Lesson 1Developing a 21st century moral compass_________________________Target AudienceKey Stage 4/5Lesson AimTo enable pupils to explore their own moral and ethical standpoints in relation to new media.Learning Objectives

Pupils should be able to question how they and others respond to common scenarios resulting from the use of new technologies.

Pupils should be able to question whether they have a moral or ethical code of conduct with regard to the use of new technologies.

Timing 60mins Organisation- Whole class activities, pair work, individual work

Preparation Moral compass points need to be printed out and placed around the class room.

Resources: Moral compass point handouts, Harm Vs Risk handout, clips to be streamed (see below for URL), post-it notes for micro manifesto activity

Lesson OutlineStarter What would you do? : A Twenty first century moral

compass about our online behaviour.20 minutes

Activity 1 What are the key issues for young people? Harm v risk chart

10 minutes

Activity 2 Where do you stand: writing a micro digital manifesto 15 minutes

Activity 3 Presenting your manifesto 10 minutes

Plenary Living in a digital democracy: listening to young people around the world talking about their activities online. Think about these issues from a global perspective. Would young people have different opinions in the Middle East? Asia?

5minutes

Extension activities

1. Ask the groups to consider if the issues on the Harm v Risk chart would remain the same for different age categories e.g. silver surfers and early learners?2. Watch the winner of internet security provider Trend Micro’s short film competition. Is this an effective way to present a manifesto? Is the film persuasive and innovative? Would it be effective for all ages or just one? http://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.com/internet-safety/Home.do

Starter. What would you do? : A 21st century moral compass. (reproduced with kind permission from Mike Ribble)

See the teachers’ notes and guidance below where you will find scenarios to share with students. To prepare for the activity, the moral compass points need to be placed on the walls around the class for this activity.Read out each scenario or display them on the interactive white board. In response to each scenario, students should congregate by the compass point that corresponds closest to their view. Give students one minute to move. Ask students why they decided to adopt this view and use the teachers’ notes below to explore discussion where appropriate.

Activity 1 Having explored the 21st century moral compass ask the students to consider the key issues for young people.

‘Which issues are you concerned with when it comes to using new technologies?’

To do this, distribute the harm v risk handout. Pupils should weigh up the risk of encountering the key issues online vs. how much harm exposure to that key issue could cause. Check for understanding of all terms and if pupils feel they would like to add any further issues.

Pupils should work in groups of four, ranking the key issues against risk and harm. Once completed, they can feed back to the class, explaining how they made their decision.

Activity 2

Encourage students to review their charts. Which key issue do they feel most passionate about? Is it possible to educate and/or campaign within the whole school community to address this issue?

Explain that you would like all the groups to come up with a “micro manifesto” i.e. a statement that outlines their beliefs in relation to the key issues they have already been exploring E.g. “I believe that all users of the internet have the right to be safe from viruses online. As users of the internet we have the responsibility of staying up to date with issues related to the security of our connected devices and to update security software when prompted to do so.”

Activity 3

Students are to present back their manifestoes.

Class teachers may choose to:a. ask the rest of the class their

reactions to the manifesto and to debate the value of the ideas held in the manifestoes

b. vote and choose the most effective manifesto which the whole class will support

c. give students further time to develop an innovative way to seek support for their manifesto e.g. using the school virtual learning environment

d. create a class/ year group declaration of rights and responsibilities in relation to the internet

Plenary:Use the interactive whiteboard to show the films on the Safer Internet Centre website. http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day-2011/hear-what-young-people-think Do young people around the world have the same issues? E.g. will all countries have the same issues relating to personal information? Consider religion, culture and government – would these themes impact on young people’s attitudes to their online rights and responsibilities?

*Teachers’ notes and guidance for use with the moral compass exercise

Forwarding on of indecent images of a fellow studentIf sexual content of a minor (anyone under the age of 18) is found on a mobile device the owner of that device could be held criminally responsible for being in possession of “images of child abuse”. Prosecution and being added to the sex offenders list could be a consequence of sending/receiving and/or keeping this type of content. Over the last few years cases of young people texting sexual content (known as “sexting”) have been on the increase.

Most of the young people are likely to choose “wrong” as a response to this scenario. You may want to highlight parts of the school/college Acceptable Use Policy and/or anti bullying policy that relate to this scenario.Some students may want to choose “it depends on the circumstances”. For example, it may be right to forward on the content to a parent, carer, tutor or service provider in order to get the photo removed from a social network or website.It is important to highlight the ease at which digital content can be copied, edited and distributed. Many young people can underestimate the speed at which digital content can escape their control and the possible consequences for the creator of the content, individual in the photo/video and anyone who receives it.

Creating a blog featuring staff and studentsSome pupils may hesitate before making a decision. As with many decisions relating to the 21st century compass the answer to this scenario is not necessarily an easy one. Creation of content is part of the web 2.0 phenomenon and a well put together blog may be seen by potential employers and further education establishments as evidence of initiative and resourcefulness.

However, encourage your students to think about the sorts of things they will need to consider each time they upload – particularly if the blog features staff and students. Have they asked permission before posting content? Are they giving away too much personal information about other individuals? Have they properly looked in to the privacy tools provided by the service? What would their policy be if someone objected to the content on the blog? Is there a subject matter that may be more suitable? Are there any considerations students should make when they are blogging in college/out of college?

Using Facebook for hours at a time during exam revision seasonThe obvious answer to this statement is that it is wrong and it is likely to be the option chosen by most students as it could seriously affect exam results. Teens often cite Facebook as being a great way to avoid doing homework and revision. However, ask your pupils: Is it possible for Facebook to be used to enhance learning? Could curriculum area groups be created to encourage collaborative learning? What sort of guidelines might need to be in place e.g. Should people be able to post at all times of the day? What should happen if a teacher notices a student posting at 3 o’clock in the morning? Should they take action or is 3 o’clock in the morning ok? Might there be consequences for staying up until this time?

Using a service that allows you to leave anonymous messages Your students’ reactions to this statement may be initially a negative one. Some websites allow anonymous messages to be sent and received. These sites often create gossip and issues that can be difficult to referee. However, there are many instances where it may be appropriate to use a service where anonymous messages/chat can take place e.g. where a young person is seeking advice or counselling. The most important thing to get your students to consider is the sort of sites they choose to seek advice from. Ask them how they can know if the sites they use are trustworthy? How can they be sure if the anonymous advice givers have the qualifications and qualities necessary to give good advice? Is it a service that college recommends? Has a friend spoken about a good experience with the service? Has the student researched the website and the service it provides?

“Unfriending” a fellow student on FacebookYour students may have mixed reactions towards this statement depending on their personal experiences. You are likely to find young people very reluctant to get rid of contacts from their Friends list due to the culture of belief that the more friends you have the more popular you are. Allow your students time to make their decision and then ask them about their choices. Some students may say that “unfriending” is wrong as it can be used to socially exclude other students i.e. bullying. Other students may present the view that it is a good line of defence if one of the contacts on your account is being abusive or harassing you.

It is important to encourage students to think carefully about all of their contacts on Facebook. Highlight the importance of staying in control of who they are in contact with and who they allow to contact them. Guidance for older teens in relation to Facebook friends they don’t know is difficult – you may want to discuss the safeguards they put in place before allowing a stranger to contact them through Facebook and other media e.g. Questioning why that person may want to be in contact – are they a friend of a friend? A friend of a friend is more likely to be a safe contact than a “random” person with whom they have no connection. If that person has a public profile who are their friends?The scrutiny of potential online contacts is a key online skill all users of the internet should employ.

Sharing information that was given in confidence in a private message onlineFrom the work that Childnet has carried out with older teens we know that one of their greatest concerns is privacy online. Many teens understand privacy tools well and utilise them to protect their reputation and behaviour online. However, regardless of the privacy tools provided by online services it is still very difficult to control other people’s posts and photo uploads. Therefore most teens are likely to move to the “wrong” end of the 21st century compass.

Explore this statement a little more and ask your students if this has happened to them and how it made them feel? Do they think that there might ever be a scenario where it may be appropriate to share private information provided by someone else? E.g. a student at risk. It’s important for students and staff to recognise that the internet is never a truly “private” platform and that they leave digital footprints wherever they go. Class teachers may want to consider raising the fact that often devices have the capability of sharing private messages with larger audiences through screen capturing technology (sometimes known as “screen munching”).