Promoting Ethical Behaviour Online: Our Values and Ethics

Promoting Ethical Behaviour Online — Our Values and Ethics

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Level: Grades 7 - 9
Duration: One hour per activity

Overview

In this three-part lesson, students learn about online privacy and ethical behaviour by exploring their digital footprints to better understand that our online interactions may not be as anonymous as we think they are.

Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate:

an understanding of their Web-based activities as well as their perceptions of, and attitudes towards, these activities
an understanding of how to assess and measure their vulnerability to cyberbullying
an understanding of the importance of ethical behaviour and "virtual reputation" in various Web environments
an understanding of the importance of protecting one's personal privacy online
an understanding that on the Internet, individuals are not always as anonymous as they believe themselves to be

Activities Overview

Activity One: My Cyber Portrait
(One hour)

In the first part of the lesson, students create a digital map of their Web-based activities and the various identities they assume by using a nickname or avatar online. They determine whether the "virtual worlds" where these identities exist are distinct and separate from one another, or whether they can be linked to a specific individual.

Activity Two: My Virtual Life
(One hour)

In the second part of the lesson, students further assess the privacy and ethics of their online activities by applying their cyber portraits to a questionnaire that focuses on how they post materials in online profiles; the characteristics of their online communication with others; how well they protect their passwords; their understanding of the potential lifespan of online data and the consequences related to this; and their perceptions of anonymity. In addition, students determine whether their online activities put them at risk for harassment or cyberbullying as victims or as perpetrators and, through class discussion, they explore the importance of behaving ethically for its own sake, rather than out of fear of "being caught".

Activity Three: Restoring Disaster Areas
(One hour)

In the final activity, students look at areas in their virtual lives where they can make improvements. As a class, they brainstorm codes of conduct for privacy protection and ethical online behaviour.

Preparation and Materials

Prior to the lesson, it is helpful if teachers go through the exercises and assess their own online activities
Before starting the lesson write the instructions for the mapping exercise on the board
Prepare the following overheads:
Photocopy the following handouts:

Preamble

Research has shown that perceived anonymity on the Internet may encourage some young people, who might not otherwise do so, to initiate or participate in bullying behaviour. These activities might include sending threatening and/or anonymous e-mails; posting rumours or taunts on online bulletin boards or forums; posting a fake or offensive profile of someone on social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook; or submitting a derogatory image of someone on a public polling site. However, students are not as anonymous as they believe themselves to be and, increasingly, where cyberbullying occurs, school officials and law enforcement officers are successfully tracking down and charging online bullies.

In addition, young people may not stop to think about the long-term ramifications of their online actions, where a single act of cruelty such as forwarding a derogatory image of someone can develop a life of its own online and have a devastating effect on the person being targeted.

In this lesson, students look closely at their online behaviour, taking into account both ethics and privacy protection. In addition to developing an understanding that there are consequences to online activities, students also explore the importance of good citizenship for its own sake in online communities. For this lesson to be effective, most of the classroom activities involved are largely introspective, private and based on personal experience. The teacher's main task is to work as a facilitator, so it should be made clear from the start that he or she will not be looking at the students' notes.

Procedure

Activity One: My Cyber Portrait
(One hour)

Where Am I?

Explain to students that in this activity they will be drawing their own "cyber portraits." Emphasize that this is to help them better understand themselves, that their cyber portraits are private and that they will not be seen by others unless they wish to share them.

Go over the instructions you have written on the board for the cyber portrait exercise.

Take a sheet of white paper.
Draw a square representing the physical world.
Then draw a circle representing the virtual world. (These can be drawn and positioned however the student wishes... there is no right or wrong way.)
In the diagram, you are represented by an"x."
Within the circle representing the virtual world, draw smaller circles to represent the various interactive environments where you have an online identity. These are online venues such as e-mail accounts, instant messaging sites, chat rooms, Web sites or gaming sites where you go by your own name, post a profile or use a nickname or avatar.
In each of the environments where you use your real identity, place an "x."
In the environments where you use a nickname or avatar, put the letters "ID."
Number each "ID" from 1 to 10. If you use the same nickname or avatar in several environments, show this by using the same number in your diagram.

To give students an idea of what their portraits might look like, review the Identity Footprints #1 overhead as a class.

Here's an example of a virtual world circle.
The smaller circles represent the person's online environments: Facebook, Hotmail, Neopets, MSN and Abercrombie & Fitch.
She uses her real name on her Facebook page and in her customer profile on the Abercrombie & Fitch site, and so these sites have an "x."
She uses a nickname rather than her real name in her Hotmail address, so that site is labelled "ID #1."
To send instant messages on MSN, she goes by a different nickname, so that site is labelled "ID #2."
And when she plays on Neopets, her virtual pet represents her, so this site is labelled "ID #3."

Once students have mapped their portraits, have them bridge their various IDs.

Now I'd like you to draw connecting "bridges" between your various online identities. For example, if your nickname or avatar in one environment can be connected through a user profile to your e-mail account, where you post your real name, then there is a bridge between an environment where you use a nickname and one where you can be identified. If at all possible, show how this "bridging" occurs.

Review the Identity Footprints #2 overhead with students.

For example, we can see a number of bridges between the different online identities in this cyber portrait.
- Our friend lists her Hotmail address in her Facebook profile, so there's a bridge between her real identity, which she uses on Facebook, and one of her online nicknames, which is the basis for her Hotmail address.
- there's also a bridge between her Abercrombie & Fitch customer profile and her Hotmail address.
- She uses her Neopet's image and name to communicate with others on the Neopets site, but Neopets has her Hotmail address in her customer account. She has also talked about her Neopet while instant messaging on her MSN account, so we can build a bridge between ID #2 and ID #3.
- And, her Hotmail address is underlined whenever someone scrolls over her MSN ID, which builds a bridge between her Hotmail ID and her MSN name.

Have students build bridges between their own environments.

Class Discussion

Ask students:

Remember at the beginning of this exercise when you were asked to draw a square for the physical world, and a circle for the virtual world? On your piece of paper, how did you position the square in relation to the circle? Was your "virtual world" circle outside or inside the square representing the physical world? What were your reasons for placing the square and circle where you did? (Point out that although it may not appear to be, the virtual world is part of the larger world: you talk to real people, laws apply to the digital world, things that happen online can affect how you feel in your daily life, etc.)

Divide the class into groups of four. Distribute copies of the My Cyber Portrait handout and have students ask each other the questions on the sheet.

Note: The object of this exercise is to help students delve into their online identities. If they wish, students can choose not to publicly respond to some of the questions, although in such cases they should be encouraged to fill in the information privately. The questionnaires are filled out in groups so that peers may act as an "external conscience," asking for details if a response is not clear or convincing. However, students must feel comfortable with their group partners. They can choose not to respond to a question. The simple act of participating in the discussion will be beneficial for everyone involved.

Note: Students need to keep their cyber portraits handy for the next activity.

Activity Two: My Virtual Life
(One hour)

What am I Doing?

Distribute the My Virtual Life Questionnaire and My Virtual Life Answer Sheet handouts to students.

Class Discussion

Explain that students are now going to assess how private their online activities are. But before doing this, they need to create a virtual conscience that can be used to gauge their online activities. A "virtual conscience" is an extra check that can be applied in order to measure whether or not what you are about to do online is wise and/or appropriate.

Ask students:

Why do you think this sort of self-check might be helpful before you do something or engage with others online? (One of the great features of the Internet is the speed and ease it provides in doing things such as downloading music, instant messaging friends, posting photos on social networking sites, etc. But the immediacy that the Internet offers can also lead to a "click before you think" syndrome, where we act so quickly we may inadvertently do things that are inappropriate or will get us into trouble. It's important to remember that once something has been sent online, there is no taking it back.

(Unlike a verbal message, a written message is permanent and therefore more powerful. If we are in the habit of checking in with a virtual conscience, then we have a moment to pause and reflect on what we are about to say and/or do.)

To teach students to quickly decide whether or not something they are about to do online is a good idea, ask each student to:

Think of two people:
- someone famous he or she admires for his or her courage, and
- an adult in his or her life who is trusted and respected.
Record these two names at the top of the My Virtual Life Questionnaire. As of today, these two people will be their "virtual conscience." Each time they intend to do something online that they are not sure about, they should ask themselves: "What would these people think of such an action?"

Point out to students that their online actions are witnessed by far more people than just the two they have chosen as their virtual conscience, yet research has shown that many young people do things online that they would not do offline because they believe themselves to be anonymous.

Explain that the questionnaire they are about to do will help them to assess how easily they can be tracked online, and to measure how ethical their online activities are. Emphasize that this exercise is just for them -- they won't be showing it to anyone else.

Using their cyber portraits as a guide, ask students to apply the questions to the three online environments where they interact with others most often and, where applicable, record their answers on the My Virtual Life Answer Sheet. Tell them not to worry about the "colour" columns on the answer sheet for now, as they'll be filling these out when the answers are taken up. (Give students time to complete their Answer Sheets.)

Calculating Scores

Class Discussion

Explain to students that you are going to rate their virtual lives in each of their three Web environments, beginning with interactive Web environments that call for online profiles.

Online Profiles

Question 1

Tell students to proceed as follows:

if you answered "b," "d," or "e," give yourself a blue rating
if you answered "c," give yourself a yellow rating
if you answered "a," give yourself a red rating

Note: If you had a number of answers that included "a," give yourself a red rating for this question, even though the other choices have different colour ratings.

Question 2

Tell students to proceed as follows:

if you answered "a," or "c," give yourself a red rating
if you answered "b," give yourself a blue rating

Question 3

Tell students to proceed as follows:

if you answered "a," give yourself a blue rating
if you answered "b," give yourself a yellow rating
if you answered "c," "d," or "e," give yourself a red rating

Question 4

Tell students to proceed as follows:

if you answered "a," give yourself a yellow rating
if you answered "b," give yourself a red rating
if you answered "c," give yourself a blue rating

Question 5

Tell students to proceed as follows:

if you answered "a," give yourself a blue rating
if you answered "b," give yourself a red rating

Stepping Back

Invite students to take a look at what the different colours mean. Explain that, with regard to their online profiles:

If you are mostly blue, give yourself a pat on the back. You are careful about what you post online and that's a good thing. You are not very vulnerable to being cyberbullied or harassed because the footprints you leave online are either not easily traced back to you or are directed only toward a limited group of people who you trust wholeheartedly.

You understand that information and images that you post online may be seen or downloaded and passed on by others, so you post only general images in your profile.

If you are mostly yellow, you are fairly cautious about your online profile. You do include some information and images of yourself or your friends, but you try to limit the number of people who can access such data.

You understand that information and images that you post online may be seen or downloaded and passed on by others, so you make sure to ask permission before posting images of your friends, and you make sure that nothing you do post would embarrass or hurt you or anyone else.

If you are mostly red, you may be setting yourself up for a lot of problems. You need to be more careful with the access to your personal life and that of your friends that you provide to others through your online profile. The rule of thumb on the Internet is that if you wouldn't want your "virtual conscience" or, for that matter, a teacher or a parent to see what you are posting online then the "world wide" Web may not be the best place to post it.

Next, move on to the students' virtual lives in Web environments where they communicate with others, such as chat rooms, instant messaging sites or e-mail.

Communication Characteristics

Question 1

Tell students to proceed as follows:

if you answered "a," give yourself a yellow rating
if you answered "b," give yourself a blue rating

Question 2

Tell students to proceed as follows:

if you answered "a," give yourself a red rating
if you answered "b," give yourself a blue rating

Question 3

Tell students to proceed as follows:

if you answered "a," give yourself a red rating
if you answered "b," give yourself a blue rating

Question 4

Tell students to proceed as follows:

if you answered "a," give yourself a blue rating
if you answered "b," give yourself a red rating

Stepping Back

Invite students to take a look at what the different colours mean. Explain that, with regard to communication characteristics:

If you are mostly blue, you are respectful and ethical in your online communications. You communicate with others, not at others. You don't behave aggressively or in an intentionally mean way when you are chatting, e-mailing or instant messaging.

If you are mostly red, you may need to rethink how you communicate with others online. there's an old saying, "What goes around comes around," and, on the Internet, behaviour or activities that you might not be proud of can be spread far and wide very quickly, and can stick around in cyberspace and come back to haunt you for a long, long time. The Internet may appear to be a virtual place, but it is also a community and, just like communities in your town, it's important to be a good citizen and to build up your reputation.

Passwords

This section shows how well students manage their passwords in their virtual lives. The answers are pretty straightforward: they will have coloured themselves red if they share their password(s) with others, and blue if they don't. (And they will have given themselves an extra blue if they use passwords that are not related to things that can be easily traced to them, such as birthdays, pets' names, favourite bands, etc.)

Explain to the students:

If you scored blue, you are password-savvy. You don't share passwords, even with friends, and you don't make up passwords that anyone who knows you could easily guess.

If you scored red: watch out! There are a lot of people out there who have had their identities stolen and/or misused as a result of sharing their password(s) with too many people.

Lifespan of Data

All these answers score red! Admit to students that this is something of a trick question since, contrary to what many people think, there is no such thing as temporary data on the Internet. Even something we consider to be "temporary," like an instant message, can stay buried in the depths of the computer(s) that sent and/or received the message. In addition, that edgy image sent to a friend or posted on a site can be downloaded and distributed to thousands of people in the blink of an eye. In fact, it's not uncommon for universities, colleges and prospective employers to check out what people have posted on sites like Facebook, to see whether or not they are desirable candidates for programs or positions.

And now ask students the bonus question.

Are We Ever Truly Anonymous When We Are Online?

Give students this example. Let's say you are true blue. You do everything right: you're careful with what you post about yourself, you are considerate in how you communicate with others, and you protect your privacy when you are on other Web sites.

Are you still anonymous? How do you know? (Give students an opportunity to discuss and debate this.)

Is yes the correct answer? Not really. (Place the Digital Footprints overhead on the projector.)

Explain to students that however careful we may be about privacy, whenever we go online our computer leaves a digital footprint or record that tells Internet Service Providers exactly who we are.

As an example, show students this message to users of Bebo, a popular social networking site (like Facebook).

When people sign in to use its services, Bebo lets them know, loud and clear, that their actions are not anonymous and that their site can read, monitor and record the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the user's computer. This means that, if necessary, Bebo can track down the user through the computer he or she is using. Similarly, the police are able to track down people committing crime online by accessing their IP addresses.

Class Discussion: Beyond Digital Footprints

Underscore to students the reality that we are never totally anonymous when we are online. This can be a problem when we put our safety at risk by not protecting our privacy on the Web, or when we behave in an inappropriate or foolish manner online and such behaviour comes back to haunt us.

Write the following quote on the board:

The measure of a man's real character
is what he would do if he knew he
would never be found out.

Thomas Babington Macaulay

Ask the students:

What does this quote mean?

Remind students of the notion of the Internet as a community. Offline, we live in communities where, every day, we have to make choices about what we do and how we behave. These choices determine how others see us, and how we see ourselves.

Ask the students:

Which do you think is more important? Being a good citizen so that you can't be caught or punished for any wrongdoing, or being a good citizen because you feel it is important to do so for the common good?
Is there a difference, as long as the end result is that everyone is behaving nicely? (Give students time to discuss and debate this.)

In our physical communities, when we interact with other people, we can quickly tell if we have crossed a line or hurt someone by seeing how they react to our comments or actions. On the Internet, this can be much trickier, because we can't always gauge the consequences of what we do. Experts tell us that the most important skill we can develop to address this problem is to build empathy for people we communicate with online. In the same way that we applied the "virtual conscience" to our online interactions, they recommend that we adopt some "ethical decision-making strategies" before we engage in any activity or communicate a particular message online.1

These strategies include:

imagining how we would feel if someone sent us this same message
imagining what people would think of us if this online activity was posted on the front page of a local newspaper
imagining the kind of world it would be if everyone acted in a similar way
asking ourselves "would it be ok or acceptable to do this offline?" 2

Ask the students if they can think of any other strategies.

Wrap-up

Instruct the students to shade or mark the environments on their cyber portraits with a blue, yellow or red pencil crayon, according to the colour they scored most often. If a red area is "bridged" with another environment, then shade this other environment red, and so on. (Unfortunately, red is the prevalent colour for spreading: the idea here is that if they have a bad reputation in one area and their identity can be traced to another area, then their reputation could follow them into that area. A bad reputation is not only a stain -- it spreads like an oil stain!)

Activity Three: Restoring Disaster Areas
(One hour)

Instruct students:

Take a look at your cyber portrait. What can you do to improve any red or yellow shaded areas? Analyze the sections of the My Virtual Life Questionnaire and think of what you might do to improve your risk factors. Jot down your thoughts on a piece of paper according to the following:

What increased my risk factors?	Why? How can that become a risk?	What can be done to reverse the trend?

Write the following headings on the board:

Privacy Protection
Respect for Others

Under each of these categories, invite students to share examples of behaviours in various Web environments that can jeopardize a person's reputation, put someone at risk for harassment by others, or get someone into trouble.

In response to these concerns, encourage students to brainstorm a "Code of Caution" to help protect privacy and minimize vulnerability to being bullied or harassed online, and a Code of Nethics to encourage respect for others online.

Potential guidelines may include:

Privacy Protection = Minimizing the risk of cyberbullying = Code of Caution

Guard your contact information such as cell phone numbers or e-mail addresses and don't give these out to people you don't know.
Don't share your passwords for instant messaging, e-mail or social networking site profiles.
Don't open e-mail or instant messages from strangers.
In Web environments where you are active, make sure you know who can access any information you are posting.
Don't post any information (photos/ideas/text) that you wouldn't want your teachers or parents to see.
Always check a Web site's confidentiality policy before posting anything.

Respect for Others = Online code of ethics = Nethics

Don't spread rumours.
Don't post information/photos/videos online that someone has shared with you in confidence.
Don't post content (photos/ideas/text) about someone without first getting his or her permission to do so.
Don't post anything anonymously.
Don't send anyone an e-mail message that you wouldn t convey in person.
Avoid getting in any kind of confrontation online, particularly with people you don't know.

Extension Activity

Have students conduct an online search of their own names to further assess their digital footprints.

__________________________________

1 Willard, Nancy (2007). Fostering Responsible Online Behavior (Part II). Guidance Channel E-Zine. Downloaded March 1, 2008 from: http://www.guidancechannel.com/default.aspx?index=505.
2 Ibid.