Web 2.0 Ethics

There are many ethical battle raging online about "user rights" when using Web 2.0 applications. Pramit Singh of mediavidea found a quote from a commenter on Slashdot who writes, "This is not about 'your rights online'. LiveJournal is a private company, not a govenrment agency.

Their web site is private property, and it is not a monopoly.

To speak of 'rights' on their web site is sort of speaking about rights at K-Mart. You don't have any. If you don't like what K-Mart does, you leave and go to their competitor." (mediavidea, 2008)

Copyright material is another complicated issue which falls under the umbrella of ethics. Online content is streaming into our lives at such a high rate speed, it's hard to know what is, what isn't, protected. Luckily there are resources out there that will help to clear the air about educational fair use agreements. Here is a link to a guide for teachers on fair use. http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/isu/library/copyright.html (jeffco, 2008)

Creative Commons is adding a new dimension for sharing content for free. Here is a YouTube video which explains Creative commons link between copyrighted and public domain.

The bottom line for classroom teachers is having conversations with your students. When students are aware of ethical issues, they are more informed to make correct choices when using online content. Following is a link to a lesson plan for elementary students as students consider possible ways to copy others' works using the Internet and learn that many forms of copying are illegal or unethical.
http://www.cybersmartcurriculum.org/lesson_plans/68_09.asp

References
mediavidea, Retrieved on July 27, 2008 from http://mediavidea.blogspot.com/2007/08/whose-rights-online-20.html
Jeffco County Schools copyright guidlines, Retrieved on July 27, 2008 from http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/isu/library/copyright.html