Computer Learning Foundation
Emphasizes Responsible Use of Technology by Sally Bowman Alden, Executive Director
Computer Learning Foundation
In April 1990, a concerned group of individuals representing industry, education, law enforcement and government, including the Computer Learning Foundation, were invited by the National Institute of Justice, in cooperation with the Department of Education, to participate in a two-day meeting in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss ethical issues surrounding technology and to develop a plan for addressing the problems identified.
As a result of this conference, the Computer Learning Foundation, in conjunction with the Department of Justice and the Department of Education, began emphasizing the importance of practicing responsible computing and teaching our children to be responsible users of technology. During Computer Learning Month 1990, the Foundation hosted two competitions on responsible computing, one for teachers and one for students, and winners received valuable technology prizes and recognition from the Computer Learning Foundation, Department of Education and Department of Justice. In 1991, the Computer Learning Foundation began disseminating information to schools on methods for teaching children to be responsible computer users that were included in the best entries.
One of the most important roles we play as adults with children is to impart ethics and values important to our society -- a sense of responsibility, a sense of right and wrong and a sense of the law. While laws exist to protect people, their property and their rights, education instills the belief that people, their property and their rights should be protected and respected.
With the rapid infusion of computers, software and related technologies into homes, schools and businesses, we initially focused our energies on learning about the technologies and how to use them. We now need to focus our attention on the ethical issues surrounding technology to insure that we and our children understand and practice values important to all of us -- respect for others, their property, ownership, and the right to privacy.
The following is a brief discussion of some misperceptions about technology and the attitudes and behaviors we need to adopt and reinforce in our children to protect and maintain our respect for these important rights. You may also want to print a copy of the Computer Learning Foundation Code of Responsible Computing. We invite all parents and teachers to practice and teach children this code.
Respect for Ownership Misperception: If I take a copy of something from you and you still have your copy, it is not stealing.
Until the inventions of the tape recorder and the copy machine, society never had to deal with this issue. The definition of stealing was based on the physical presence or absence of an item. The person who stole the item had it, and the person who owned it did not.
With new technologies that enable individuals to quickly and economically make copies of audio tapes, videotapes and computer programs, the concept of stealing has been redefined -- it is stealing if someone makes a copy of something he/she does not own or have permission to copy from the person who created the item (i.e., the company or individual who created the program), even if the owner still has the original item. While a software program is being stolen through an individual who owns a copy of the program, in fact, the program is being stolen from the individual(s) who created it and sells it for a living. Companies pay people's salaries and pay people for the hundreds of hours they spend making each software program available.
So, respect these people's rights for payment for their work and only use software programs that have been paid for.
Misperception: Software programs are too expensive to buy and companies are making too much money on each program they sell.
Good software programs cost a lot of money to write -- from $50,000 to several million dollars, depending on the complexity. In addition, companies have substantial costs in making these products available to you. It costs a lot of money just to let you know a new product exists (in advertising costs). It also costs a lot of money to get the product to you. Dealers and distributors of software programs help to make you aware of new products, get these products to you and help you to use these products, and they need to be paid for their services to you, too. It costs a lot of money to provide you with help when you need it, whether it is information about the product before you buy it, help in using the product after you buy it or updates of the product so you can take advantage of technological changes in your computer.
Any time someone uses a copy of a program he/she did not pay for, he/she has stolen from and hurt hundreds of people, not just one person. In the long run, this results in less programs being available to you, as companies go out of business or refuse to write new programs.
So, respect all of these people's rights to be paid for the services they provide you and only use software programs that have been paid for.
Misperception: If a software company doesn't copy-protect a software program, they don't care if I copy it.
Many companies use complex copy-protection methods on their software to protect their right to be paid for their products. Other companies have stopped using copy-protection to provide better service to those who pay for these products. Copy-protection can interfere with the use of the program and makes installation on hard disk drives difficult. In addition, when you buy a product, you want to be able to use it and not have to wait for a replacement copy if anything happens to the original. This is particularly critical for businesses that are dependent on being able to access their financial data. It is also critical in a classroom where a teacher has designed an instructional unit around a specific software program.
No other industry has been so sensitive to your needs as software companies have been. Does a home electronics or typewriter company provide you with an extra product in case your original one breaks down? Do they allow you to replace your original at a nominal cost if you damage the original product? When your favorite record album gets a scratch on it or wears out because you play it every day, does the record company allow you to exchange it for a nominal price or do they make you buy it again for the full retail price?
So, when a company doesn't copy-protect their software, realize that this is a service to you. Respect their rights and only make a backup copy for your use should you damage the original program.
Misperception: I have purchased a software program, so I may use it on as many computers as I have.
This statement is true, as long as you only install and/or use the original program on one computer at a time. However, if you use the program on a network that makes the program available to more than one user, this is the equivalent of illegally copying the program, regardless of whether others are using the software program at the same time or not. In addition, to go around a room and load a program into each computer with only one program disk (called "multiple loading") is also illegal copying of the program unless specifically allowed by the publisher of the program.
Most companies provide substantial discounts for network versions or multiple copies of a program to be used in a classroom environment (called "lab packs" which include multiple copies of the software program disk, but only one manual for the teacher).
So, respect the fact that these companies are making these special prices available to you and pay for the number of copies you need.
Misperception: I don't have to pay for shareware and freeware. They are public domain software and I may freely copy them and distribute them.
This statement is partially correct. Freeware is public domain software and may be copied and distributed to others for free.
Freeware and shareware are not the same, however. Shareware is an opportunity to try it before you buy it. If you try it, like it and use it, you must pay for it. Sometimes people confuse paying for the program with paying a distribution fee to receive the shareware initially (a nominal charge paid to whoever copies and labels the shareware disks or connect time paid to a telecommunications service to download the shareware program). These charges are not payment to the person who wrote the program. The author of the program only gets paid if you decide you like and use his/her program and pay him/her for it.
So, respect the fact that the software program author is allowing you to try the program and make sure you like it, and pay him/her for it if you use it.
Respect for Privacy and Confidentiality Misperception: If someone can access information, it is okay to do so.
As adults, we value our own privacy and therefore, we respect and teach our children to respect others' rights to privacy. We teach our children not to look in others' desks or wallets, not to open or read others' mail, not to enter others' homes without being invited, not to enter businesses when their doors are locked, not to go in offices that are not open to the public and not to betray confidences by telling others' secrets. The constraints we place on ourselves and teach our children have nothing to do with whether we can or cannot gain access; rather, we adopt these behaviors and teach them to our children out of respect for others' rights to privacy and confidentiality and our desire for privacy and confidentiality ourselves.
Electronic files, information, mail and telecommunications have not changed these critical rights. The rights are the same; it is the form and means of transmission of information that has changed. We must serve as models for our children by not reading their mail or files without their permission. We also need to teach them that breaking into an electronic file (such as on a bank's or phone company's computer) is no different than breaking the locks on their doors. It is still "breaking and entering" and any information obtained is stolen and a violation of individuals' rights to privacy and confidentiality.
Respect for Property Misperception: Vandalism is damage to or destruction of the physical property of others.
We teach our children not to vandalize property or to tamper with or damage things that belong to others. We need to expand our definition of property to include things we cannot physically hold; i.e., to include electronic information, like data, files and software programs. Tampering with and changing electronic information is vandalism and disrespect for others' property.
This includes changing another child's report stored on a computer disk, modifying or erasing others' files and programs or transmitting programs that will change or erase others' files or information through telecommunications or on disks. We all read about computer "viruses" destroying individuals' and organizations' computer files. (Computer viruses are computer programs that cause damage in many ways; e.g., by erasing an entire hard disk drive or making some files or information unusable. Viruses are commonly transmitted to other computers through telecommunications and on program disks.)
We need to channel our children's creative energies into creating computer programs that benefit, rather than hurt, others and their property.
How Do We Teach Our Children to be
Responsible Users of Technology?The development of responsible computing values and behavior in our children requires good role models and instruction and reinforcement of these values and acceptable behaviors.
One of the most important ways we can help our children to be responsible users of technology is to serve as good role models ourselves. We need to remember that our children learn by example as well as through direct instruction. If we follow and reinforce a code of responsible computing, we increase the chances that most of our children will, too. If we tell them one thing, but do another ourselves, our children are more likely to follow our example than what we say.
We also need to incorporate discussion of these important values as children use technology at home and at school. The contests that follow this article are a way for teachers to share their ideas on the best ways to implement this in the classroom. The contest for students provides parents and teachers with an activity children can do today to begin thinking and learning about what it means to be a responsible user of technology.
We also need to reinforce children's responsible use of technology by recognizing their responsible behavior and their teaching of others to be responsible computer users. We must also correct children's behavior and further educate them when they violate these important values and rights.
We encourage parents, educators and business people to copy the Computer Learning Foundation Code of Responsible Computing, enlarge it and post it in a prominent location in an area where computers are used.
By being responsible computer users ourselves and by working together to help our children develop these important values, you won't believe what we'll achieve.
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