sense. If you would not do it in public
or to a friend, then don't do it on the internet.
5. Know when to be quiet and when to talk (Sullivan)
6. Check you grammar (Sullivan)
7. Keep all personal information to yourself that you don't feel
your reader should know.
On the online blogspot:http://blogethics2004.blogspot.com/, the writer has numerous debates on ethics while blogging and other online rules/etiquette.
YouTube Video: what could happen if you abuse netiquette rules
On a much more serious ethical talk (however long overdue). Teachers and students also need to be aware of the ethics for technology. As technology is becoming more prevalent, so is the need for learning of what is expected of us. One of the biggest concerns is copywrite. Copywrite is becoming a bigger issue everyday with technongy. Today's students do not seem to be bothered by it, and they misinterpret how to quote someone else. There arewebsiteswhere you can upload a students's paper and see if it is someone else's work. Most of the time, students do not give credit for someone else's work when they quote. Teachers need to set an example and model correct copywrite behavior and acceptable standards of quotations. In order to do this we must keep ourselves updated on current materials dealing with the copyright issue. Just as laws in your state frequently change or are being added to, copyright laws are building. We must make sure that we are not breaking the rules because we are expecting our students to do things the right way. Hopefully we can portray some of those rules to abide by in our classroom, or give them the resources on where to find what is considered right or wrong in copyrighting. See thisblog about copywriting.
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