Objective 5.4 - Act in an Ethical and Civil Manner
Description of Objective 5.4 – Act in an Ethical and Civil Manner
This objective aims in particular at respecting intellectual property rights and conditions of use of information and its content. “It is a civic responsibility to be accountable for each actor in an institution, whether they are a student, teacher or employee” (Source: CRLA) [unofficial translation].
It is the responsibility of students to maintain their cyber-reputation as well as those of others and to be in conformity with the rules related to the use of technology in their living environment.
We are all obliged to act as ethical citizens. This objective seeks to ensure that students adopt ethical and civic practices that are adequate in terms of the use of information and technology. This means informing them and raising their awareness about the practices to carry out and those to avoid.
Do I respect others’ work? What is meant by plagiarism? Do I plagiarize? Do I have permission to disseminate this content to the public? Is my attitude in the virtual world adequate? Am I conscious of the impact of my actions on the Web? Am I breaking the rules of my college in my use of local networks or in the information that I borrow? These are the questions to which students must be able to respond.
Note that the idea of “netiquette” is addressed in three of the objectives of Skill 4.0 Working in a Network.
Requirements – Suggestions
To demonstrate that they can act as ethical citizens, students must be able to:
- demonstrate their understanding of ideas, concepts, rules and laws related to intellectual property, cyber-reputations and the use of technology in their environments;
- respect rules and laws related to information and the use of technologies in all academic work.
Students with the competency to use information will understand ethical, legal and social issues and respect the ethical and legal requirements related to the use of information (CREPUQ, 2008).
Different types of resources may help students to attain this objective:
- Websites;
- Laws;
- College documents;
- Audiovisual and other products that raise awareness of these issues.
Numerous academic programs have developed codes of conduct and evaluation practices for appropriate comportment in their disciplines. The theme of “IT and ethics” may therefore be associated with the development of these transferable skills.
Educational institutions from time to time undertake awareness-raising campaigns to develop this type of skill in their students and staff. Materials developed for primary and secondary schools may also be of use. They are the same concepts and often have been very well simplified.
5.4.1 – Comply with copyright and intellectual property laws
Students who respect intellectual property rights ethically and legally use all types of works or parts (extracts) thereof.
To accomplish this task, students must be able to interpret and respect the rules of the Canadian Copyright Act in the appropriate use of any work (virtual or physical).
Students must be able to access the law to understand:
- the exclusive rights given to the author of a work (copyright and moral rights);
- the definition of categories of works protected by the law;
- the duration of copyright;
- acts that constitute a violation of copyright and of moral rights;
- exceptions in the application of the Copyright Law, in particular on the fair dealing use of a work.
Students may in particular refer to methodological rules for citing sources in conformity with the required format (Task 3.2.5) and producing a mediagraphy according to the standard (Task 3.2.6).
Requirements – Suggestions
Students who understand the idea of intellectual property will be able to:
- Define copyright in their own words;
- Name the categories of protected works;
- Explain how exceptions to the application of the law may apply in an educational context or institution.
Here are some expectations with regard to intellectual property and plagiarism:
- Students understand the meaning and intent of acticles in the IPESA (Institutional Policy on the Evaluation of Student Achievement) of their college regarding cheating and plagiarism;
- Students demonstrate an understanding of what plagiarism is. They can provide appropriate examples;
- Students give credit to the author of the works cited, produced, reproduced or shared.
In practice, students who conform with intellectual property rights complete their work without any form of plagiarism.
The following resources may be used to support the student in this task:
- Government websites on copyright;
- The website of the Canadian Copyright Act.
- Site for licences Creative Commons.
Consulting the Canadian Copyright Act and recent interpretive documents will help in conforming with the law.
The most common violation of intellectual property is plagiarism, but many others also exist (e.g. software piracy, fraud, falsifying documents, cheating, etc.
Most college libraries provide resources on this topic for students.
5.4.2 – Apply terms of use of information and contents
Students understand what a license is under the terms of the Copyright Act and are aware of the different types of licenses.
The diffusion of school work or personal productions in public (including in classrooms, on the internet and in social media) is more constrained than the use of a work in school work. This task leads students to be aware of their role as public authors (Source: CRLA).
To accomplish this task, students identify and respect the conditions of use and sharing of works (diffusion rights, recording, interpretation or reproduction). They obtain the authorizations required. They seek to learn, understand and apply the rules for the use and sharing of works belonging to their institution.
Students are informed about the significance of a license and the rules regarding its use (e.g. Copyright and Creative Commons).
They understand the nature of the rights granted under a license or a contract and respect these rights.
Students know and apply the rules in effect in their institution regarding the conditions for use and sharing of works. They obtain the authorizations required from authors, distributers or publishers to respect these rules.
Requirements – Suggestions
Students provide proof that they have obtained from the author, producer or distributor, a license for the use (for recording, interpretation, sharing or reproduction) of a work as part of an assignment.
The following resources may support students in this task:
- The college’s IPESA;
- College policies on the use and sharing of works;
- The Canadian Copyright Act;
- The rules of companies that manage copyright (e.g. COPIBEC).
One or more resource person(s) from the educational institution may advise students on the legal use of works (e.g. a librarian or SMTE, technician, pedagogical counsellor, etc.
Essential documentation for making good decisions in this area is often distributed by the institution itself (e.g. in a student agenda, website, etc.).
Students may integrate into their work an illustration produced by a recognized expert by citing the source and adding a reference in their mediography. However, if students make their work available to the public on the internet, they may have to request the authorization of the author to fully respect intellectual property.
Licence: A license grants the licensee permission, consent or clearance to use the copyrighted work according to the terms specified by the licensor, who is the owner of the copyright. (Source : Clinique juridique des artistes de Montréal).
5.4.3 – Preserve one’s own digital integrity and that of others
This task refers to the concepts of reputation, internet identity, self-image and privacy.
Students must be aware of the traces they leave on the web that may affect their reputation and image.
Students must also adopt equally cautious Conduct as to the reputation and image of others.
On Wikipedia, the definition of ‘Internet Identity’ is a social identity that an Internet user establishes in online communities and websites. It can also be considered as an actively constructed presentation of oneself.
A person’s digital integrity is built on traces (photos, videos, comments, choices, texts, etc.) left on different platforms (e-mails, social media, message texts, websites, etc.)
Requirements – Suggestions
Students can define digital integrity, the right to control photos and videos and the right to privacy, as well as identify conducs that are susceptible to harm themselves and others.
Students can define what cyberbullying and cyberharassment are and provide examples of conducts that are not acceptable.
Students are conscious of the consequences and legal problems that could result from inappropriate conducts.
In practice, students adopt appropriate conduct by:
- Establishing respectful virtual communications;
- Paying attention to their digital integrity and that of others;
- Avoiding all forms of cyberbullying or cyberharassment.
The following resources can be used to support this task:
- Informational websites on this theme (for example CyberSelf.ca);
- Audiovisual or other awareness raising educational materials (clips, brochures, posters, etc.);
- Legal texts about cyberbullying, image reproduction rights, privacy rights, rights and freedoms, etc.;
- Policies and regulations on the use of information and communication technologies and social networks.
The documentation needed to adopt appropriate conduct in this area is often distributed by students’ own institution (student agenda, web site, etc.). Policies or institutional procedures often describe quite well what is and is not appropriate conduct. Students should not hesitate to refer to these often.
One effective way to make students aware of the consequences of their online actions is to use a few real-life examples of the traces they leave behind in cyberspace and to link them with actual consequences.
5.4.4 – Follow the rules concerning the use of technology in one’s own environment
This task encourages students to comply with rules concerning the use of technology in their own environment, whether it be at the college or in a stage (field work). Students adopt adequate conduct according to the environment. They apply good practices when it comes to using technology.
Rules related to the environment define expected or forbidden conduct, including the use of technology. Topics discussed are varied:
- The use of the internet and of the local network (in class or in other public places);
- The use of equipment(computers, peripheral device, audiovisual device, etc.);
- The use of software;
- The use of mobile phones and other electronic devices;
- Plagiarism or other forms of cheating;
- The use of social networks;
- Cyberbullying;
- The use of public cloud computing;
- etc.
Note that certain rules of usage of technology are directly linked with other elements of the ICT Profile, in particular other tasks from Objective 5.4 Act in an Ethical and Civil Manner.
Requirements – Suggestions
Students are able to outline and explain the rules related to using technology in their environment.
In practice, students respect rules.
Conduct that is expected from students in college is relevant and transferable when in stage (field work), and eventually on the labour market or university.
Different types of documents on this topic are available in colleges. They can be:
- rules;
- policies;
- codes of conduct;
- procedures;
- etc.
Generally, these documents or excerpts are available on the website or college intranet and sometimes in the student agenda.
Students can generally refer to the student association, the IT department or the college’s student services to learn more on rules related to technology.
