Norms and Responsibilities in the Digital World

The digital world is hard for many to recognize because we don't "see" it. Additionally, many students think that making a page private or restricting access will prevent others from viewing their information. While this may help keep some level of privacy, I think all students should recognize a philosophy that was shared with me at a technology conference: everything on the Internet is public and permanent. If you wouldn't put it on a billboard in your front lawn for your grandmother and the rest of the world to see, it doesn't belong on the Internet (interesting note: not sure I want my online bank account information broadcast for others to see...).

I think a huge responsibility that is often overlooked is citation. Most of us have been guilty of using information without citing it at some point in our lives. Students who have grown up with the Internet are constantly finding information and using it in fantastically creative ways, from statistics to music lyrics to how things work. But we need to be better about teaching the importance of and methods for citing other people's work so that students recognize the value of fair use.

I think it's important to teach students how to practice norms and responsibilities in the digital world, even from a young age, so they can begin building a strong and professional digital footprint.

I agree with your message. Many times when I was teaching, I found out that most if the students didn't always listen to the right way. They were sure they knew what they were doing especially when citing information that had been copied word for word.  Yet when it came time to grade them on their work , they had done it incorrectly and unfortunately for them they were required to do it correctly. Thus reteaching came into play.