[EAS]Cyber-ethical Vacuum

[pjk]

Subject:   Cyber-ethical Vacuum

(from Edupage, November 17, 2000)

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL
Educators and high-tech leaders are recognizing the importance of
teaching Internet ethics in school as children grow increasingly
proficient with technology. Many students have the skills to hack
computer systems, spread viruses, download illegal music files, and
plagiarize content from the Internet, but they do not understand
the ethical issues involved in these activities. "Kids today have
the technical skills of adults but the ethical skills of very small
children," says Cherie Geide, an adjunct professor at Marymount
University. A recent Scholastic survey reports that almost half of
elementary and middle school students indicated they do not believe
hacking is a crime. Students tend to view stealing and other
illegal activities differently on the Internet than in the real
world because victims and perpetrators are anonymous in the online
environment, Geide says. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice and
the Information Technology Association of America have formed the
Cybercitizen Partnership, which is creating a technology ethics
curriculum that will be released to schools next year.
(Industry Standard, 20 November 2000)