learning objectives
- Identify and understand student rights and responsibilities in a digital society.
- Develop strategies to raise student awareness of their digital rights and responsibilities.
digital rights & responsibilities overview
Our rights as American citizens are defined and protected by the Constitution. We can look to the constitution know what our rights are, and when issues arise, we can refer to it to determine if our rights are being protected, or violated. But what about in the digital world? Do the same rights and responsibilities transfer from the real world to the digital world?
According to Ribble (2015), in most school settings, digital rights and responsibilities are defined through Acceptable Use Policies (AUP's). AUP's should provide clear understanding of what behaviors are required to be a member of the digital society. These understandings considered the students responsibilities of using digital tools. Behaviors such as ethical use of online sources (citing), plagiarism, appropriate use of devices (purpose and under whose direction), and bullying/harassing behaviors should be covered in any AUP.
While AUP's attempt to cover responsibilities, they typically do not address students digital rights. Schools should provide students with information about their right to free speech, and their ability to protect (or not protect) the works they create or publish. Additionally, students should be aware of their ability to place works in the Creative Commons. These rights and responsibilities can be taught by integrating them into courses students already take, as well as a separate class that introduces digital citizenship.
Understanding and honoring the digital rights and responsibilities of everyone in the digital society can help make it a place where everyone can enjoy to work, learn, and play.
According to Ribble (2015), in most school settings, digital rights and responsibilities are defined through Acceptable Use Policies (AUP's). AUP's should provide clear understanding of what behaviors are required to be a member of the digital society. These understandings considered the students responsibilities of using digital tools. Behaviors such as ethical use of online sources (citing), plagiarism, appropriate use of devices (purpose and under whose direction), and bullying/harassing behaviors should be covered in any AUP.
While AUP's attempt to cover responsibilities, they typically do not address students digital rights. Schools should provide students with information about their right to free speech, and their ability to protect (or not protect) the works they create or publish. Additionally, students should be aware of their ability to place works in the Creative Commons. These rights and responsibilities can be taught by integrating them into courses students already take, as well as a separate class that introduces digital citizenship.
Understanding and honoring the digital rights and responsibilities of everyone in the digital society can help make it a place where everyone can enjoy to work, learn, and play.
Connections to personal experience
When creating videos, tutorials, or even this website, I understand that I am protected under copyright laws. Much of this section is closely aligned to the previous Digital Law section of this site. As I have created content, I have chosen to place most of it into the creative commons. It is my belief that the value of possessing knowledge and understanding is limited if they're not shared. For this reason, I choose to share my content in the Creative Commons, whether or not others find any or all of them useful is up to them. Regardless of how one wishes to share their content, it is important that they are educated on the fact that they have a choice.
Connection to field/discipline
The internet has become a very common place for students to find information because of it's ease of use and accessibility (for most students). With this heavy use comes two issues that educators should be concerned with, and should be educating students on: Site validity and correct citation of sources used. The issue if site validity can also be a digital literacy topic since it deals with one's ability to discern sites that provide legitimate information from those that do not. However, the understanding of how and why to cite sources is very important for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is copyright.
As educators, we must develop and implement a program that teaches students how to cite, and provide them an understanding of what different copyright licenses mean. A great source for this information is creativecommons.org. Having students understand these licenses are important to protecting their own works, and properly citing the works of others which can prevent them from potential legal and academic (plagiarism) troubles later.
As educators, we must develop and implement a program that teaches students how to cite, and provide them an understanding of what different copyright licenses mean. A great source for this information is creativecommons.org. Having students understand these licenses are important to protecting their own works, and properly citing the works of others which can prevent them from potential legal and academic (plagiarism) troubles later.
Npr broadcast
Expensive Journals Drive Academic to Break Copyright Law
February 20, 2016
Runtime: 3:48
As costs of scholarly journal articles rise, the temptation for researchers and instructors to violate copyright laws increase. This broadcast looks at the question of how legitimate the costs are of some articles, especially those that involve research funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), which provide information for common good (disease research). This information relates to the digital rights of the journal publisher and those who choose to use their articles legally and illegally.
February 20, 2016
Runtime: 3:48
As costs of scholarly journal articles rise, the temptation for researchers and instructors to violate copyright laws increase. This broadcast looks at the question of how legitimate the costs are of some articles, especially those that involve research funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), which provide information for common good (disease research). This information relates to the digital rights of the journal publisher and those who choose to use their articles legally and illegally.
Broadcast Transcript: Expensive Journals Drive Academics to Break Copyright Law
Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know (3rd ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society of Technology in Education.
Home - Creative Commons. (2016.). Retrieved May 20, 2016, from https://creativecommons.org/
Home - Creative Commons. (2016.). Retrieved May 20, 2016, from https://creativecommons.org/
