Ethical+Issues

(Photo from: Google Images)

**Social Networking:**
People have always networked as a form of communication to expand their business and social contacts. With the expansion of the internet, social networking has evolved as an efficient means of reaching a wide variety of people living all around the World. Websites like Facebook and Twitter allow a person to create a profile and "find friends" or "follow" individuals and speak to them effortlessly. The problem with social networking sites is that students and teachers alike can have inappropriate pictures, quotes, posts, etc. on their page because they don't fully comprehend the seriousness of their actions. Unless made explicitly private, which requires the user have an extensive knowledge of how the website works, Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts can be viewed by anyone that has set up their own account (something that is as simple as having a working e-mail address). This means that if a new teacher has pictures of themselves from college behaving unfavorably, their students and the parents of their students could view these pictures. Another issue with social networking websites is that many students are using them at inappropriate times during scheduled class time. For example, a student may have his or her class in the computer lab trying to teach them about a new software that increases their note taking ability and could benefit a student greatly. However, if the school doesn't have these social networking sites blocked the students may spend the entire class period social networking and not hearing the information that would benefit them greatly. Other problems with social networking are that it puts a lot of your personal information on the internet for virtually anyone and can also be a platform in which cyber bullying takes place. I've elaborated on both of these topics below.

**Acceptable Use Policies & What teachers can do:**
Acceptable use policies should be a subtopic in each school's student handbook or code of conduct booklet. Teachers should go over the acceptable use policies with students at the beginning of every school year, and should frequently refer to the guidelines outlined in it. As technologies are ever evolving and changing, so too should a school's acceptable use policies. Administrators and faculty should meet at least twice a year to discuss the policies. Teachers should take these meetings seriously and should provide constructive advice and ideas that would both protect their students safety and promote an encouraging learning environment. Creating and editing the policies would be a fruitless effort if the teachers didn't strictly enforce them. Enforcement of the policies is as important as having the policies. Teachers should always be present when students are using any sort of technology, and students' use should be actively monitored. Students are often very methodical when doing things that they know are not permitted.

**Netiquette**
First and foremost, be sure to follow all laws regarding your use and always respect whoever you are sharing information with over the internet. When using a computer, it is easy to forget that you're interacting with real people. It is also extremely difficult to translate someone's intended tone, or to portray your own tone. It is vitally important to remember that once something is shared on the internet it can never be removed. Although whomever uploaded it to the internet may think that they have erased it's origin, there is a strong possibility that someone else saw it and saved it without the original person ever knowing. A good rule to follow is; never post anything to the internet that you wouldn't say to both someone's face or in front of your grandmother.

**Cyber Bullying**
Below is a video made by the people at WiredSafety.org that fully explains what cyberbullying is and its impact. media type="youtube" key="T38-9OCDrP4" height="355" width="425"

**Student Data**
Student data can be defined as demographic or personal information, grades, scores, or comments about a particular student. Student data is protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA 1988) which has been updated regularly as technology has evolved. A vast number of teachers have made the move to recording all their student data using software on their computers. Most school systems even have their teachers record attendance through a program online. Many teachers that haven't moved all of their records onto the computer and in the process of doing just that. Programs such as Microsoft Excel make recording and totaling students' grades and effortless process, as opposed to averaging every single students grades seperately (which would be an impossible task for a college professor responsible for teaching 120+ students). The issue with using such scoring tools is when the students information is viewed by anyone other than the teacher, administration, or the student. Many schools, college campuses, and even school systems have a lot of security software on their network that prohibits outsiders from viewing this sensitive and personal information. However a teacher may use his or her home computer to tabulate grades, which would be much easier to breach. Using Googledocs, anyone with an account can upload files such as any of the Microsoft Office files. A teacher could potentially use this feature of Googledocs to work on her Excel spreadsheet when she is not at her school computer. While this is a good idea, the teacher should be sure that her security settings clearly state that absolutely no outside persons can view her page. Teachers should familarize themselves with the most recent editions to FERPA to make sure that they are not violating any privacy laws, as charges could potentially be filed against them and they could lose their career.

**Internet Privacy**
Following the "Acceptable Use Policies" outlined by your school or district, practicing appropriate netiquette, and respecting the privacy of your students' data are all ways to insure internet privacy. Deeper than that you should never put any personal information (ie: SSN, bank account routing numbers, credit card numbers, etc.) on any website for any reason. Although you may believe that an e-mail is only between you and the recepient, this is not always the case. E-mails can be tapped into by outside sources, especially if you are on a network that has administrators who use this power to watch over the network and keep everyone safe. Only share what you wouldn't mind anyone with access to the internet seeing, and remember to always think before you submit anything on the internet.