****************************
Please feel free to forward these scenarios to your teaching staff for
use in classroom discussions. Previous ethical scenarios can be found at
<http://www.doug-johnson.com/ethics/> along with a list of links to
other resources about technology ethics.
****************************
Scenario #10
Jennie's sister needs to leave the computer to take laundry from the
dryer. While she is gone, Jennie finds she has been working on an email
to her best friend and that her email program is still open. She checks
to see what sis has to say.
Questions
Whose privacy is at risk?
What danger or discomfort might the unethical or unwise action cause?
How do public libraries help insure the privacy of patrons while
on-line? Should schools do the same?
Is there a parallel in the physical world to this scenario?
Can you think of other incidents that would fall into this category?
Comments
Information inadvertently left accessible does not mean that it is
appropriate to access it. Ask your child: "Is forgetting to lock one's
home the same as allowing anyone to enter it?"
As the writer of the email below suggests, children may not immediately
differentiate between a TV screen (public) and a computer screen
(private).
Policies regarding Internet terminals in public libraries address this
issue. What steps has your public library taken to help assure that its
users' information needs remain private?
Resources
The rules or understandings of your family. Here are ours:
Dad's Household Computer Rules
. Do not break the law. I don't have money for bail or fines.
. Do not invade others' privacy (and I will respect yours).
. Do not give out ANY personal information about yourself or the
family.
. Be truthful about who you say you are in online communications.
. Talk to me if anything about a website concerns or confuses you.
I know that bad sites can be accessed accidentally.
. Don't download and install software without permission. I mean
it.
. Be as smart, skeptical, and cautious online as you are
elsewhere.
. Don't do anything you wouldn't do if I were watching you. I just
might be.
Intellectual Freedom Committee of the American Library Association.
Questions and Answers on Privacy and Confidentiality
<www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/privacyqanda.html>
Quote
A very simple question, and one which students in our elementary schools
began facing when they began using computers for word processing -- the
concept that all material is not public just because it appears on a
screen -- that is, if someone is writing using a word processor it is
neither ethical nor mannerly to read the contents of that screen without
first securing permission. Our third graders found this really
difficult, after all that time watching a TV screen, which is open to
all.
Not a big question compared to hacking the [defense] department or
posting false information on the internet or purchasing term papers --
but it was a real adjustment for our youngsters.
Helen Seagraves, Hood River, OR with permission
****************************
Please feel free to forward these scenarios to your teaching staff for
use in classroom discussions. Previous ethical scenarios can be found at
<http://www.doug-johnson.com/ethics/> along with a list of links to
other resources about technology ethics.
****************************
Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology
I.S.D. 77, Mankato Public Schools
E-mail: dougj@doug-johnson.com, Web: www.doug-johnson.com "Always do
right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." Mark Twain
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