Ethics & Legal Uses of Technology Barriers and Risks

Human beings can be inherently cruel, no matter what age they are. These videos and articles show just that. As a former camp counselor to 16 year olds, I've seen these exact interactions on a regular basis. It might not always be about the majority's belief that someone has defied morals, but about human nature's thirst to find the faults in others. Celebrities are constantly in the news for doing the same thing these girls did, and not once do we take a step back to realize they are people too. Even if what they've done is wrong, I doubt it was their intent for the world to catch a glimpse. Unfortunately we live in a world where teens look up to celebrities. If your favorite celebrity does something its pretty likely you'll see it as the "cool" thing to do. Due to this, it is of the utmost importance for parents and teachers to counter it. We can not assume all parents will warn their children of the dangers technology presents. Therefore, school assemblies, or other forms of programming should educate their students just to be sure. It is not simply about sexting. All people should practice proper digital citizenship, to ensure the safety of themselves and others. 

While technology has certainly helped to benefit the classroom experience, not all forms are always appropriate. As mentioned in the article about cellphone bans, technology has essentially become a necessity in today's world. In my personal opinion, while I agree that cell-phones can be disruptive, I understand they are a vital source of communication. Students should be allowed to carry phones, provided they are silent (not on vibrate) or powered off, and not utilized unless absolutely necessary. 

Fair Use

Fair use is a legal defense mechanism that allows one to utilize copyrighted sources, to an extent. Fair use may only be claimed if the nature, amount, and content fits a certain profile. You may borrow only a small amount of a given work, and you may not change the content in a manner that affects meaning or destroys initial work. According to Kate Thompson, "a copyrighted work can be used or copied for educational purposes as long as the use is not solely a substitute for purchasing the work" (Thompson, 2005 p.11). In the classroom, an example of fair use, would be showing a video of an archaeological dig to your students, during a lesson on ancient Egyptian tombs. This would be considered fair use because no fees are charged to view the film, the film contains facts that would certainly aid in the children's understanding of the topic, if the video is simply used as an additional resource and not the main source for the unit, and if the documentary was made for mostly educational purposes thus not expecting it to make much of a profit outside of the educational field. Credit must ALWAYS be given to he/she/they who created it. 

Thompson, K. A. (2005). Copyright 101. Learning & Leading with Technology, 32(7), 10-12.