Wednesday, June 10, 2009

A 21st Century Dilemma

Interesting question from Ann Darling popped up in the comments of the Blocking discussion over at ISTE:
Is it ethical to use web 2.0 tools in classrooms knowing that our students must provide personal information to create their accounts?

Hmm. Talk about ethical dilemmas!

We all know that an alias and an alt Gmail account pwn any Web 2.0 log-in without giving away any personal information. We also know how annoying it is to have to deal with anons on blogs or discussion boards.

So, the dilemma: Do you let kids alt their way around outmoded firewalls and proceed anonymously through Web 2.0, or do you teach them to approach social media in an open manner and risk whatever consequences?

2 comments:

  1. I teach in a high school, so I am not bound by any of the 13 and older restrictions that are placed on most Web 2.0 sites. When students are creating accounts, I always ask them to use real information because I want them to continue using the strategies and tools they will learn in my class. As high schoolers, my hope is that they will carry some of this on to college if they choose to pursue that route...

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  2. What about younger students?

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