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This week our class focused on WTS 2.1: Practice Safety: Demonstrate safe, legal, and ethical behavior in the use of information and technology. There were two tags-of-the-week: online safety, and copyright. In Education for a Digital World, McGuire (2008) defines intellectual property and states that copyright applies to and protects creative work. In the US, copyright protection is automatic. McGuire discusses two problems that occur when instructors are unfamiliar with copyright law: 1)when 3^rd party materials are used without regard to copyright law, the institution is exposed to serious liability, and 2) instructors often fail to utilize beneficial materials because they believe copyright prohibits the use or that the process of obtaining permission would be too arduous. McGuire reassures instructors that the process of seeking permission to use 3rd party materials is often quite simple and may allow a dialogue to develop between the creator and consumer, “Often, academic authors are only interested in how their works are used” (p. 254). The networking involved in seeking permission may lead to an author offering the use of unpublished materials or other resources.

I know that I am somewhat unclear about copyright as it applies to the internet. I mean, is providing a link and giving credit to the author/site enough? With all the people making their own youtube videos and using music on their social networking sites, there is a lot of confusion over copyright and re-mixing. I would like to (legally) use some music for a video I am creating for this class. Michael RobbGreico created a music video for the Temple University Media Education Lab

explaining copyright and then posted it on youtube to help alleviate some of the confusion. You can download lesson plans along with the video to use with students to facilitate a discussion about copyright. The video sings that the most important function of copyright is, “Balancing rights of users and owners of intellectual property.” Of course, now I’ve got the song stuck in my head!

Another fabulous resource for copyright is the Berkman Center for Internet and Society Part of Harvard Law School, the Berkman Center was founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development. The Berkman Center is involved in an unbelievable number of projects dealing with copyright issues: creative commons, copyright for librarians, citizen media law project, and noank media to name a few. They are also a partner in the Internet Safety Technical Task Force.

The Internet Safety Technical  Task Force examined the extent of the threats children face on social networking sites and reported to 47 State Attorneys General. The report concluded that the problem of bullying among children, both online and offline, poses a far more serious challenge than the sexual solicitation of minors by adults that has received so much media attention.“Social networks are very much like real-world communities that are comprised mostly of good people who are there for the right reasons.”

An article at Safe-teens.com Back to School Advice for Safe and Ethical Social Networking states that the most commonly recognized definition of bullying includes repeated, unwanted aggressive behavior over a period of time with an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim. In theory, that also covers cyberbullying, but some have taken a broader approach to cyberbullying to also include single or occasional episodes of a person insulting another person online. Indeed, because of the possibility of it being forwarded, a single episode of online harassment can have long-term consequences. Manifestations of cyberbullying include name calling, sending embarrassing pictures, sharing personal information or secrets without permission, and spreading rumors. It can also include trickery, exclusion, and impersonation. So, do these threats mean that we should try to discourage the use of social networking sites for students?

Tynes (2007) suggests that the benefits of social networking sites for students far outweigh the dangers. Tynes believes we do students a disservice when banning them from social networking sites (as if we really could!). Social networking offers students invaluable opportunities for cognitive and psychosocial development. Tynes offers practical alternatives to banning students from social networks: 1) Maintain open and honest dialogue. Parents and teachers need to talk frankly with teens about the risks and benefits associated with the internet. Research indicates that girls who discuss internet safety with a teacher are less likely to agree to meet in person with a stranger encountered online. 2) Help youths protect their privacy online. Encourage the use of privacy settings on social networking sites. 3) Develop an exit strategy. Help kids recognize unsafe behaviors, warn/block suspicious persons, and report threatening behavior to authorities. We need to provide students with the tools that will keep them safe on the internet—not attempt to keep them away from the internet.

Media literacy and critical thinking “is protective against manipulation and harm” (Collier, 2009). See last week’s (week 5) blog entry for lots of information about critical thinking. Encouraging kids to practice good digital citizenship helps protect all young people, because “behaving aggressively online more than doubles the risk of being victimized.” Collier gives the formula:

Digital citizenship + media literacy = online safety 2.0

More information on what media literacy looks like can be found at Project New Media Literacies (NML), a research initiative based at MIT’s. NML explores how we might best equip young people with the social skills and cultural competencies required to become full participants in an emergent media landscape and raise public understanding about what it means to be literate in a globally interconnected, multicultural world.

Collier, A. (2009). Social media literacy: The new internet safety. Net Family News.org. Retrieved from http://www.netfamilynews.org/2009/02/social-media-literacy-new-internet.html

McGuire, D. (2008). Understanding copyright: Knowing your rights and knowing when you’re right. Education for a Digital World. Retrieved from http://www.colfinder.org/materials/Education_for_a_Digital_World/Education_for_a_Digital_World_part3.pdf

Tynes, B. M. (2007). Internet safety gone wild? Sacrificing the educational and psychosocial benefits of online social environments. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22(6), 575-584. Retrieved, November 3, 2009, from http://faculty.washington.edu/thurlow/guestlectures/tas/tynes%282007%29.pdf