Thing Five

Thing Five

We see students who are reeling from results of what we are discussing in Thing Five on a daily basis. At the middle school level, students are adept at interacting in social media settings and texting, and they often do this interacting without thinking about what happens after they hit the "send" button. We have all hit that button with regret at some point or other, with that "Oh, no!" just as soon as we have done so. One of the videos I watched talked about TONE; this is something that students don't understand yet but is something that holds such meaning in messages as people read them. I know that I make a point of rereading messages to be sure that they have tone that won't be "misheard."

Who should be teaching students digital citizenship? I suppose that every teacher who asks students to accomplish a task using computers should be doing this. If we are asking them to use the tool, we should teach them how to do this appropriately. They should know digital etiquette, just as if we expected them to behave in public. We, as teachers and parents, should abide by those same standards. Children really do learn by example.

I found a cool thing in my search during Thing Five that does its own take on the Ten Commandments; this has much of the same idea we are discussing here in this Thing.  I would like to share it here.

Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics

 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 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 the social consequences of the program you write or the system you design.

10. Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration of and respect for your fellow humans.

Barquin, Dr. Ramon C. "Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics." Online posting. Educator's World: The Educator's Best Friend. Educator's World: The Educator's Best Friend. Linda Starr, 14 July 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2012.

Continue to surf in good conscience!