Information Ethics and Literacy

Approaches to Information and Communication Literacy

2006-05-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

An Evolving Literacy
Educators through history have tried to identify the basic competencies of a "well-rounded" student. Although many of these knowledge, skills, and attitudes can be associated with particular content areas such as math, science, social studies, or language arts, other competencies seem to flow through all areas. For example, all students need to be able to access, process, and communicate information and ideas. Critical and creative thinking is an example of this overlap with traditional curriculum areas.

Approaches to Information Literacy
Many educators view information and communication literacy as the foundation to all "traditional content areas." Rather than focusing on individual skills, many educators prefer to use a problem-solving or inquiry-based approach to the process of working with information and creating communication. Others prefer to call these study or research skills.

Information and Communication Literacy Model Comparison

The Big6 Problem-solving Model
href="http://www.schools.manatee.k12.fl.us/webdisk/651SHUNT/WebPages/Matrix/matrix1.html">
Standards Alignment Chart

Manatee County's Big6

The Information Process

2006-04-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

Finding, Collecting, and Using Information
Identifying and Locating Relevant Information
Identify Relevant Material
Where do you start looking?
What do you start searching for?
Locating Relevant Information
Think Critically About the Information Collected
Thinking critically involves:

* Distinguishing fact from opinion
* Recognizing bias and balance
* Being aware of the scope or censorship in an information source
* Understanding the authority or research on which the information is based
* Considering the currency of the information (when was it written - is it still relevant?)
* Considering the treatment. Is the information appropriate (language, style, level of complexity) for the audience you are addressing?
* Synthesizing and integrating the information you have read: bringing it all together, and relating what you have learnt to what you already knew.
Focusing the Information Search
Use Information to Help Focus the Search and to Find Further Information

Integrating Information Literacy into the Curriculum

2006-04-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

Ideally, information literacy skills will be integrated into the curriculum across all disciplines. When theoretical concepts related to the development critical thinking and information literacy skills are implemented within the context of meaningful practice, the result is authentic learning that builds a foundation for lifelong, independent learning related to finding, using, and evaluating information tools, formats, sources, and products.

Facilitating Active Learning

2006-03-26T20:13:00.000-08:00

Active Learning Online
To a certain extent, all learning can be considered active as it stimulates your mind with new knowledge. However, not all learning challenges learners to put their new knowledge to use and deepen their understanding through practice.

What Is Active Learning?
"Active Learning is a multi-directional learning experience in which learning occurs teacher-to-student, student-to-teacher, and student-to-student.

Active Learning involves activity-based learning experiences: input, process, and output. These activity-based experiences take many shapes whole class involvement, teams, small groups, trios, pairs, individuals.

Activity-based experiences take many forms talking, writing, reading, discussing, debating, acting, role-playing, journaling, conferring, interviewing, building, creating, and the list continues."

Why Use Active Learning?
"Why use Active Learning strategies to teach any subject?
Active Learning leads to effective and efficient teaching and learning."

How Does Active Learning Work?
"Active Learning increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the teaching and learning process. Teachers want students to leave a class with knowledge and or skills they did not have when they began the class. Months later, teachers want those same students to retain the learning, apply it to new situations, build upon that learning to develop new perspectives, and continue the learning process.
This level of learning, resulting in retention and transfer, occurs most efficiently through concrete activity-based experiences.
Active Learning involves input from multiple sources through multiple senses (hearing, seeing, feeling, etc.).
Active Learning involves process, interacting with other people and materials, accessing related schemata in the brain, stimulating multiple areas of the brain to act.
Active Learning involves output, requiring students to produce a response or a solution or some evidence of the interActive Learning that is taking place."

The following sites provide diverse web-based tools for creating stimulating, multi-faceted learning activities:

Blue Web'n
"A Library of Blue Ribbon Learning Sites on the Web"
Check out the internet activities and projects at this site.
"Blue Web'n is an online library of 2024 outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (tools, references, lessons, hotlists, resources, tutorials, activities, projects). You can also browse by broad subject area (Content Areas) or specific sub-categories (Subject Area). See "About this Site" for a scoring rubric and answers to other burning questions!"

Filamentality
"Helping You Add Your Filament to the Web of Learning"
A great site that guides teachers and library media specialists through the process of creating many types of web-based learning activities.
"Filamentality is a fill-in-the-blank tool that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Web, gathering good Internet links, and turning them into online learning activities. Support is built-in along the way through Mentality Tips. In the end, you'll create a web-based activity you can share with others even if you don't know anything about HTML or serving web pages.
Filamentality combines the 'filaments of the web' with your 'mentality' allowing you to create a variety of formats that meet your personal or learner needs."

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School

Learner-Centered Psychological Principles: Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors

Learning and Blogs

2006-03-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

In my opinion, if blogs are thoughtfully designed and content-based they can be an excellent teaching tool for students of any age. For students who are able to read, blogs can be a particularly engaging method for sharing content. With the addition of graphics, blogs can support visual literacy as well as learning based on reading comprehension. However, some school districts may have policies against the use of blogs. It may be necessary to present a blog prototype in order to convince administrators of the educational value and flexibility of blogs.

Magic of Connection

2006-03-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

Librarians, especially school and public librarians, have many opportunities to connect children with books. If librarians use their knowledge of children and books, to help children find books that provide authentic, individualized connections, the "connection" can be truly magical.
When children who are considered non-readers or who struggle with reading discover a connection with books, they may transform into committed and confirmed readers!

E-Portfolios & Learning

2006-03-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

Creating the E-Portfolio was an exercise in constructive learning. Exploring presentation formats and researching content provided opportunities for considering usability and to focus on delivering selected resources to a specific user group.
By designing an E-Pathfinder in conjunction with information ethics, I gained practical experience in constructing learning tools that integrate web-based resources for building students' information literacy skills.

The E-Portfolio assignment was definitely a valuable learning experience. Students were able to examine general concepts related to information ethics by responding to the course-based questions. In addition, students were invited to explore a subject related to information ethics in depth.
By allowing students to choose a topic of interest, the E-Pathfinder assignment became personally meaningful. Having the opportunity to connect concepts presented in the course to development of the E-Pathfinder provided experience with practical applications and facilitated the creation of functional research tools that can be shared beyond the course.
Course requirements were extended into "real-world" applicability. The knowledge gained by developing E-pathfinders and constructing E-Portfolios builds highly-valued, experienced-based professional skills.

Having created a blog focused on sharing information resources related to the topic of information ethics and literacy with students and teachers, I will definitely maintain the blog and use it to support student learning across content areas. I have shared the blog with my school district administrators, and they are uniformly enthused about its content, and about using the blog format as an instructional tool. My experience with creating and using blogs as learning tools has given me a head start in using cutting-edge technology for expanding learning opportunities, and both my district and I truly appreciate the fact that I had the opportunity to experiment with this format!

My advice to other Information Ethics students would be to give careful thought to your topic, to begin creation of the E-Pathfinder as soon as possible, and to devote time each day to designing the pathfinder, exploring resources, and integrating content.

Using the Bb discussion board for responding to course-based questions works well. However, using the E-Portfolio blogs as a vehicle for responding to classmates would provide additional opportunities for sharing ideas and giving/receiving feedback.
It is always valuable to gain practical experience using various formats to communicate with others. While the ability to comment to blog posts is an engaging way to communicate, it is important to keep in mind that Bb is typically stable, while other web-based venues (especially servers) can be unstable and less reliable!

Building Communities of Learning

2006-03-17T20:26:00.000-08:00

The Gap
By Andy Carvin -- 3/1/2006 -- School Library Journal.com
Once a hot topic, the digital divide seems all but forgotten, while the poor, mainly black and Hispanic, are still being left behind

"Despite all the incredible advances in streaming video and Web-based multimedia, the Internet remains a text-dominant medium. If you lack a strong foundation in literacy skills, all the Internet access in the world isn’t going to do you a lot of good.
Unfortunately, the digital divide is rarely addressed as a major policy issue in America. But as the U.S. struggles to improve its schools, while dragging its heels at improving our national broadband infrastructure, countries like India and China are churning out highly skilled young people for their workforces. At the same time, Nordic countries and Korea deploy ubiquitous Internet access. Other nations are creating government ministries to spur technological and educational innovation, while American digital divide policies have fallen off the docket. America is losing its competitiveness because we’re not making the necessary investments in education and infrastructure.

Fortunately, there is still positive work being done. The federal e-rate program continues to enable low-income schools and libraries to connect to the Internet, while nonprofit and private sector entities invest in local and national efforts dedicated to bridging the gap (see “Bridging the Divide,” above). Meanwhile, copyright initiatives like Creative Commons ease the way for people to publish their own content for broad public use. And open courseware initiatives from universities, such as MIT, are making some of the most coveted curriculum freely available, whether you can afford to attend the brick-and-mortar institutions or not.

The challenge remains, however, to get the digital divide back on the national agenda. The disparity in technology access must be viewed as a national threat—to our economic competitiveness, our civil rights, and our national creed of equal opportunity. While it may be true that seven out of 10 Americans are online, we shouldn’t pat ourselves on the back just yet. Not as long as disenfranchised, underserved Americans remain on the wrong side of the divide." (Carvin, 2006).

Communities of Learning

2006-03-16T20:46:00.000-08:00

I was able to participate in a webcast titled "Creating Learning Communities" and moderated by Alan November today. The discussion focused on using blogs, webcasts, Skyde, RSS feed, bloglines, etc. as tools to support instruction and to facilitate the development of viable learning communities. November argued that in order to provide genuinely meaningful instruction for today's young adults, teachers should utilize the mediums that support the meaningful communication that young people value and are currently using to share information with one another.
November presented a convincing argument for using the blog format for teaching and helping students construct a global perspective.

November also discussed the need to create a "code of ethics" for appropriate use of blogs and other formats, and suggested that teachers solicit the support of students in constructing class ethical codes, based on the presentation and discussion of actual scenarios related to inappropriate blogging content and activities. The webcast was very interesting and timely.

An archive of the webcast is available at EdTechConnect.

November Learning: Information Literacy Resources

"How many versions of the truth are you looking for? Too often students accept information that looks authentic as the truth and this is one of the dangers of Web site information. Since ANYONE can publish on the Internet, learning how to validate information is an important skill." --Alan November

Reflections on the Information Literacy and Ethics Toolkit

2006-03-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

"E- Pathfinder -- Information Literacy & Ethics Toolkit: Information Literacy and Ethics Resources for Middle and High School Students and Teachers"

The scope of this E-pathfinder summarizes the basic content. The E-pathfinder is sub-divided into 15 alphabetized categories related to topics covering various aspects of information literacy and information ethics for the purpose of constructively guiding and instructing middle and high school students and teachers in the development of information literacy knowledge and skills.

The E-Pathfinder is designed to provide subject-based guides to resources on information literacy and information ethics. The E-Pathfinder resources include brief annotations, which are intended to inform teachers, to guide instruction, and to be used by middle and high school students. The E-Pathfinder topics include: academic honesty, assessment criteria, computer ethics, copyright and fair use, ethical codes, evaluation of information resources, information literacy standards, intellectual freedom and intellectual property, Internet research, the research process, piracy, social responsibility, and the responsible use of electronic communication tools. The E-Pathfinder is intended to guide teachers and secondary students to web-based tools that can be used to actively support critical thinking and the learning process across content areas, while engaging students in the constructive development of information literacy knowledge and skills.

Three web-based resources have exceptional potential as teaching and learning tools. These resources each build skills and understanding through active, constructive engagement in the learning process via online interactive tutorials.
These resources include:

"TILT"
http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/

"An On-line Interactive Course in Internet Ethics"
http://www.ess.pdx.edu/ets/etsub/Resources/Ethics_course.htm

A Website Evaluation Tutorial called "Credible Sources Count!"
http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/webevaluation/

The following books, among many others, are fundamental and highly regarded resources for those teaching information literacy skills:

American Association of School Libraries. (1998). Information power: Building partnerships for learning (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Simpson, C. (Ed.). (2003). Ethics in school librarianship: A reader. Worthington, OH: Linworth.

I plan to extend and continue the Information and Ethics Blog. The blog format is particularly promising for use with a middle and high school population, because this group of users is typically very familiar with the blog format, and therefore receptive to the resources included via blogs.
I will definitely create more educational blogs focused on specific aspects of the research process, research and expository writing, and using informaiton resources responsibly.
Although the blog format is rigidly linear, the ease of posting and archive features make blogs a tool that easily supports additions and revisions. Since blogs are not a complex medium to use, they are an excellent format for instructors with limited time!
The fact that blogs support web-based links facilitates development of teaching tools based on selected content, including existing online resources and those created specifically for instruction, like customized websites, web-based pathfinders, and web quests. With the capacity to incorporate a variety of resources, and to present those resources within a thematically-focused frame, educational blogs have the potential to be outstanding learning tools. I have discovered that purposefully-conceived blogs can be used to enhance instruction, support meaningful learning, and reinforce the development of critical thinking strategies.

E- Pathfinder -- Information Literacy & Ethics Toolkit: Information Literacy and Ethics Resources for Middle and High School Students and Teachers

2006-03-10T19:07:00.000-08:00

Title of the Topic:
“Information Literacy and Ethics Toolkit: Information Literacy and Ethics Resources for Middle and High School Students and Teachers” *

Scope: The E-Pathfinder is designed to provide subject-based guides to resources on information literacy and information ethics. The E-Pathfinder resources include brief annotations, which are intended to inform teachers, to guide instruction, and to be used by middle and high school students. The E-Pathfinder topics include: academic honesty, assessment criteria, computer ethics, copyright and fair use, ethical codes, evaluation of information resources, information literacy standards, intellectual freedom and intellectual property, Internet research, the research process, piracy, social responsibility, and the responsible use of electronic communication tools. The E-Pathfinder is intended to guide teachers and secondary students to web-based tools that can be used to actively support critical thinking and the learning process across content areas, while engaging students in the constructive development of information literacy knowledge and skills.

Targeted Audience: Resources for middle and high school teachers and their students, concerning information literacy and ethical issues related to information resources and the access and use of information in a variety of formats. The purpose of the E-Pathfinder is to assist teachers in helping middle and high school students develop information literacy while becoming proficient and responsible users of information resources, information technology, and information systems.

E-Pathfinder Blog Resource: http://infoethicsandlit.blogspot.com/
The “Information Literacy and Ethics” blog is an ongoing project, which includes resources to relevant information organized in subject categories and indexed by keyword and topic.

E-Pathfinder Website Resource: http://rightuse.info/
The “Information Literacy and Ethics” website is an ongoing project, providing a subject-based pathfinder to information resources organized by category.

Introduction:
“Information Literacy and Ethics for Middle and High School Students and Teachers” provides a collaborative forum, information pathfinders, information literacy tutorials, evaluation tools, and selected web-based and print resources concerning ethical research practices and the ethical use of information in all formats.

Subjects:

Academic Dishonesty

"Academic dishonesty is a form of cheating that occurs within an educational setting. It includes plagiarism and data falisfication. Plagiarism is claiming another's work as one's own. Data falsification includes making false claims about research performed, including selective reporting of results to exclude inconvenient data to generating bogus data."

Abundant Cheating

A Critical Campus Concern, Information Ethics

Academic Dishonesty

Definitions of Academic Dishonesty

Plagiarism

Legal Aspects of Academic Dishonesty

Assessing Information Literacy

"Assessment is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs."

Big6 Turbo Tools

TILT

Webquests and Information Literacy: A Collaborative, Active Approach to Learning

Critical Thinking

"Critical thinking consists of a mental process of analyzing or evaluating information, particularly statements or propositions that people have offered as true. It forms a process of reflecting upon the meaning of statements, examining the offered evidence and reasoning, and forming judgments about the facts.
Critical thinkers can gather such information from observation, experience, reasoning, and/or communication. Critical thinking has its basis in intellectual values that go beyond subject-matter divisions and which include: clarity, accuracy, precision, evidence, thoroughness and fairness."

iReading + iWriting + iThinking + T/n = L3

Code of Ethics for Educators

"In the context of an organization, a code of ethics is often a formal statement of the organization's values on certain ethical and social issues. Some set out general principles about an organization's beliefs on matters such as quality, employees or the environment. Others set out the procedures to be used in specific ethical situations - such as conflicts of interest or the acceptance of gifts, and delineate the procedures to determine whether a violation of the code of ethics occurred and, if so, what remedies should be imposed. The effectiveness of such codes of ethics depends on the extent to which to management supports them with sanctions and rewards."

A Blogger's Code of Ethics

ALA Code of Ethics

Code of Information Ethics

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

InfoLit Standards

"A set of criteria linked to learning objectives that is used to assess a student's performance on a task, paper, project, essay, etc."

Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning

Information and Learning

"Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values, through study, experience, or teaching, that causes a change of behavior that is persistent, measurable, and specified or allows an individual to formulate a new mental construct or revise a prior mental construct (conceptual knowledge such as attitudes or values). It is a process that depends on experience and leads to long-term changes in behavior potential. Behavior potential describes the possible behavior of an individual (not actual behavior) in a given situation in order to achieve a goal. But potential is not enough; if individual learning is not periodically reinforced, it becomes shallower and shallower, and eventually is lost in that individual.
Instruction is a form of communicated information that is both command and explanation for how an action, behavior, method, or task is to be begun, completed, conducted, or executed."

3 Doors to InfoLiteracy

Information Literacy Readings

Information Literacy Forum

Information Literacy Links

Information Literacy Portals

Information Literacy Tools

Information Ethics

"Information ethics is a field that applies ethical principles within the context of information provision, control, and use. This field considers issues concerning all aspects of "information technology and information systems for personal, professional, and public decision-making (Elrod & Smith, 2005)" by providing a critical framework for considering issues related to information creation, ownership, acquistion, access, and retrieval. Information ethics establishes criteria for evaluating policies and decisions regarding information products, delivery, and systems."

Applied Ethics Resources on WWW

Information Ethics Problem of the Month

Information Ethics Tutorial

National Forum on Information Literacy

Open Directory: Computers, Ethics

Resources on Computer and Ethics

Ten Commandments Of Computer Ethics

Information Literacy and Learning

"Information literacy is rooted in the concepts of library instruction and bibliographic instruction, is the ability "to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information" (Information Power, p. 1). In this view, information literacy is the basis for life-long learning, and an information literate person is one who:

* recognizes that accurate and complete information is the basis for intelligent decision making
* recognizes the need for information
* knows how to locate needed information
* formulates questions based on information needs
* identifies potential sources of information
* develops successful search strategies
* accesses sources of information including computer-based and other technologies
* evaluates information no matter what the source
* organizes information for practical application
* integrates new information into an existing body of knowledge
* uses information in critical thinking and problem solving (Doyle, 1992)
* uses information ethically and legally

Since information may be presented in a number of formats, the term information applies to more than just the printed word. Other literacies such as visual, media, computer, network, and basic literacies are implicit in information literacy."

About Information Literacy

ACRL Information Literacy

Information Literacy

Information Literacy and Access to Resources

Information Literacy Weblog

Information Literacy Models

"Because information literacy skills are vital to future success:

* Information literacy skills must be taught in the context of the overall process.
* Instruction in information literacy skills must be integrated into the curriculum and reinforced both within and outside of the educational setting.

"The Seven Pillars of Information Literacy" Model

What is information literacy?

Information Literacy Skills

"Educational reform and restructuring make information literacy skills a necessity as students seek to construct their own knowledge and create their own understandings.
Educators are selecting various forms of resource-based learning (authentic learning, problem-based learning and work-based learning) to help students focus on the process and to help students learn from the content. Information literacy skills are necessary components of each.
The process approach to education is requiring new forms of student assessment. Students demonstrate their skills, assess their own learning, and evaluate the processes by which this learning has been achieved by preparing portfolios, learning and research logs, and using rubrics."

Lessons for developing skills in the areas of:

Questioning

Identifying & Collecting

Evaluating

Sensemaking

Reflecting & Refining

Using

Assessing

21st Century Information Fluency Project

Intellectual Freedom

The concept 'intellectual freedom' is based on "...the inalienable rights of a person to use ideas--the freedom to use one's mind. Intellectual Freedom is the right to own the ideas that you possess and it is the right to use your ideas in conjunction with your physical property in any way you wish. It is the right to be free from claims of illegally possessing or using ideas. It is the recognition that to call ideas that one person possesses the property of another is analogous to calling one person the property of another."
Intellectual Freedom is the inalienable right of all humanity to take part in the use of expressions; of inventions; of ideas. Intellectual freedom is defined as "...the inalienable rights of a person to use ideas--the freedom to use one's mind. Intellectual Freedom is the right to own the ideas that you possess and it is the right to use your ideas in conjunction with your physical property in any way you wish. It is the right to be free from claims of illegally possessing or using ideas. It is the recognition that to call ideas that one person possesses the property of another is analogous to calling one person the property of another. Intellectual Freedom is the inalienable right of all humanity to take part in the use of expressions; of inventions; of ideas."

ALA Intellectual Freedom Statements and Policies

Censorship and Intellectual Freedom FAQs

Censorship, the Internet, Intellectual Freedom, and Youth

Democracy and Intellectual Freedom

Intellectual Freedom and Censorship

Professional Guidelines

"Simulated Intellectual Freedom Debate"

Intellectual Property

"Intellectual property refers to a legal entitlement which sometimes attaches to the expressed form of an idea, or to some other intangible subject matter. This legal entitlement generally enables its holder to exercise exclusive rights of use in relation to the subject matter of the intellectual property. The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect, and that IP rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property."

Copyright and Fair Use

Copyright, Privacy, and Intellectual Property

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property

ithenticate

Research Resources

Turnitin

Understanding Copyrights

What Is Plagiarism?

Internet Ethics

The core issues of Internet ethics "include, but are not limited to: professional responsibility, intellectual property rights, privacy, and the impact of technology in society." An issue that goes hand in hand with Internet ethics is social responsibility. Social responsibility is an obligation for Internet information producers and users to create and use information in an ethically and socially responsible manner.

Applied Ethics Resources on WWW

The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School

Computer Literacy

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

A Critical Campus Concern, Information Ethics

Internet Research Ethics

The Internet, Ethics, Plagiarism, and AUPs

Internet Ethics: Oxymoron or Orthodoxy?

An Online Interactive Course in Internet Ethics

Resources on Computer and Ethics

Teaching Internet Ethics to Teens

Open Courseware

"Freeware is computer software which is made available free of charge, as opposed to payware where the user is required to pay." Open courseware facilitates free and open access to information programs and services.

Models for Sustainable Open Educational Resources

Open Directory Project

Piracy

"Copyright infringement is the unauthorized use of copyrighted material in a manner that violates one of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it. The slang term bootleg (derived from the use of the shank of a boot for the purposes of smuggling) is often used to describe illicitly copied material."

Anti-Piracy

The Free Software Foundation

Software Piracy

Types of Piracy

Website Evaluation

"A website (or web site) is a collection of Web pages, typically common to a particular domain name or sub-domain on the World Wide Web on the Internet.
To date, there are nearly 80 million websites in the world with registered domains.
There are many varieties of websites, each specialising in a particular type of content or use.
Evaluation is the systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone.
'Evaluation' is said to involve characterizations and appraisals – determinations of merit and/or worth. Merit involves judgments about generalized value. Worth involves judgments about instrumental value."

Website Evaluation Criteria

Website Evaluation Tutorial

Print Reference Sources:

American Association of School Libraries. (1998). Information power: Building partnerships for learning (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Birk, J. & Hunt, F. (2003). Hands-on information literacy activities. New York: Neal-Schumann.

Brevik, P.S. (1998). Student learning in the information age. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.

Doyle, C.S. (1992). Outcome Measures for Information Literacy Within the National Education Goals of 1990. Final Report to National Forum on Information Literacy. Summary of Findings.

Eisenberg, M.B., Lowe, C.A., & Spitzer, K.L. (2004). Essential skills for the information age (2nd ed.) . Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Harris, F. J. (2005). I found it on the Internet: Coming of age online. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Hughes-Hassell, S. & Wheelock, A. (2001). Information-powered school. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Lessig, L. (2002). The future of ideas: The fate of the commons in a connected world. New York: Random House.

Loertscher, D.B., & Wools, B. (2002). Information literacy: A review of the research. San Jose, CA: Hi Willow Publishing.

Riedling, A.M., & Eisenberg, M.B. (2002). Learning to learn: A guide to becoming information literate. New York: Neal-Shumann.

Riedling, A.M. (2004). Information literacy: What does it look like in the school library media center. Portsmouth, NH: Libraries Unlimited.

Simpson, C. (Ed.). (2003). Ethics in school librarianship: A reader. Worthington, OH: Linworth.

Spinello, R.A., & Tavani, H.T. (2004). Readings in cyberethics (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Tavani, H.T. (2004). Ethics & technology: Ethical issues in an age of information and communication technology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley $ Sons.

Thomas, N.P. (2004). Information literacy and information skills instruction: Applying research to practice in the school library media center. (2nd ed.)

Warlick, D.F. (2004). Redefining literacy for the 21st century. Worthington, OH: Linworth.

Woodbury, M.C. (2003). Computer and information ethics. Champaign, IL: Stipes.

*NOTE
Creating and revising the E-pathfinder has been an ongoing and reflective process, involving evaluation, re-evaluation, and critical thinking in relation to topic, audience, and presentation strategies.

The topic of information literacy is intimately tied to information ethics. In order to develop information literacy knowledge and skills, students must appreciate information ethics and ethical practices in relation to information production, access, retrieval and use.

In order to effectively present the concept of information ethics in the context of information literacy to middle and high school students and teachers, it is necessary to identify resources that support conceptual understanding as well as constructive learning.
Limiting and categorizing subtopics, and arranging the categories alphabetically. simplifies searching via the E-pathfinder, and supports convenient identification of selected information resources by the intended audience.

Customer-centric Values

2006-03-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

"To stay relevant and be able to compete with Google, Yahoo, and the Web in general, state librarians must adopt a customer-centric values system that measures their successes against customers’ successes, not a static model of ‘good’ librarianship."

In my opinion, a user-friendly model is essential if libraries are to remain relevant and also provide services that users consider valuable. When policies emphasize a user-centered approach to service delivery and libraries offer user-friendly tools for access and retrieval, users will appreciate libraries and the welcoming, helpful librarians that model the best practices for serving users and satisfying users' needs for information in a variety of formats.

The role of the information specialist in helping users is focused on providing comprehensive service. Christopher Edwards (2000) suggests librarians’ traditional contributions of –

* Providing access
* Working in partnership
* Structuring knowledge
* Imparting skills
* Preserving heritage
* and inspiring trust

Based on a user-centered approach to service, "real users in the real world are going to find the librarian's skills in selection and quality assurance invaluable for some years yet.

In this context, imparting information skills might well emerge as our most valuable role. Information illiteracy will be a key threat to prosperity and social inclusion in the knowledge society. Helping our communities to become critical consumers, confident learners and accomplished creators of knowledge will be a crucial task" (Edwards, 2000).

Library information specialists have a "role as intermediaries working on behalf of the consumer. The trust (librarians) have earned doing this will be difficult to retain, as (librarians) get more involved in complex dealings with content providers and in the manipulation of increasingly fragmented information. But if (librarians) can succeed, then the librarian brand will be in world-wide demand" (ibid.).

Edwards, C. (2000). Global knowledge: a challenge for librarians. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Retrieved March 5, 2006 from http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla66/papers/153-154e.htm

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) "is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession."

The IFLA is definitely involved in developing public policies related to information service in a global context. Membership in IFLA provides a means of collaborating with user-centered information specialists who are considered with providing all potential users with comprehensive access to diverse information resources, regardless of format.

"The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) provides information specialists throughout the world with a forum for exchanging ideas and promoting international cooperation, research, and development in all fields of library activity and information service. IFLA is one of the means through which libraries, information centres, and information professionals worldwide can formulate their goals, exert their influence as a group, protect their interests, and find solutions to global problems."

The mission, goals, and objectives of IFLA definitely support my interest in collaborative information provision and service!

Library Instruction Links

2006-03-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

Library Instruction Links:

"This is a collection of links relating to library instruction and information literacy."

This site is (c) 2002-2004 Michael Lorenzen. All rights reserved. Permission is given to link to this site.

Library Reference Search Web Directory

Key information literacy skills include: determining the nature and extent of the information need; accessing information; evaluating information and sources; and adhering to ethical practices in the use of information.

Information Literacy Instruction & Effective Research

2006-03-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

Information Literacy = A relatively new term, information literacy refers to the skill level of a person regarding information; skill in finding the information one needs, usually requiring knowledge of library resources, computer search tools, and research techniques. The term can often be confused with computer literacy; however it is a much more extensive term.

An information literate person can:

* Identify and retrieve information in print form, (books, serials, reference texts)
* Analyze information for its relevance, timeliness, accuracy and suitability of format
* Synthesize the information and present it

Modern library instruction emphasizes search and retrieval techniques as well as evaluation skills such as these.

Library Instruction = (also called Bibliographic instruction) is the process of teaching users how to find information in the library and on the Web. It is closely allied to the field of information literacy.
Instructional services provided by an instruction librarian to a group of users designed to teach them how to locate the information they need quickly and effectively. Library instruction usually covers the library's system of organization, the structure of the literature of the field or topic, research methodology appropriate to the discipline, and increasingly involves hands-on practice using computerized search tools.

Library Instruction Wiki

LibraryInstruction.com: The Librarian's Weapon of Mass Instruction
Information Literacy Articles at LibraryInstruction.com

Research = Systematic, intensive, patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge, usually employing the techniques of hypothesis and experiment, whose purpose is to reveal new facts, theories, or principles.

Web Site Evaluation

Why students need information literacy skills

Information literacy is more than personal processes, skills and lifelong learning. It is also about using information for social responsibility.
Information literate people:

* "engage in independent learning through constructing new meaning, understanding and knowledge;
* derive satisfaction and personal fulfilment from using information wisely;
* individually and collectively search for and use information for decision making and problem solving in order to address personal, professional and societal issues; and
* demonstrate social responsibility through a commitment to lifelong learning and community participation."

Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy and Council of Australian University Librarians (2003). Australian and New Zealand information literacy framework. Principles, standards and practice . Adelaide, Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy.

Boolean Searching

Internet Public Library for Teens -- Teen Space: A+ Research & Writing for High School and College Students
Evaluating Search Tools

Elements of Website Evaluation
Worksheet for Evaluating Websites
Evaluating Websites "Tour"

Learning Information Literacy Online

Your research strategy: How to select a good research topic

Library research tutorials

Technology & Learning: Copyright and FairUse Guidelines for Teachers
Good “quick reference” for copyright and fair use guidelines in chart form.

Ethics 101: Cheating, Plagiarism, Site Evaluation, Copyright and Your Students

Finding Online Forums

Online Catalog Exercise

CyberSmart: Meeting the Needs of Students, Teachers and Schools by:

* enabling schools to successfully integrate technology into the core curricula;
* addressing the social, legal and ethical issues associated with technology use;
* supporting information and technology literacy;
* helping busy teachers make student technology use more effective;
* teaching the ground rules for online behaviors that are acceptable, appropriate and effective;
* and, involving families.

Basic Steps in the Research Process

Netiquette

The Final Hurdle?
By Ann Jason Kenney, Illustrations by David Brion -- 3/1/2006 -- School Library Journal.com
A new test may finally bring information literacy the recognition it deserves
"The bottom line is that school librarians have a huge role to play in ensuring that students know how to properly use communication tools and digital technology. 'This includes the ability to use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information, and the ethical and legal issues surrounding the access and use of information,' says ETS.
The core test, administered online in a proctored lab or classroom, uses real-time, scenario-based tasks such as obtaining information from a database, creating a spreadsheet, and writing a concise e-mail message based on research findings. Tasks are designed to measure technical and cognitive skills.
An assessment of the ability to collect or retrieve information in a digital environment may involve searching a database, browsing hyperlinks, or locating information through online help. To determine proficiency in evaluating information, a student may, for instance, be asked to find a database that best addresses a research question, determine if a Web site is sufficient to complete a given task, or rank sites according to whether they meet particular criteria.
How well are we teaching technology skills and the critical thinking proficiencies to use them optimally? What new skills do we need to be teaching? Are the research and technology skills that we teach in one grade successfully reinforced and maintained in others? How familiar are our students with the ethical and legal issues embedded in the use of information?
Librarians have long understood the importance of knowing how to properly locate, use, and evaluate information. If information literacy is as important to school librarians as we say it is, let’s not be left behind. Let’s seize this test as an opportunity to demonstrate our importance as instructors of information literacy and the value these skills have in our students’ lives." (Kenney, 2006).

The research process involves a series of strategic steps and guidelines for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information analysis and use. When these steps are understood and followed, the process facilitates reaching the goal of information discovery, retrieval, organization, utility, and sharing.

Freedom to Explore & Think

2006-03-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

Library Bill of Rights

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

1. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
2. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
3. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
5. A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
6. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

Adopted June 18, 1948; amended February 2, 1961, and January 23, 1980, by the ALA Council.

Intellectual Freedom Basics
“Intellectual Freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored. Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas.” -- href="http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/basics/intellectual.htm">Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A

YALSA Blog

IPL Pathfinders

2006-03-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

"PATHFINDERS: IPL Expert Guides intended to help you get started doing research on a particular topic, both online and at your local library."

The Internet Public Library Mission Statement:

The Internet Public Library (IPL), is a public service organization and learning/teaching environment at the University of Michigan School of Information. We will engage in activities in the following areas:

SERVE
Provide library services to Internet users. Activities include: finding, evaluating, selecting, organizing, describing, and creating information resources; and direct assistance to individuals.
TEACH
Use a learn-by-doing approach to train information professionals and students to work in an increasingly digital environment.
BUILD
Develop technology and best practices for providing library services via the Internet, including digital reference service and collection management.
LEARN
Conduct research aimed at improving our services and increasing the body of knowledge about digital libraries and librarianship.
SHARE
Promote our services. Share what we've learned with the professional community. Participate in efforts to create and promote relevant standards. Disseminate technology and practices to others. Develop relationships with organizations pursuing similar goals. Provide leadership in these activities.
GROW
Develop a model and plan for long-term sustainability and growth for our organization and services.

We approach the above activities via the values and principles of the profession of librarianship.

Adopted April 12, 2001

Updated Information Ethics & Literacy E-Pathfinder

2006-03-04T15:49:00.000-08:00

Title of the Topic:
“Information Literacy and Ethics for Middle and High School Students and Teachers”

Scope: The E-Pathfinder is designed to provide subject-based guides to resources on information literacy and information ethics. The E-Pathfinder resources include brief annotations, which are intended to inform teachers, to guide instruction, and to be used by middle and high school students. The E-Pathfinder topics include: Academic Honesty, Assessment Criteria, Computer Ethics, Copyright and Fair Use, Ethical Codes, Evaluation of Information Resources, Information Literacy Standards, Intellectual Property, Internet Research, Piracy, Social Responsibility, and Use of Electronic Communication Tools.

Targeted Audience: Resources for middle and high school teachers and their students, concerning information literacy and ethical issues related to information resources and the access and use of information in a variety of formats. The purpose of the E-Pathfinder is to assist teachers in helping middle and high school students develop information literacy while becoming proficient and responsible users of information resources, information technology, and information systems.

E-Pathfinder Blog Resource: http://infoethicsandlit.blogspot.com/
The “Information Literacy and Ethics” blog is an ongoing project, which includes resources to relevant information organized in subject categories and indexed by keyword and topic.

E-Pathfinder Website Resource: http://rightuse.info/
The “Information Literacy and Ethics” website is an ongoing project, providing a subject-based pathfinder to information resources organized by category.

Introduction:
“Information Literacy and Ethics for Middle and High School Students and Teachers” provides a collaborative forum, information pathfinders, information literacy tutorials, and selected resources concerning ethical research practices and the ethical use of information in all formats.

Subjects:

Academic Dishonesty
Abundant Cheating

A Critical Campus Concern, Information Ethics

Academic Dishonesty

Definitions of Academic Dishonesty

Plagiarism

Legal Aspects of Academic Dishonesty

Assessing Information Literacy

Big6 Turbo Tools

TILT

Webquests and Information Literacy: A Collaborative, Active Approach to Learning

Critical Thinking

iReading + iWriting + iThinking + T/n = L3

Code of Ethics for Educators

A Blogger's Code of Ethics

ALA Code of Ethics

A Short Webliography on Computer Ethics for Philosophers

Code of Information Ethics

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

InfoLit Standards

Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning

Information and Learning

3 Doors to InfoLiteracy

Information Literacy Readings

Information Literacy Forum

Information Literacy Links

Information Literacy Portals

Information Literacy Tools

Information Ethics

Applied Ethics Resources on WWW

Information Ethics Problem of the Month

Information Ethics Tutorial

National Forum on Information Literacy

Open Directory: Computers, Ethics

Resources on Computer and Ethics

Ten Commandments Of Computer Ethics

Information Literacy and Learning

About Information Literacy

ACRL Information Literacy

Information Literacy

Information Literacy and Access to Resources

Information Literacy Weblog

Information Literacy Models

"The Seven Pillars of Information Literacy" Model

What is information literacy?

Information Literacy Skills

Lessons for developing skills in the areas of:

Questioning

Identifying & Collecting

Evaluating

Sensemaking

Reflecting & Refining

Using

Assessing

21st Century Information Fluency Project

Intellectual Freedom

ALA Intellectual Freedom Statements and Policies

Censorship and Intellectual Freedom FAQs

Censorship, the Internet, Intellectual Freedom, and Youth

Democracy and Intellectual Freedom

Intellectual Freedom and Censorship

Professional Guidelines

"Simulated Intellectual Freedom Debate"

Intellectual Property

Copyright and Fair Use

Copyright, Privacy, and Intellectual Property

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property

ithenticate

Research Resources

Turnitin

Understanding Copyrights

What Is Plagiarism?

Internet Ethics

Applied Ethics Resources on WWW

The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School

Computer Literacy

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

A Critical Campus Concern, Information Ethics

Internet Research Ethics

The Internet, Ethics, Plagiarism, and AUPs

Internet Ethics: Oxymoron or Orthodoxy?

An Online Interactive Course in Internet Ethics

Resources on Computer and Ethics

Teaching Internet Ethics to Teens

Open Courseware

Models for Sustainable Open Educational Resources

Open Directory Project

Piracy

Anti-Piracy

The Free Software Foundation

Software Piracy

Types of Piracy

Website Evaluation

Website Evaluation Criteria

Website Evaluation Tutorial

Print Reference Sources:

American Association of School Libraries. (1998). Information power: Building partnerships for learning (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Birk, J. & Hunt, F. (2003). Hands-on information literacy activities. New York: Neal-Schumann.

Brevik, P.S. (1998). Student learning in the information age. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.

Eisenberg, M.B., Lowe, C.A., & Spitzer, K.L. (2004). Essential skills for the information age (2nd ed.) . Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Harris, F. J. (2005). I found it on the Internet: Coming of age online. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Hughes-Hassell, S. & Wheelock, A. (2001). Information-powered school. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Lessig, L. (2002). The future of ideas: The fate of the commons in a connected world. New York: Random House.

Loertscher, D.B., & Wools, B. (2002). Information literacy: A review of the research. San Jose, CA: Hi Willow Publishing.

Riedling, A.M., & Eisenberg, M.B. (2002). Learning to learn: A guide to becoming information literate. New York: Neal-Shumann.

Riedling, A.M. (2004). Information literacy: What does it look like in the school library media center. Portsmouth, NH: Libraries Unlimited.

Simpson, C. (Ed.). (2003). Ethics in school librarianship: A reader. Worthington, OH: Linworth.

Spinello, R.A., & Tavani, H.T. (2004). Readings in cyberethics (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Tavani, H.T. (2004). Ethics & technology: Ethical issues in an age of information and communication technology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley $ Sons.

Thomas, N.P. (2004). Information literacy and information skills instruction: Applying research to practice in the school library media center. (2nd ed.)

Warlick, D.F. (2004). Redefining literacy for the 21st century. Worthington, OH: Linworth.

Woodbury, M.C. (2003). Computer and information ethics. Champaign, IL: Stipes.

Fair Use

2006-03-04T13:38:00.000-08:00

"Fair Use Under Fire" by Diana Day clearly describes some of the issues surrounding the concept of "fair use": "the fair use statute, the part of the copyright law that delineates fair use, is not very precise",
including the fact that what actually constitutes "fair use" is poorly defined, non-specified, and open to interpretation.

Day observes that "there are a lot of different viewpoints about copyright and fair use" (ibid.). However, "the copyright law lists the rights that are within the copyright bundle: publishing, reproduction, distribution, performance, making derivative works" (ibid.), but does not include restrictions on sharing and/or exchanging information via alternate formats like weblinks and attachments.

The interview with Day includes a discussion of the DMCA and its ramifications for information providers. "And another thing we determined [has to do] with this Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the provision [Section 512] that allows for these take-down letters. Basically, it's called a safe harbor provision, and it says to Internet Service Providers [that they] will not be liable as a contributory infringer if [they] respond to one of these take-down letters expeditiously by removing the material that is assertedly a copyright infringement. So, the law doesn't force [ISPs to do this], but it holds a very powerful club over their head" (ibid.). Based on Day's conclusions about what constitutes infingement, it seems safe to assume that information providers-- including libraries-- cannot be held liable for how information resources are used.

Instructional Support

2006-03-03T21:05:00.000-08:00

"Information literacy and its effect on the digital divide is an aspect of information ethics that can be influenced and improved by those in the library profession. According to Elrod and Smith (2005) 'information ethics provides a framework for critical reflection on the creation, control, and use of information' (pg. 1004). The five guidelines that help to create this framework are access, ownership, privacy, security, and community (Elrod and Smith, 2005, 1006). ...Finally the librarian should be a supporter. It is frustrating to learn a new skill and the librarian should be available to ensure that the newly learned information is used effectively and that they continue to exercise and improve their skills. If the librarian acts as an educator and supporter in the community then more people will have effective access to new information available, and this (will) minimize the digital divide."

When librarians assume the responsibilities of information specialists, they acknowledge a professional obligation to instruct all users in thinking critically about information and using evaluation criteria for determining whether or not information is reliable, valid, and usable.

"According to ALA, “All information resources that are provided directly or indirectly by the library, regardless of technology, format, or methods of delivery, should be readily, equally, and equitably accessible to all library users” (ALA Core Values, para. 5)."

Ethical codes clearly define professional standards related to providing information resources for all users. However, information literacy must extend beyond provision to accessibility defined by the ability to read and comprehend the information provided. Since a large percentage of available inforamtion requires reading, librarians must become advocates for reading comprehension instruction. Without the ability to read and interpret information, users lack the ability to think critically about the information they find. If equal access is the goal, librarians must promote reading and provide opportunities for critical thinking to all users and potential users. In order to be truly egalitarian, librarians must invite both existing and potential users to participate in the search for useful information.

In the article, "Information Technology and Technologies of the Self," Capurro (1996) declares, "it is through institutions as well as through moral and legal codes that we can ensure the right to access and to work for more equitable distribution in order to bridge the information gap between the ‘information poor’ and the ‘information rich’" (Information Technology as an Ethical Challenge section, para. 3).

Ethical codes in the library profession must not only address the digital divide and how discrepancies in provision and access can be successfully bridged. Ethical codes for information professionals must address how a range of literacy services can be successfully provided to those who can read and those who struggle with reading comprehension. Providing access to the growing numbers of struggling readers is a huge, yet infrequently considered issue.

References

American Library Association. (2004, June 29). Core Values Statement. Retrieved February 26, 2006, from ALA’s Core Value Statement.

Capurro, R. (1996). Information Technology and Technologies of the Self. Journal of Information Ethics, 5(2), 19-28. Also available at Information Technology and Technologies of the Self.

Elrod, E. M., & Smith, M. M. (2005). Information Ethics. In Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics (Vol. 2, pp. 1004-1011). Detroit: Macmillan Reference.

Access & Use Policies

2006-03-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

"Access, ownership, privacy, and diversity are debated topics. Society’s perception of these issues shape the potential laws that may restrict freedoms or limit the capacity of the information professional to accomplish his/her job."

The perception of the community served by individual libraries also dictates accessibility, availability, what information can be accessed and used, and how the information can be accessed and used. Librarians working in different environments-- whether public, academic, private, specialized, or school-- must continually evaluate, determine, establish, and reevaluate the parameters of access and use based on objective standards, legal parameters, and community needs. In addition, provision based on clearly defined and carefully determined ethical codes must be consistently enforced via well-considered and clear written policy statements with a foundation in user-based policies.

Regulation & Evaluation

2006-03-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

"As professionals our role is to help patrons sort through the 'bad' sites as we do trying to find accurate information for any other subject. The question has to be asked too about whose job it is to help regulate this information. Grodzinsky and Tavani had the idea of 'Should Internet Service Providers be held morally accountable for objectionable behavior that occurs in their forums?' (Grodzinsky and Tavani 565)."

Information literacy includes the ability to evaluate web-based information according to criteria such as:

Accuracy - how reliable and free from error is the information?
- almost anyone can publish on the web
- many web resources are not verified by editors or fact-checkers
- web standards to ensure accuracy are still under development Authority - what are the author’s qualifications for writing on this subject?
- how reputable is the publisher or organization?
- it is sometimes difficult to determine authorship of a web resource
- the author’s qualifications/background are often not listed Objectivity - is the information presented with a minimum of bias?
- to what extent is the information trying to sway the opinion of the audience?
- the web often serves as a “virtual soapbox” for personal opinions
- the goals or aims of persons or groups presenting information are often not clearly stated Currency - is the content of the work up-to-date?
- is the publication date clearly labeled?
- dates are not always included on web pages, or the meaning of the date is unclear (is it the date the information was first written, first posted, or last updated?)
Coverage - what topics are included on the site?
- are the topics explored in detail or depth?
- web coverage may differ significantly from a similar print resource
- it is often hard to determine the extent of web coverage
Some additional concerns -
- many web pages blend information, entertainment and advertising (it can be difficult to tell the difference)
- some web sites are purely marketing tools
- many web pages are unstable and will disappear
- software requirements may limit access
- the danger of altering the content of web pages by unknown parties

(drawn from the work of Jan Alexander and Marsha Tate, Reference Librarians at Widener University, Chester, PA)

The goal of information literacy instruction is to help users become skillful evaluators of information, regardless of presentation format.

Legal parameters and standards based on the principle of intellectual freedom and privacy determine how information resources are regulated. However, information resource providers and library information professionals have an ethical obligation to model discriminating selection and use of information, and to teach information users to carefully evaluate and critically consider all types of information resources.

Grodzinsky, Frances S. and Tavani, Herman T. (2002). Ethical Reflections on Cyberstalking. In R. A. Spinello, and Tavani, H. T. (Eds.), Readings in CyberEthics (pp. 561-570). Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Constituency

2006-03-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

"The Library as an institution exists for the benefit of a given constituency, whether it be the citizens of a community, members of an educational institution, or some larger or more specialized group. Those who enter the library profession assume an obligation to maintain ethical standards of behaviour in relation to the governing authority under which they work, to the library constituency, to the library as an institution and to fellow workers on the staff, to other members of the library profession, and to society in general."
http://www.ifla.org/faife/ethics/lascode.htm

The above quotation from the introduction of the Library Association of Singapore (LAS) "Code of Ethics" is comprehensive, yet focused. By describing the professional responsibilities of librarians in relation to patrons, the profession, and the immediate and more broadly conceived community, the introduction acknowledges the role of ethical standards, and the relation of library professionals to those standards.

The LAS "Code of Ethics" establishes the parameters of professional obligation that librarians assume as members of a profession, based on the expectation that ethical standards define the role of librarians in regard to those they serve, colleagues, library resources and the community. "Community" encompasses the sponsoring agency, the local arena, a broadly-defined national culture, and a global awareness.

The LAS "Code of Ethics" clearly holds librarians socially acccountable for fulfilling a professionally-related trust that demands dedication to principles and identified best practices.

Collaboration in Information Sharing:
IFLA is a member of the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP)
The GKP along with governments, business and civil society organizations, share their experience, ideas, issues and solutions to unleash the potential of ICTs to improve lives, reduce poverty and empower people helping to bridge many divides.

"It starts with lack of information, which is at the root and constitutes a most basic form of oppression (lack of awareness/consciousness-raising.)"

In my opinion, an equally troubling problem is a general lack of literacy, including the lack of fundamental reading comprehension skills, in such a large percentage of the population. For the most part, finding and understanding "information" requires the ability to read and to understand what is read.

School Libraries and Copyright

2006-03-01T18:11:00.000-08:00

"The distinction between 'fair use' and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.
The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: 'quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author's observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.'"
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

In my years as a high school librarian and educator, I have observed an increasing number of school-related situations in which copyright rules seem to be violated in the name of "fair use". "Fair use" is often interpreted as being "for any purpose related to school."
Although a College of DuPage teleconference on libraries and copyright issues, presented as part of an ongoing training program, stressed that copyright laws are generally less strict than perceived, in my experience, teachers and students rarely consider the issue of copyright or how it applies to print and video materials like articles, chapters, photographs, video programs, etc. As long as the material is being used for "educational purposes", many teachers seem to think copyright does not apply. Since teachers typically model behavior and share attitudes, student are either completely unaware, or disregard, issues related to copyright and copyright violation.
For example, if a book is difficult to obtain or no longer in print, teachers believe it is O.K. to copy the entire book-- even to make several copies of books or other print material for an entire class. "Fair use" includes limits on the amount of material that can be copied from a given source, and the length of time that the copy can be retained.

It is interesting that there is not an objective definition of what constitutes "fair"--
"The Copyright Office can neither determine if a certain use may be considered 'fair' nor advise on possible copyright violations. If there is any doubt, it is advisable to consult an attorney." (ibid.)

The ALCTS (Association for Library Collections and Technical Services-- a division of ALA)

and ALA's
"Copyright: Fair Use Legislation"
provide resources and links to legislative decisions in order to clarify copyright issues.
Carrie Russell has been the ALA copyright specialist in ALA’s Washington, D.C., Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) since 1999. “The OITP promotes policies and programs that help ensure the public’s right to a free and open information society.” Carrie "is the author of 'Complete Copyright: An Everyday Guide For Librarians' and also pens a copyright advice column, 'Carrie On Copyright,' for School Library Journal, where she answers selected questions from readers. She’s also been teaching an online seminar for ACRL, 'Current Copyright Issues Facing Academic Libraries.'

In response to the following scenario:
"I would like to include several pages from a worktext in a study guide and appendix that I am working on with several teachers. The worktext is no longer in print. The original publisher was bought out and the new publisher does not carry the worktext. Am I allowed to copy four to five pages of this worktext to include in our appendix? It will be copied by teachers throughout the state to be used with students. The study guide will be free of charge to anyone who would like to download it from the Arkansas Department of Education's Web site."
Ms. Russell wrote:
"The worktext, although out-of-print and not available for sale, is probably still protected by copyright. Remember, the current term of copyright is life of the author plus 70 years. Corporate works are protected for 120 years from the date of first publication. If you reproduce pages from a copyrighted work and your use is not a 'fair use,' you are infringing the right of reproduction.

The problem here is that although what Cheryl wants to do would have no effect on the market for the work (Cheryl cannot purchase copies of the work), a worktext is by nature a 'consumable' work-that is, copies are meant to be purchased for each student who takes the class. The law is clear that consumable works may not be copied and handed out. Moreover, the pages would be posted on the Arkansas Department of Education's Web site. Since anyone could copy the pages, the posting of the work infringes on the copyright holder's right to distribute the work.

What in the world can Cheryl do? She has already tried to buy copies and they are unavailable. She can contact the current publisher and ask if he holds the copyright. If so, ask for permission to copy and post the necessary pages. Hopefully, the publisher will say, 'Sure, go ahead.' Get your agreement with the publisher in writing. Warning: the publisher might not hold the copyright! If so, ask who does and begin your hunt for the real copyright holder."
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA83393.html

Clearly, dilemmas related to teachers' use of copies for school-related activities are common. Clear guidelines for using resources that are protected by copyright should be posted and followed by schools and school libraries.

Critical Thinking

2006-02-26T19:47:00.000-08:00

Critical Thinking and Technology

"Henry Smith married 150 women in the course of 10 years. He was never arrested for bigamy although each marriage was witnessed and recorded with the proper authorities. Why?"

"When you ask students to define "critical thinking," they will often refer to this type of puzzle or brainteaser. And although developing critical thinking skills will help students solve this puzzle, critical thinking skills will also help students as they face crucial decisions in education and in life. Students, and all of us, are bombarded with ideas and with people trying to persuade us to accept the ideas they are promoting. You only have to turn on a television talk show to see this in action. At least when watching a talk show, the viewer is given some background information about the speaker's credentials or lack of credentials and is usually aware of the personal bias that the speaker brings to the topic. The advent of the computer information age has presented us with a new challenge: a wealth of information distributed with few restrictions and often limited information about the author of the material. With the increasing use of web-based technology to gather and interpret information, teaching critical thinking skills to students is even more important."

Definition of Concept & Theory
What is critical thinking? There are a variety of answers to that question, but most experts agree that it includes the ability for a person to use his/her intelligence, knowledge and skills to question and carefully explore situations to arrive at thoughtful conclusions based on evidence and reason. A critical thinker is able to get past biases and view situations from different perspectives to ultimately improve his/her understanding of the world. In those two sentences lie a lifetime of work for an individual, work that begins with a formal education in critical thinking skills. A student once told me, "Whatever you teach me, what I believe is true." This is the crux of teaching critical thinking. It cannot be taught as an absolute. There are no formulas to memorize or tests to take. Teaching critical thinking is about helping students discover the answers. That said, there are some basic tools that you can use to begin to teach critical thinking to students.

John Chaffee in The Thinker's Guide to College Success defines thinking critically as "carefully examining our thinking (and the thinking of others) in order to clarify and improve our understanding." He suggests providing students with practice and guidance in the five activities listed below:

* Thinking Actively by using our intelligence, knowledge, and skills to question, explore, and deal effectively with ourselves, others, and life's situations.
* Carefully Exploring Situations by asking--and trying to answer--relevant questions.
* Thinking for Ourselves by carefully examining various ideas and arriving at our own thoughtful conclusions.
* Viewing Situations from Different Perspectives to develop an in-depth, comprehensive understanding.
* Supporting Diverse Perspectives with Reason and Evidence to arrive at thoughtful, well-substantiated conclusions.

"Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.
It entails the examination of those structures or elements of thought implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and consequences; objections from alternative viewpoints; and frame of reference. Critical thinking - in being responsive to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes - is incorporated in a family of interwoven modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological thinking, economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking.

Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information and belief generating and processing skills, and 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using those skills to guide behavior. It is thus to be contrasted with: 1) the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated; 2) the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and 3) the mere use of those skills ("as an exercise") without acceptance of their results.

Critical thinking varies according to the motivation underlying it. When grounded in selfish motives, it is often manifested in the skillful manipulation of ideas in service of one's own, or one's groups', vested interest. As such it is typically intellectually flawed, however pragmatically successful it might be. When grounded in fairmindedness and intellectual integrity, it is typically of a higher order intellectually, though subject to the charge of "idealism" by those habituated to its selfish use.

Critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any individual; everyone is subject to episodes of undisciplined or irrational thought. Its quality is therefore typically a matter of degree and dependent on , among other things, the quality and depth of experience in a given domain of thinking or with respect to a particular class of questions. No one is a critical thinker through-and-through, but only to such-and-such a degree, with such-and-such insights and blind spots, subject to such-and-such tendencies towards self-delusion. For this reason, the development of critical thinking skills and dispositions is a life-long endeavor."

(A statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction)

Teaching and Learning on the Web

2006-02-26T19:29:00.000-08:00

Envisioning, Planning, and Identifying Resources

Issues in the Web Environment
href="http://college.hmco.com/instructors/ins_teachtech_foundations_facguide.html">
Faculty Guide to Teaching and Learning on the Web

League for Innovation

Research Online: A Practical Guide

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Subject Access: Literature and Language Arts

Evaluating Information

2006-02-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

Evaluating Information on the Web: "The World Wide Web is a great tool for exploring all kinds of information. While it is useful to have access to so much diverse and uncensored material, it is important to remember that internet browsers and search engines do NOT discern between valid, useful information and the inaccurate, useless stuff. Even the most diligent web surfers can sometimes forget that much of what is on the web is not only irrelevant or misleading, but often false. To be a savvy researcher you must think critically about what you find. This tutorial will guide you through five points to help you evaluate the quality of information on the web."

There are five points to consider when evaluating information you find on the web: Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, Currency, and Coverage.

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask

Evaluating Information Found on the Internet

Evaluating the Quality of Information on the Internet

Searching for and Evaluating Information on the Web

Critical Evaluation of Resources

Critically Analyzing Information Resources

Search Engine Tutorials

Search Engine Watch

Search Engine Showdown: The User's Guide to Web Searching

Librarian's Internet Index

Web Site Evaluation

Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages

Is This a Scholarly Publication?

Remember: "Although the Web contains vast amounts of information, always remember that there are other sources of information out there. There is still valuable information that may only be found in books or journal articles that are not found on the web... With the Internet there is no evaluation of the information before it gets into your hands: anyone with a computer and connection to the Internet could in theory put up whatever information they want (very little regulation of the Internet is in place).
It is therefore even more important for you to think critically and evaluate the information you find on the Web."

Creative Learning

2006-02-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

"It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it."
Jacob Bronowski

Warrior Librarian

Things to Know About the Internet
Cool Links

Creating Resources

2006-02-26T09:43:00.000-08:00

"The mark of a well educated person is not necessarily knowing all the answers, but in knowing where to find them."
Douglas Everett

A WebQuest About School Library Web Sites

Deb Logan's Home on the Web

Linworth Publishing

School Library Impact Studies

The Wide Window: A Blog for School and Youth Services Librarians

The School Library Media Specialist

Proof of the Power:
Quality Library Media Programs Affect Academic Achievement, by Keith Curry Lance

Sharing Resources

2006-02-26T08:24:00.000-08:00

Websites and Blogs are becoming outstanding resources for sharing information resources.

Joyce Valenza's NeverEnding Search
Alice Yucht'sAlice in InfoLand
Jacquie Henry'sWanderings
Sara Kelly Johns' From the Inside Out
Michael Stephen's Tame the Web
David Warlick's 2 Cents Worth

The Kept-Up Academic Librarian
Kathy Schrock's KaffeKlatsch
Kathy Schrock's Homepage

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators

School-Libraries.Org: Online Resources for School Librarians-- Information Literacy and LIbrary Skills Resources

Resources for School Librarians

Sites 2 Good 2 Pass Up 4 Librarians

ISAL LInks to School Library Resources
Information Literacy: An Overview of Design, Process, and Outcomes
Information Literacy: The Building Blocks of Research
Developing Competencies in Information Literacy
Information Literacy: WikEd
Information Literacy

Information Literacy
21st Century Skills: Information Literacy
Information Skills
Information and Digital Literacy Portfolio: Webliography

Information Literacy
The Internet Public Library

Peter Milbury's Network of School Librarian Web Pages

K-12 Information Literacy in the Digital Age Resource List
Info Literacy Models
21st Century Literacies
Debra W. Waugh Instructional Technology Portfolio

How to Do Research
School Library Journal
Booklist Online
Book Links

NoodleTools: Smart Tools. Smart Research.
"NoodleTools is a suite of interactive tools designed to aid students and professionals with their online research. From selecting a search engine and finding some relevant sources, to citing those sources in MLA or APA style, NoodleTools makes online research easier!"

Curriculum Collaboration Toolkit: "Effective teaching with technology matches the teacher's goals and the learner's characteristics and needs, with tools that enhance understanding."

Librarians' Internet Index: Websites You Can Trust

Self-expression

2006-02-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

The creative and educational potential of blogs and blogging is impressive.
In addition to being a high school library media specialist, I am also a secondary English teacher and reading specialist. During the second semester (after beginning a blog for this course), I decided to incorporate individual blogs into my instruction for struggling high school readers.
Creating blogs, responding to writing prompts, and composing responses to each others' blog postings has provided an engaging medium for supporting meaningful instruction and practice. The students are not only invested in their blogs, they are also actively involved in reading and writing processes.
Incorporating blogs into my instructional strategies has provided exciting possibilities for engaging students, while improving their basic skills and expanding their understanding of the communication process and the use of technology for communicating ideas.

The Information Process

2006-02-25T11:48:00.000-08:00

Characteristics of the Information Process

Those who teach students how to use this process will note the following characteristics...

1. It is a process, with several concurrent, interactive operations. Each part of the process builds on a previous part, laying the groundwork for the next part. It is structured and learning is active but not chaotic.

2. The process is developmental. Students need many opportunities to develop their skills and strategies, beginning in the primary grades and continuing throughout their years in school.

3. The process is pervasive, touching on all aspects of the teaching and learning environment. It crosses all grade levels, all subjects, and all students, regardless of socio-economic or geographic factors.

4. The process is dynamic. Students are actively engaged in their own learning; they are not passive observers. It is vigorous and generates an energy that has great appeal for learners of all ages. This active (but structured) learning also demands accountability.

5. The process has a metacognitive component. Students are taught to become reflective and aware of their own learning (what they are doing, where they are going next...). Teachers use this aspect to assess their students' progress and to gauge their ability to activate the information process effectively.

6. It is inclusive of other learning processes. The information process, like any other learning process does not happen in isolation from others. It includes all the language arts strands as well as the scientific processes of experimenting, testing hypotheses, problem-solving, critical and creative thinking (cognition.) Along with the newer "literacy skills" related to media and technology, students still need some of the more traditional competencies related to library and research skills. The ability to evaluate information, including but not exclusively data and information from electronic sources.

For more information about the importance of providing our students with a process approachor a framework for information processing, visit one of these websites to read more: from researchers Carol Kulthau and others; and Johnson & Eisenberg, the creators of The Big 6 approach. Remember, the number of stages in the process may be debatable... Big 6 proponents claim there are six, while the model used in Atlantic Canada has seven, the importance of organizing the various skills and strategies in the process into identifiable stages or phases is absolutely essential for effective learning!

Bix6 Matrix: Applying Big6™ Skills, Information Literacy Standards and ISTE NETS to Internet Research
by Janet Murray

Learning in an Information Society

2006-02-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

Students in this "Information (or Knowledge) -Based Society," are expected to take greater responsibility for their own learning and academic progress. Resource-based learning places the student in the center of their learning environment with a wide range of enriching experiences during their formative years.

Resource-based learning is not optional for teacher-librarians; it is their pervasive instructional approach.

Teacher-librarians are information specialists, knowledgeable about learning resources in all formats and resource-based learning processes.

"The current emphasis on information literacy and its manifestation, resource-based learning, makes research an essential part of a school curriculum and life-long learning. Students have much to gain when they experience a consistent approach to the research (or information) process, beginning in the early primary grades and continuing throughout their school years. Where teacher-librarians are part of the instructional team, they can provide co-ordination and support to teachers as (together) they develop a school-wide plan for teaching information literacy skills and strategies, as well as a plan for instruction. This approach will be activated for a variety of projects, including those which make use of technology, in order to access, use, create and share information."
(Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum, Entry-3, page 221)

Technological Competencies

2006-02-25T11:32:00.000-08:00

"Teacher-librarians provide support for teachers and students in the use of technology related to Information Literacy."

All about Blogs

YALSA Blog

Meet Me on the ‘Net: Teens and eCommunication Ethical Considerations

Love of Reading

2006-02-25T11:31:00.000-08:00

"Teacher-librarians play an important role in fostering a love for reading."

Building Information Literacy

2006-02-25T11:17:00.000-08:00

Information Literacy and Learning

School Libraries for Lifelong Learning

"Teacher-librarians are the key personnel in the implementation of resource-based learning programs."

Information Literacy is implemented successfully in schools that " -recognize the partnership of principal, teacher, and teacher-librarian, - insist on flexible scheduling to help in the implementation of the school library program, -are involved in collaboration and team teaching, -acknowledge that processing and use of information is a school wide concern,and finally, - teacher-librarians take the initiative and place priority on Cooperative Program Planning and Teaching (CPPT)."

November Learning: Information Literacy Resources

"How many versions of the truth are you looking for? Too often students accept information that looks authentic as the truth and this is one of the dangers of Web site information. Since ANYONE can publish on the Internet, learning how to validate information is an important skill." --Alan November

Information Process Skills

Teacher Librarians and Policies

2006-02-25T10:58:00.000-08:00

Blog Posting 5
Information Professionals and Public Policy Issues

Access, Ownership, Privacy, Security, and Community

Part 1: The Role of the Professional

Information ethics applies ethical principles within the context of information provision, control, and use. By providing a critical framework for considering issues related to information creation, ownership, acquisition, access, and retrieval, information ethics establishes criteria for evaluating policies and decisions regarding information products, delivery, and systems.

Dilemmas regarding information management are increasingly prevalent in a society that is substantially focused on shared knowledge. Information transmission and literacy are essential concerns in establishing an ethical foundation that promotes fair, equitable, and responsible practices. Information ethics broadly examines issues related to ownership, access, privacy, security, and community (Elrod & Smith). Information technology affects fundamental rights involving copyright protection, intellectual freedom, accountability, and security.

While professional codes offer a basis for making ethical decisions and applying ethical solutions to situations involving information provision and use, which reflect an organization’s commitment to responsible information service, evolving information formats and needs require continual reconsideration of ethical principles and how codes are applied. Considerations regarding information ethics influence “personal decisions, professional practice, and public policy” (Elrod & Smith, p. 1010). Therefore, ethical analysis must take into consideration “many, diverse domains” (ibid.) regarding how information is distributed, maintained, evaluated, and used in an information-dependent society.

The instructional role of school librarians supports the development of life-long learners. Being responsible for information literacy instruction (ACRL, 2001), teacher-librarians recognize that “Information literacy encompasses more than good information-seeking behavior” (ibid.). A collaborative approach to information literacy incorporates instruction based on evaluative criteria and critical thinking into meaningful content-based research activities. By encouraging constructive, elf-directed and responsible investigations based on the retrieval and use of information resources in a variety of formats, teacher-librarians help students “assume greater control over their learning” (ibid.), while supporting the development metacognitive strategies related to “the explicit actions required for gathering, analyzing, and using information” (ibid.) responsibly.

Information literacy mitigates “the social impact of information technology” (Capurro, 1996), because information literate users are able to critically evaluate information resources, deliberately engage in responsible retrieval, and actively construct understanding based on competent research skills. As information literacy instructors, school librarians directly support an inquiry-based approach to learning that empowers students to become responsive and socially-responsible learners who know how to create, access, retrieve, and use information to enhance their experience, extend their knowledge, and improve life for themselves and others. Teacher-librarians also model the best information practices, explain the principles of intellectual freedom, and inform students about their rights to access and privacy while identifying the differences between public and school policies.

School librarians have an ethical responsibility to take their instructional role as informational professionals seriously, by actively collaborating with other educational professionals to create an information-rich environment that supports the development of information literacy. School librarians are also responsible for openly encouraging content-based interdisciplinary collaboration that presents opportunities for students to practice information retrieval and use.

Part 2: The Role of Associations

Professional library-information associations such as ALA, AASL, and ACRL are obligated to ensure that the benefits of information technologies are not only distributed equitably, but that they can also be used by people to shape their own lives” (Capurro, 1996). Information literacy skills help bridge the “digital divide” and support ethical access by enabling individuals to become independent learners and responsible users of information systems and resources. Regarding issues of public policy, professional library-information associations are dedicated to upholding socially-responsible ethical codes that support equitable access and intellectual freedom.

By addressing authentic ethical responsibilities to information users, professional library-information associations empower individuals to become information literate, discriminating users, who can recognize ”biased knowledge” (Capurro, 1996) and relevancy. When professional ethical codes address and promote the development of information literacy skills in addition to issues regarding the storage, retrieval, and management of information (ibid.), the codes support the development of mastery by assuming that library-information professionals have obligations that involve more that simply supportive functions. For example, “education and lifelong learning” (ALA, 2005), and “broad social responsibilities” (ibid.) are included in the Core Values of Librarianship.

Through helping information users learn to create and choose reality (Capurro, 1996), based on selected information, library-information professionals create the framework of a shared paradigm through which social values can be defined and debated. When professional library-information codes take into account “the individuality and contextuality of problems and needs” (ibid.), then “the practices of information become part of the practices of deliberation, advising, and dissenting” (ibid.) that support individual inquiry and critical reflection.

If professional codes encourage library-information professionals to apply the principles of information ethics to their professional practice and interaction with information users, then the codes will support the instructional role of library-information professionals, who will be responsible for providing accessible information, promoting responsible retrieval and use of information, as well as developing the critical thinking skills associated with information literacy intellectual freedom. The most effective and ethically compelling professional
library-information codes will be those that “take care of the intersections” (ibid.) between ethical practice, ethical provision, and ethical instruction that are part of a unified framework deliberately designed and intended to support information users.

INFORMATION ETHICS:
Information Professionals + Information Instruction = Information Literacy

Information Ethics, Professional Role of Teacher-Librarians, and Information Literacy Instruction

References

ACM Council. (1992). ACM Code of ethics and professional conduct. In R.A. Spinello & H.T. Tavani (Eds.), Readings in Cyberethics (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

American Association of School Librarians. (2005). Information literacy. Retrieved February 26, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/aaslinfolit/informationliteracy1.htm

American Association of School Librarians. (2006). AASL resource guides for school library media program development: Student achievement. Retrieved February 16, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/aaslTemplate.cfm?Section=resourceguides&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=14760

American Association of School Librarians. (2006). Resource guides for school library media program development: Information literacy. Retrieved February 16, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/aaslTemplate.cfm?Section=resourceguides&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=15288

American Association of School Librarians. (2006). Resource guides for school library media program development: Standards and guidelines. Retrieved February 16, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/aaslTemplate.cfm?Section=resourceguides&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=15419

American Library Association. (1953). Freedom to read statement. ALA Council and AAP Freedom to Read Committee. Chicago. IL: ALA. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement.htm

American Library Association. (1990). Freedom to view statement. ALA Council. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/ftvstatement/freedomviewstatement.htm

American Library Association. (1995). Code of ethics of the American Library Association. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 8, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm

American Library Association. (1999). Libraries: An American value. Chicago, IL: ALA Council. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/americanvalue/librariesamerican.htm

American Library Association. (2004). Core values of librarianship. ALA Council. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 8, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/corevaluesstatement/corevalues.htm
American Library Association. (2005). ALA policy manual. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governingdocs/policymanual/policymanual.htm

American Library Association. (2005). Intellectual freedom and policy statements. Office for Intellectual Freedom. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 8, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementspolicies.htm

American Library Association. (2005). Our Association. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/Default262.htm

American Library Association and the Association for Educational Technology and Communication. (1998). Information literacy standards for student learning: Standards and indicators. Retrieved February 16, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/informationpower/InformationLiteracyStandards_final.pdf

Association for Computing Machinery. (1992). ACM code of ethics. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2001). Objectives for information literacy instruction: A model statement for academic librarians. Retrieved February 18, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/objectivesinformation.htm

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2003). Characteristics of programs of information literacy that illustrate best practices: A guideline. Retrieved February 18, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/characteristics.htm

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2005). Standards and guidelines. Retrieved February 18, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/standardsguidelines.htm

Buchanan, E.A. (2003). Ethical considerations for the information professions.
In R.A. Spinello & H.T. Tavani (Eds.), Readings in Cyberethics, (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Capurro, R. (1996). Information technologies and technologies of the self. Journal of Information Ethics, 5 (2), 19-28. Retrieved February 18, 2006, from http://www.capurro.de/self.htm

Elrod, E. & Smith, M. (2005). Information ethics. In C. Mitcham (Ed.), Encyclopedia of science, technology, and ethics ( Vol. 2, pp. 1004-1011). Detroit: Macmillan Reference.

Simpson, C. (Ed.). (2003). Ethics in school librarianship: A reader.
Worthington, OH: Linworth.

Tavani, H.T. (2004). Ethics & technology: Ethical issues in an age of information
and communication technology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.

Tavani, H.T. (2005). Student companion site: Ethics & technology: Ethical issues in an age of information and communication technology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://bcs.wiley.com/he- bcs/Books?action=index&itemId=0471249661&bcsId=1604

Blog Design

2006-02-25T10:19:00.000-08:00

Tending to share a similar presentation layout, blogs can be redesigned to improve ease-of-use and readability.
Maintaining a blog can be time-consumming. Therefore, it makes sense to use a functional design that is easy to maintain.

Using a design strategy that reinforces a customized perception of the blog and what the blog represents will help "brand" the blog in the users' minds, and connect the blog to its purpose. If the blog represents an organization, the design should reflect that entity, either through use of a particular color scheme, images, voice, topic, etc. The blog design should ideally present the image of an individual or organization in a manner that is professional, stylish, characteristic, and appropriate to the blog's purpose.

By incorporatiung standardized development techniques into blog design, the blog becomes a unique online "presence" that is familiar to the users, easily recognized, visually inviting, and user-friendly. Blog design is most effective when the blog is perceived as consistent, purposeful, and connected to a topic, voice, or organization.

Enforcing Ethical Codes

2006-02-25T10:16:00.000-08:00

Value-based professional codes are difficult to enforce when the code is frequently revised to reflect changing social and professional values.

Professional codes are effective in encouraging or enforcing ethical behavior if members support initiatives that reflect the codes. Codes are generally based on ethical guidelines, with a moral foundation. Since the codes are not legally-binding, they are difficult to enforce. Members are expected to follow an organization's codes, but cannot be forced. Professional codes typically represent an organization, and members presumably agree with the underlying values presented by the codes.

If a group is to be regarded as professionals, it is essential for members of the group to behave in ways that represent the values of the profession. Active dialogue and reflection among group members is necessary in order to establish the values of the profession, especially in relation to social and cultural development. Participation in group forums is an ideal way for members to communicate with other members of the group, discuss value-based issues, establish consensus, debate criteria, create a professional identity based on recognized standards and shared values. Ethical codes provide members with an established framework for making difficult ethical and professional decisions.

While ethical codes cannot be legally enforced, they can be used to defend the actions and behavior of group members who conscientiously practice in accord with the accepted codes. Professional codes indicate the types of behavior that professionals should exhibit, as a reflection of the underlying values that the group considers to be professionally appropriate.

However, some issues cannot be handled in the context of the code. Professional codes could conflict with changing laws (i.e., the Patriot Act).
Additionally, conflicts may be associated with codes. For example, "there can be conflict between two codes, between the professionl's personal values and code requirements, between the code and ordinary morality, between the code and institutional practice, and between requirements within a single code".
(http://soeweb.syr.edu/CHS/OnlineField/Ethics/Codes.htm)
Finally, a limited range of topics is covered in an ethical code. Since "a code approach is usually reactive to issues already developed elsewhere, the consensus requirement prevents the code from addressing new issues and problems on the cutting edge" (ibid.).
While initiatives like those related to the ALA's
"Intellectual Freedom Statements and Policies"
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementspolicies.htm
can be responsive to current political and social developments, ethical codes are more applicable in defining a professional attitude or way of responding to situations and making value-based decisions.

"The New Plagiarism: Seven Antidotes to Prevent Highway Robbery in an Information Age" by Jamie McKenzie

Applied Ethics

2006-02-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

Information ethics applies ethical principles within the context of information provision, control, and use. By providing a critical framework for considering issues related to information creation, ownership, acquisition, access, and retrieval, information ethics establishes criteria for evaluating policies and decisions regarding information products, delivery, and systems.

Dilemmas regarding information management are increasingly prevalent in a society that is increasingly focused on shared knowledge. Information transmission and literacy are essential concerns in establishing an ethical foundation that promotes fair, equitable, and responsible practices. Information ethics broadly examines issues related to ownership, access, privacy, security, and community (Elrod & Smith). Information technology affects fundamental rights involving copyright protection, intellectual freedom, accountability, and security.

While professional codes offer a basis for making ethical decisions and applying ethical solutions to situations involving information provision and use, which reflect an organization’s commitment to responsible information service, evolving information formats and needs require continual reconsideration of ethical principles and how codes are applied. Considerations regarding information ethics influence “personal decisions, professional practice, and public policy” (Elrod & Smith, p. 1010). Therefore, ethical analysis must take into consideration “many, diverse domains” (ibid.) regarding how information is distributed, maintained, evaluated, and used in an information-dependent society.

EDWIN ELROD and MARTHA SMITH. Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Ed. Carl Mitcham. Vol. 2: D-K. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p1004-1011. 4 vols.

Constructive Practice

2006-02-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

The format of "Information Ethics" offers opportunities to engage in constructive, collaborative learning through the ACTIVE development of focus within communities of practice via the responsive blog postings and group blog exchanges. The social construction of knowledge empowers students as they consider the readings and opinions of other students in light of their own thoughts concerning ethical issues.

The format of this course reinforces practice in the use of social technologies within learning communities that not only allow the back & forth discourse, but also those tech media that more intentionally develop common understandings.
Class members have been encouraged to compare the wiki format with the listserv model of exchange and interaction with others. Unlike the listserve, each successive iteration of the community wiki is the result of some collaborative effort. However, the listserv is only as good as the current messages coming into the "inbox". I would be interested in whether or not a class wiki would encourage more focused and genuinely interactive collaboration among class members.

The structure and limitations of the listserv format as a learning technology and the operational groundrules themselves of many listserv forums or group blog rings are - in my opinion - insufficient to consistently and/or systematically arrive at socially constructed truths concerning a topic or issue. Still, within the online learning environment, the group blog rings serve as a social forum for facilitating discussion and exchange in a learning community.

In order to create an "optimal learning community" the listserv mechanism must be actively dedicated to the systematic, progressive development of shared understanding and knowledge based on the establishment of an interconnected learning system that uses selected information like the course readings and identified goals as the basis for creating a committed community of practice.

Even with the ability to respond within the context of what the other person said previously (e.g. by copying & pasting, replying by commenting within or below the previous email/listserv message text itself) the words - themselves - are the metaphors we each abide by within this learning community. And the words fly back and forth without any electronic representation that lasts as a monument to the reflected understanding of our community. For example, there could be more opportunities for collaboration on a product, like the development of the Wikipedia entry.

In order for group blog rings more effective, it may be helpful to define the parameters and purpose of our conversation. However, there are limitations in the context of distance learning, due to different levels of participation. When class members are actively committed to participation, it is possible to engage in some interesting, fruitful, and thought-provoking dialogue as a result of the replies and interactions.

What can be more wonderful for a student than to be able to process a number of different arguments and opinions and produce an opinion of his/her own? As we definitively construct our understanding of "information ethics" and conceptualize issues based on ethical considerations, we engage in the social construction of learning within the parameters of the course.

The structure of "Information Ethics" encourages independent thinking as well as group processing, in which the instructor serves as a moderator and a facilitator of learning. By working in groups, reflecting on the readings, and creating E-pathfinders, students have an opportunitiy to process information constructively and to develop a foundation for their own thinking about issues related to the ethical provision and use of information in a variety of formats.

Through the formative experience of courses like "Information Ethics", students participate in the process of systematically developing and articulating an informed and well-considered professional values.

Current Relevance

2006-02-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

"There are several current public policies that are implied in the American Library Association’s code of ethics such as education and civil liberties. ALA is committed to providing equal access to all users and in supporting the rights of the patrons. The freedom of information and protection of patron privacy is a fact that members of the community look to in a library and it should be protected in the association."

The fact that provisions in the ALA Code of Ethics implicitly address issues of current relevance related to freedom of access and intellectual freedom, is a primary reason for the ALA's intense focus on public policies that may jeopardize the very principles that the association is committed to upholding. The association's stated mission, policies, and code of ethics all affirm the resolve of the association's members to protect the Constitutional and civil rights of library-information patrons. This resolve is reflected in the fierce stance the ALA has assummed in opposition of the Patriot Act and its renewal.

ALA & First Amendment

2006-02-14T19:16:00.000-08:00

Since the First Amendment
is the foundation for the ALA's position and policies regarding intellectual freedom,

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/basics/Default2272.htm

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementspolicies.htm

with "intellectual freedom" also addressed in the second provision of the ALA "Code of Ethics"--

"We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources"--

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm

it seems that the ALA code is directed at a distinctly "American" (meaning U.S.) audience. Representing both a profession and individual members, the ALA code provides a model for the library-information profession, but that model does seem to specifically apply to the cultural and social context that had been shaped by a national perspective-- a perspective that may be grounded in the larger Western European tradition, but which is certainly not universal.

After all, the ALA is the "American Library Association"-- not the "International" or the "United Nations" library association.

An ethical model for reevaluating profesionalism

2006-02-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

By regularly examining association memberships and organizational affiliations in view of ethical principles, it is possible to redetermine the fit between an association's mission and codes and those of the individual member.

Ethical models facilitate comparison among standards, and help determine the criteria for affiliation and establish whether a member's values are aligned with an organization's policies.

By "thinking like a professional" it is possible to analyze and compare the "imperatives" or provisions of one association's ethical code with another's, with different ethical models, or with an individual's value system.

An organization's focus and initiatives are shaped by established policies and codes. If a professional is a member of professional associations, it is essential to assess whether or not professional standards are represented and how these standards influence and/or one's professional views and position.

If professional codes are intended to guide decision-making based on professional values, then membership in an association should be perceived as a source of moral support and reaffirmation.

Professional Codes: Traditions and Guidance for the Future

2006-02-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

The library-information profession is informed by core values that address the delivery of information services. The “Code of Ethics of the American Library Association” is intended to guide ethical decision-making based on value-based professional criteria. An explicit commitment to the principles of intellectual freedom and unrestricted access to information inform this “rights-based” (Tavani, 2004, p. 54) ethical code.

The ALA “Code of Ethics” relies on Constitutional imperatives identified in the First Amendment, which established the rights of free speech and freedom of the press in the U.S. The “selection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information” (ALA) should be based on the freedom to read, view, and access information. Legal and ethical principles are the foundation for the public’s right to access and use information resources, and for the professional role in defending this right as a public good and an instrumental value, based on the perspectives of act utilitarianism (Tavani, 2004, p. 47) and rule deontology (Tavani, 2004, p. 58).

Duty-based (Deontology) Stresses the role of duty and respect for persons Underestimates the importance of happiness and social utility

Based on the “Code of Ethics of the American Library Association”, ALA members are obligated “to ensure the free flow of information and ideas to present and future generations” (ALA). The code explicitly states that the broadly-based ethical “framework” (ALA) is intended to guide library-information professionals, but not “to cover particular situations” (ibid.) Being composed of general principles, the code indirectly addresses utilitarian concerns or social consequences.

The “Code of Ethics”, is a rights-based contract, reinforcing principles of “negative rights” (Tavani, 2004, p. 55) that prevent interference with the privileges of others. While the first provision provides for “equitable access”, the second provision upholds the principle of “intellectual freedom”, and the third provision of the ALA Code mandates the utilitarian protection of “each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted” (ALA), the directives do not address the consequences that may result from accessing, disseminating, or using anti-social information. Statement III of the ALA Code relies on social policies based on core values in U.S. society. However, this mandate is controversial because it defends “positive rights” (Tavani, 2004, p. 55) without qualification within the context of evolving information formats and delivery.

Contract-based (Rights) Provides a motivation for morality Offers only a minimal morality
Consequence-based (Utilitarian) Stresses promotion of happiness and utility Ignores concerns of justice
for the minority population

Statement IV states that library-information professionals will “recognize and respect intellectual property rights” (ALA) as a categorical imperative based on the perspective of rule deontology. It is the duty of library-information professionals to uphold copyright laws.

Furthermore, statements I, V, VI,VII, and VIII of the ALA Code rely on “social contracts” (Tavani, 2004, p. 53) and “character-based ethics” (Tavani, 2004, p. 55) to provide “unbiased responses and to “safeguard the rights and welfare” (ALA) of library-information professionals and employees. These directives are “agent-oriented” (Tavani, 2004, p. 56) and focused on utilitarian acts and moral behavior toward library-information patrons and colleagues working in library-information environments.

Duty-based (Deontology) Stresses the role of duty and respect for persons Underestimates the importance of happiness and social utility
Character-based (Virtue) Stresses moral development and moral education Depends on homogeneous community standards for morality

The ALA Code is intended to guide individual members concerning “their ethical responsibilities” (Tavani, 2004, p. 93), inform ALA policies, and generally define the library-information profession for the public. The ALA Code relies primarily on “character-based ethical theories” (Tavani, 2004, p. 55), making the most of the eight provisions contingent on “virtue ethics” (ibid.) that are difficult to apply and enforce. The ALA is organizationally based on willing membership, and does not focus efforts on enforcing its provisions in its membership, but concentrates on upholding core professional values, social responsibilities, and principles established in the organization’s code.

The ALA Code is based on ethical principles inherent in U.S. society, and reflects the library-information profession in relation to the legal and moral principles valued in the U.S. Based on those principles, the ALA Code presents a morally-responsive view of the profession that has national and international significance. Based on principles within the U.S. Constitution, the ALA Code of Ethics directly addresses Constitutional rights as well as current public policy issues related to equitable access, intellectual property, and intellectual freedom. By implication, provisions within the ALA Code also address the digital divide, electronic surveillance, filtering, and privacy.

In conclusion, the ALA Code relies on encompassing provisions to broadly define the ethical foundation and guiding principles of the ALA mission, policies, and ALA members. By integrating aspects of various ethical theories into a comprehensive ethical code, the ALA establishes a viable framework for making and applying ethical decisions related to library-information services. The “Code of Ethics of the American Library Association” is a guide for taking action and resolving dilemmas within the library information profession, based on provisions that support ethical decision-making on the basis of rules, obligations, contracts, consequences, and character.

“Code of Ethics of the American Library Association”
I. We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.
II. We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.
III. We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.
IV. We recognize and respect intellectual property rights.
V. We treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions.
VI. We do not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions.
VII. We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.
VIII. We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co-workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession.
Application of Ethical Theories, Principles, & Models in the ALA Code
Utilitarianism
We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co-workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession.
Act = Actions/Consequences
We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.
Rule = Rules/Consequences
We recognize and respect intellectual property rights.
Deontology
We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.
Act = Act/Obligation
We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.
Rule = Rule/Obligation
We recognize and respect intellectual property rights.
Contract-based
We treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions.
Character-based
We do not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions.
Just-consequentialism
We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.

References

ACM Council. (1992). ACM Code of ethics and professional conduct. In R.A. Spinello & H.T. Tavani (Eds.), Readings in Cyberethics (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

American Library Association. (1953). Freedom to read statement. ALA Council and AAP Freedom to Read Committee. Chicago. IL: ALA. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement.htm

American Library Association. (1990). Freedom to view statement. ALA Council. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/ftvstatement/freedomviewstatement.htm

American Library Association. (1995). Code of ethics of the American Library Association. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 8, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm

American Library Association. (1999). Libraries: An American value. Chicago, IL: ALA Council. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/americanvalue/librariesamerican.htm

American Library Association. (2004). Core values of librarianship. ALA Council. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 8, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/corevaluesstatement/corevalues.htm

American Library Association. (2005). ALA policy manual. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governingdocs/policymanual/policymanual.htm

American Library Association. (2005). Intellectual freedom and policy statements. Office for Intellectual Freedom. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 8, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementspolicies.htm

American Library Association. (2005). Our Association. Chicago, IL: ALA. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/Default262.htm

Association for Computing Machinery. (1992). ACM code of ethics. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html

Buchanan, E.A. (2003). Ethical considerations for the information professions.
In R.A. Spinello & H.T. Tavani (Eds.), Readings in Cyberethics, (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Elrod, E.M., & Smith, M.M. (2005). Information ethics. In C. Mitcham (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Science, Technology and Ethics (Vol. 2, pp. 1004-1011). Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference.

Gotterbarn, D. (2003). The life cycle of cyber and computing ethics. In R.A. Spinello & H.T. Tavani (Eds.), Readings in Cyberethics (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Tavani, H.T. (2004). Ethics & technology: Ethical issues in an age of information
and communication technology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.

Tavani, H.T. (2005). Student companion site: Ethics & technology: Ethical issues in an age of information and communication technology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://bcs.wiley.com/he- bcs/Books?action=index&itemId=0471249661&bcsId=1604

Library Resources and Methods of Research

2006-02-11T17:05:00.000-08:00

Library Resources and Methods of Research

Info Ethics Forums

2006-02-09T15:28:00.000-08:00

International Center for Information Ethics
Information Systems Ethics

Teaching Internet Ethics

2006-02-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

Teaching Internet Ethics to Teens

"Access to pornography on the Internet doesn't tell the whole story. Kids can find themselves in all sorts of ethical hot water when they go online, whether they are instant messaging, e-mailing, or file sharing, Learn about a method that uses realistic scenarios and an online discussion format to teach students to be responsible online citizens. Topics covered include intellectual property rights, appropriate interpersonal online communication, privacy rights, and free speech rights."
--Frances Jacobsen Harris

Computer Literacy

Ethics Resource Center

E-Pathfinder Draft

2006-02-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

E-Pathfinder Draft

Title of the Topic:
“Information Literacy and Ethics for Middle and High School Students and Teachers”

Scope: The E-Pathfinder is designed to provide subject-based guides to resources on information literacy and information ethics. The E-Pathfinder resources include brief annotations, which are intended to inform teachers, to guide instruction, and to be used by middle and high school students. The E-Pathfinder topics include: Academic Honesty, Assessment Criteria, Computer Ethics, Copyright and Fair Use, Ethical Codes, Evaluation of Information Resources, Information Literacy Standards, Intellectual Property, Internet Research, Piracy, Social Responsibility, and Use of Electronic Communication Tools.

Targeted Audience: Resources for middle and high school teachers and their students, concerning information literacy and ethical issues related to information resources and the access and use of information in a variety of formats. The purpose of the E-Pathfinder is to assist teachers in helping middle and high school students develop information literacy while becoming proficient and responsible users of information resources, information technology, and information systems.

E-Pathfinder Blog Resource: http://infoethicsandlit.blogspot.com/
The “Information Literacy and Ethics” blog is an ongoing project, which includes resources to relevant information organized in subject categories and indexed by keyword and topic.

E-Pathfinder Website Resource: http://rightuse.info/
The “Information Literacy and Ethics” website is an ongoing project, providing a subject-based pathfinder to information resources organized by category.

Introduction:
“Information Literacy and Ethics for Middle and High School Students and Teachers” provides a collaborative forum, information pathfinders, information literacy tutorials, and selected resources concerning ethical research practices and the ethical use of information in all formats.

Subjects:

Academic Dishonesty
Abundant Cheating

A Critical Campus Concern, Information Ethics

Academic Dishonesty

Definitions of Academic Dishonesty

Plagiarism

Legal Aspects of Academic Dishonesty

Assessing Information Literacy

Big6 Turbo Tools

TILT

Webquests and Information Literacy: A Collaborative, Active Approach to Learning

Critical Thinking

iReading + iWriting + iThinking + T/n = L3

Code of Ethics for Educators

A Blogger's Code of Ethics

ALA Code of Ethics

A Short Webliography on Computer Ethics for Philosophers

Code of Information Ethics

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

InfoLit Standards

Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning

Information and Learning

3 Doors to InfoLiteracy

Information Literacy Readings

Information Literacy Forum

Information Literacy Links

Information Literacy Portals

Information Literacy Tools

Information Ethics

Applied Ethics Resources on WWW

Information Ethics Problem of the Month

Information Ethics Tutorial

National Forum on Information Literacy

Open Directory: Computers, Ethics

Resources on Computer and Ethics

Ten Commandments Of Computer Ethics

Information Literacy and Learning

About Information Literacy

ACRL Information Literacy

Information Literacy

Information Literacy and Access to Resources

Information Literacy Weblog

Information Literacy Models

"The Seven Pillars of Information Literacy" Model

What is information literacy?

Information Literacy Skills

Lessons for developing skills in the areas of:

Questioning

Identifying & Collecting

Evaluating

Sensemaking

Reflecting & Refining

Using

Assessing

21st Century Information Fluency Project

Intellectual Freedom

ALA Intellectual Freedom Statements and Policies

Censorship and Intellectual Freedom FAQs

Censorship, the Internet, Intellectual Freedom, and Youth

Democracy and Intellectual Freedom

Intellectual Freedom and Censorship

Professional Guidelines

"Simulated Intellectual Freedom Debate"

Intellectual Property

Copyright and Fair Use

Copyright, Privacy, and Intellectual Property

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property

ithenticate

Research Resources

Turnitin

Understanding Copyrights

What Is Plagiarism?

Internet Ethics

Applied Ethics Resources on WWW

The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School

Computer Literacy

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

A Critical Campus Concern, Information Ethics

Internet Research Ethics

The Internet, Ethics, Plagiarism, and AUPs

Internet Ethics: Oxymoron or Orthodoxy?

An Online Interactive Course in Internet Ethics

Resources on Computer and Ethics

Teaching Internet Ethics to Teens

Open Courseware

Models for Sustainable Open Educational Resources

Open Directory Project

Piracy

Anti-Piracy

The Free Software Foundation

Software Piracy

Types of Piracy

Website Evaluation

Website Evaluation Criteria

Website Evaluation Tutorial

Print Reference Sources:
American Association of School Libraries. (1998). Information power: Building partnerships for learning (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
Brevik, P.S. (1998). Student learning in the information age. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.
Harris, F. J. (2005). I found it on the Internet: Coming of age online. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
Simpson, C. (Ed.). (2003). Ethics in school librarianship: A reader. Worthington, OH: Linworth.
Eisenberg, M.B., Lowe, C.A., & Spitzer, K.L. (2004). Information literacy: Essential skills for the information age (2nd ed.) . Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Lessig, L. (2002). The future of ideas: The fate of the commons in a connected world. New York: Random House.

Loertscher, D.B., & Wools, B. (2002). Information literacy: A review of the research. San Jose, CA: Hi Willow Publishing.

Riedling, A.M., & Eisenberg, M.B. (2002). Learning to learn: A guide to becoming information literate. New York: Neal-Shumann.

Spinello, R.A., & Tavani, H.T. (2004). Readings in cyberethics (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Tavani, H.T. (2004). Ethics & technology: Ethical issues in an age of information and communication technology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley $ Sons.

Warlick, D.F. (2004). Redefining literacy for the 21st century. Worthington, OH: Linworth.

Woodbury, M.C. (2003). Computer and information ethics. Champaign, IL: Stipes.

The Information Age

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The Application of Copyright

The so-called information age carries new problems for the application of copyright. These problems derive from the switch from physical form to electronic form in the case of so much copyright material.

There are three main types of problem:

Ease of reproduction
Copyrighted material in digital form can be copied perfectly without any damage to or diminution in the quality of the original. Indeed it is possible to create an infinite number of master copies. Such copying is increasingly easy and increasingly cheap.

Electronic transmission adds a further dimension to this problem. Products that can be transmitted on-line can be easily copied and, if such a product is on the Internet, it can be copied anywhere in the world. One author - Diane Coyle in her book "The Death of Distance" - has written "The Internet... can be considered one gigantic copying machine".

Such piracy constitutes a particular problem for the entertainment and software industries. Such products sell, not for what it costs to make a physical object (such as a book or a compact disc), but for a price that may reflect heavy research costs (as in the case of databases), an ingenious idea (such as movies or books), or spending on branding (as with rock groups). Therefore they have high development costs but low production costs.

Difficulties of enforcement

It is becoming much harder to enforce copyright for several reasons:

Electronic media make it more difficult to establish a legal definition of copyright. Any visit to a web site technically involves the automatic downloading of material, however temporarily.
In the era of rapid and easy electronic communications on a global basis, it is difficult to maintain national restrictions on distribution. The sale of books and music at different prices in different countries will not be possible when such products are available on a web site.
Digital products are more prone to personal piracy as opposed to large-scale fraud. One does not need a manufacturing facility to produce or a warehousing facility to store pirated products, but instead one can simply use an ordinary personal computer in the privacy of one's home.
It is increasingly difficult to track down the source of illicit material. Pirated software may be put on the Internet by a person living in one country; it may be held in a computer in a second country; and it may be advertised through a computer in yet a third country.

Difficulties of payment

Payment for use of digitalised material is difficult when the material can be re-used, transformed, and distributed in so may different ways.

Any new payment system will need certain characteristics:

some way of identifying the rights holder which is internationally recognised;
an identifying sign attached to every copyright work in whole or in part;
some system of billing on the basis of micro-payments;
a mechanism for tracking fees due and issuing bills to the correct organisation or individual.

--Roger Darlington

Flexible Copyright

Internet Ethics

2006-02-05T16:23:00.000-08:00

Internet Ethics: Oxymoron or Orthodoxy?

An On-line Interactive Course in Internet Ethics

IS THERE A PLACE FOR ETHICS?
--Roger Darlington

"In considering whether there is a place for ethics on the Internet, we need to have understanding of what such a grand word as ‘ethics’ means in this context. I suggest that it means four things:

Acceptance that the Internet is not a value-free zone
This means that the World Wide Web is not the wild wild Web, but instead a place where values in the broadest sense should take a part in shaping content and services. This is a recognition that the Internet is not something apart from civil society, but increasingly a fundamental component of it.

Application of off-line laws to the on-line world
This means that we do not invent a new set of values for the Internet but, for all the practical problems, endeavour to apply the law which we have evolved for the physical space to the world of cyberspace. These laws might cover issues like child pornography, race hate, libel, copyright and consumer protection.

Sensitivity to national and local cultures
This means recognising that, while originally most Internet users were white, male Americans, now the Internet belongs to all. As a pervasively global phenomenon, it cannot be subject to one set of values like a local newspaper or national television station; somehow we have to accommodate a multiplicity of value systems.

Responsiveness to customer or user opinion
This means recognising that users of the Internet – and even non-users – are entitled to have a view on how it works. At the technical level, this is well understood – bodies like the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) end the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) endeavour to understand and reflect user views. However, at no level do we have similar mechanisms for capturing user opinions on content and access to it.

Now that we have a better understanding of what ethics means in the context of the Internet, we need to address the question: whose responsibility is ethics on the net? The answer is that responsibility should be widely spread."

Exploring Cyberspace: The Internet and Society

"A Blogger's Code of Ethics"

"The huge advances in computers and the Internet during the past 20 years have provided a wide range of new ethical and lifestyle concerns. The educational challenge is to help students carefully consider the legal, moral, technological and philosophical issues in this area and make more informed - and hopefully more responsible - decisions in their academic and professional lives."
--Michael Quinn

Academic Dishonesty

2006-02-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

Abundant Cheating

Academic Dishonesty

Definitions of Academic Dishonesty

Legal Aspects of Academic Dishonesty

Internet Research Ethics

Plagiarism

"Plagiarism has never been easier than it is today. Before the Internet, cheating was labor-intensive and obvious. Potential plagiarists had to find appropriate works from a limited pool of resources, usually a nearby library, and copy them by hand. Since these resources were almost always professionally written, the risk of detection was very high.
The Internet now makes it easy to find thousands of relevant sources in seconds, and in the space of a short time plagiarists can find, copy, and paste together a term paper, article, or even a book. Because the material online is produced by writers of varying levels of quality and professionalism, it is often difficult or impossible for educators and editors to identify plagiarism.

Even when an instructor or editor does suspect plagiarism, the sheer size of the Internet seems to work in the plagiarist's favor. Search engines can be useful for tracking down suspect passages, but even they have their limitations, given the number, variety, and password-protected nature of many websites. Even where search engines do prove useful, manually searching the Internet for matches of hundreds of papers or articles can be a formidable task.

Additionally, the seemingly "public" nature of online content blurs the distinction between publicly and privately owned information. Electronic resources, by nature easily reproducible, are not perceived as "intellectual property" in the same way that their material counterparts are. Just as peer-to-peer file sharing programs have made it easy to trade copyrighted music files most people would never think to steal in physical form, the Internet makes plagiarism easy for students and writers who might have thought twice about copying from a book or published article.

Perhaps the greatest resources for would-be plagiarists in the educational world are the hundreds of online paper mills that exist solely for the purpose of providing students with quick-fix homework and term-paper solutions. Many of these services contain hundreds of thousands of papers on a wide variety of topics, and some even offer customized papers for an additional fee. The fact that many of these sites have become profitable ventures (complete with paid advertising!) only attests to the unfortunate truth that plagiarism has become a booming industry.

Turnitin and iThenticate offer plagiarism detection services that address this growing problem of intellectual property theft and dishonesty. Organizations around the world have found that an effective plagiarism detection service when combined with plagiarism education serves as an enormously effective deterrent to digital plagiarism."

Research Resources

Turnitin

ithenticate

Ethical Guidelines for Online Research

Piracy and Intellectual Property

2006-02-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

Education is essential in order to reduce, and ideally eliminate, software and content piracy among information producers and users.

Intellectual Property

Copyright and Fair Use

Free Software Foundation

Software Piracy

Types of Piracy

Copyright Laws

Duke Law School: Educational Technologies -- Web Resources

"Copyright: Toll or Toil on the Information Superhighway?"

Arado, Teresa A. Clarke. (2006). Copyright and Licensing Digital Materials - A Resource Guide. Law Library Resource Xchange, LLC.

A Crash Course in Copyright

TEACH Act explained by ALA

The TEACH Toolkit: An Online Resource for Understanding Copyright and Distance Education

Tales from the Public Domain: BOUND BY LAW?

Intellectual Freedom

2006-02-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

What is Intellectual Freedom?

Intellectual Freedom: With this right goes these responsibilities

"As a society we want our young people to be literate, thoughtful, and caring human beings; but we also attempt to control what they read, think, and care about. We feel the need to "protect" children from dangerous or disturbing ideas and information. Of course, what is dangerous or disturbing to one person or segment of society may be exciting and innovative to others and perhaps just "the truth" to still others. This combination of multiplicity of values and concern for young people keeps censorship alive in school and public libraries."
--Kay E. Vandergrift

For further information

Censorship, the Internet, Intellectual Freedom, and Youth

"New technologies are also causing an increase in incidents of censorship. The history of communications technologies, from the written word to modern electronic media, has been written with fear as critics contemplate the most dire consequences of each move that takes us farther from the personal one-on-one interaction with another human being in real time and space.

The internet and the world wide web are especially problematic. In the virtual world of these media, there is a potential for a kind of anonymous intimacy that can be very seductive in our often fragmented, disconnected lives. Young people, often very comfortable with and eager to explore these new media at the same time they are coping with the myriad problems of coming-of-age in our society, may be especially susceptible to such seduction. Like most things, this can be either good or bad."
--Kay E. Vandergrift

Professional Guidelines

"Avoid a strong adversarial position in discussions of intellectual freedom. Remind all involved that everyone is assumedly acting out of concern for young people; and it is those young people who are important, not the momentary validation of any ideology."
--Kay E. Vandergrift

Intellectual Freedom and Censorship

Censorship and Intellectual Freedom FAQs

"Simulated Intellectual Freedom Debate"
by Denise E. Agosto, Ph.D.

Democracy and Intellectual Freedom

Website Evaluation

2006-02-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

Website Evaluation Criteria

Website Evaluation Tutorial

21st Century Literacy

2006-02-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

"The Information Literacies Curriculum presents the process and essential skills for embedding information literacy strategies across all areas of the curriculum. Information Literacy Standards referenced in each student lesson are from the American Library Association and Association for Educational Communications and Technology."

Lessons for developing skills in the areas of:

Questioning

Identifying & Collecting

Evaluating

Sensemaking

Reflecting & Refining

Using

Assessing

21st Century Information Fluency Project

"Humans have always had a complex relationship with technology. Automobiles, for instance, changed the nature of life in America, where we live, how we work, what we can do with our leisure time. But they have also brought us traffic jams and contributed to global warming. The impact of information technology may be equally profound, and these are things we need to think about and study."
--Michael Quinn

Information Literacy Model

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"The Seven Pillars of Information Literacy" Model

The Scope of Information Literacy

2006-02-04T12:50:00.000-08:00

Information Studies: K-12

Information Literacy Weblog

"The Information Literacy Land of Confusion"

Information Literacy Round Table

Information and Learning

2006-02-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

Learning Plus

"For engaged learning, the brain needs novelty, relevance, meaning and emotion."
--William Bender

1) Brain-based Learning

2) Differentiated Learning

3) Information Literacy

4) Technology Integration: An Information LIteracy Tutorial

5) About Information Literacy

"Information literacy is usually described as the ability to locate, manage and use information effectively for a range of purposes. As such it is an important ‘generic skill' which allows people to engage in effective decision-making, problem solving a nd research. It also enables them to take responsibility for their own continued learning in areas of personal or professional interest." --Christine Bruce

WebPALS Information Literacy Tutorial

Learning about InfoLit

2006-02-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

Information Literacy and why it's important to study and life

Information Literacy Online

3 Doors to InfoLiteracy

Information Literacy Readings

Information Literacy Forum

Information Literacy Links

Information Literacy Portals

Information Literacy Tools

Information Literacy Standards

Copyright, Privacy, and Intellectual Property

Webquest for InfoLit

2006-02-03T21:53:00.000-08:00

Webquests and Information Literacy: A Collaborative, Active Approach to Learning

Reading & Writing & Thinking

2006-02-03T21:05:00.000-08:00

iReading + iWriting + iThinking + T/n = L3

"Education is knowing where to go to find out what you need to know; and it's knowing how to use the information you get." --William Feather

"Information's pretty thin stuff unless mixed with experience." --Clarence Day

"One may receive the information but miss the teaching." --Jean Toomer

"We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge." --John Naisbitt

Information Literacy and Brain-based Learning

2006-02-03T20:50:00.000-08:00

The information literate student who appears on the left

* Analyzes questions
* Applies strategies
* Evaluates
* Understands scholarly processes

Information Literacy Process

2006-02-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

Introduction to InfoLit

Information Literacy: The Big6

2006-02-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

A Pathfinder for learning and using Big6 skills to develop information literacy and the proficient use of information resources in a variety of formats.

"Pathfinders are pointers for students to good sources of information, usually just one step of the information literacy process: The gathering step."

Big6 Turbo Tools

The Big6 for Parents and Kids

Information Literacy for the Information Age

Technology and Information Literacy

2006-02-03T20:35:00.000-08:00

Technology and Information Literacy

"Technology is integral to the information literacy process. Computers and digital cameras, presentation software and hardware, online research databases, the internet and word processing software -- all help students solve problems or make decisions during the research process."

Information Literacy and Access

2006-02-03T20:28:00.000-08:00

Information Literacy and Access to Resources
An "Exercise in Information Literacy and Access to Resources"

Assessing Information Literacy

2006-02-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

"Information literacy is most closely associated with "Student knowledge base and thinking skills: Applied practical experience"

Information Literacy Blueprint

Open Courseware

2006-02-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

The concept of open and free access to information resources includes controversial free access to educational resources.

Models for Sustainable Open Educational Resources

Open Directory Project

Information Literacy Pathfinder

2006-02-03T19:36:00.000-08:00

Information Literacy
From WikEd

* 1 Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of
* 2 Application in classrooms and similar settings
* 3 Evidence of effectiveness
* 4 Critics and their rationale
* 5 Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
* 6 Signed "life experiences", testimonies and stories
* 7 References and other links of interest

Website PathFinder

2006-02-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

InfoEthics Pathfinder--
http://rightuse.info

Shifting Ground

2006-02-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

"Moor believes that consequences are an important part of ethics but that they must be balanced with a sense of justness. He recommends using an impartiality test to determine if the situation is just. This removes bias and allows one to look at the situation more objectively".
It is clear that "justice" can be defined according to the precepts of a number of recognized philosophical perspectives that represent culturally-- and spiritually-- diverse perspectives.
Justice can be regarded from a traditional Western point of view or from an Eastern/Asian viewpoint. However, the strategy for applying ethics to decision-making that is presented does not consider the possibility of multiple view points in regards to how interests are represented.
For example, if one party affected by a decision regards John Stuart Mill's “Principle of Utility” as a critical value, in which it is essential to seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, but another party bases values on a Zen selflessness and universal compassion, it will be difficult to come to a decision that represents the interests of both parties.
Moor does acknowledge that “midcourse adjustments in computing policy are necessary and proper and should be expected” (113). However, in the situation of mutually exclusive interests, even continual readjstment will not result in a mutually-acceptable conclusion.
Based on fundamentally different values, situations that involve radiaclly different perspectives may be impossible to resolve, because the ethical principles involved may be perceived as radically and irreconcilably different.

While "the Potter Box is a method that allows the user to 'analyze the ethical responsibilities of communicators in terms that are both practical and theoretically grounded' (Backus and Ferraris, 2004, 222)," that foundation may be perceived as perpetually shifting, depending on the parties involved and affected by a particular decision.

Backus, N., & Ferraris, C. (2004). Theory Meets Practice: Using the Potter Box to Teach Business Communication Ethics. Proceeding of the 2004 Association for Business Communication Annual Convention (pp. 222-229).
Black, J. (2003, March). Ethical Decision-Making Models across the Profession.
Moor, J. H. (1999). Just Consequentialism and Computing. In R. A. Spinello & H. T.
Tavani (Eds.), Readings in Cyberethics (2nd ed., pp. 107-113). Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Best Practices

2006-02-01T17:34:00.000-08:00

Referring to ethical decision-making, the statement "once the values and principles have been identified in a given situation, a reasonable conclusion should be drawn" captures the essence of the Potter Box framework in the context of Moor's description of "just consequentialism" and the manner in which the theory can be applied to ethical decision-making.
Apparently, the key to the best practices in making decisions is clearly identifying "the values and principles" that must be evaluated and taken into consideration.

What Is Plagiarism?

InfoLit Standards

2006-02-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

If "value based skills refers to information age literacy guided by ethical awareness (Vaagan, 156-157)", then it is essential to understand the standards for information literacy, and how proficient practices related to those standards can be evaluated.

According to the "ACRL Information Literacy Standards"
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlinfolit/infolitstandards/standardstoolkit.htm
the objectives for developing information literacy are based on proficiency in accessing, evaluating, and using relevant information.
Standard 5 addresses ethical practices as part of information literacy:
"The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally."
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlinfolit/infolitstandards/stnd5/standardfive.htm

In relation to information literacy standards, the concept of "ethical awareness" seems to focus on an attitude that is based on comprehensive understanding of the ethical issues involved in all aspects of information creation, dissemination, access, retrieval, and use.

Vaagan, R.W. (2003). LIS education—repackaging infopreneurs or promoting value-based skills? New Library World. 104(1187/1188). Retrieved on February 1, 2006 from Emerald Database.

What is information literacy?
Why is it important?
How to integrate it with the curriculum
Who can help?

An information literate person is defined as one who is able to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information" [1]

Clear-cut decisions

2006-02-01T17:31:00.000-08:00

“If we take the ends to be our core goods, then they are satisfactory ends for the purposes of justification" (Moor, 112).

This quote is an excellent example of Moor's thinking, because it identifies the importance of establishing values on which to base decisions. However, "our core goods" does not articulate the nature of the selected values that serve as the basis for justifying decisions. Fundamentally different cultural values could lead to decisions having very different consequences, depending on the cultural context of the "core values".
For example, developers in Montana may view real estate development as positive; but ranchers may regard development with suspicion and even hostility, because land development is perceived as threatening to rancher's livelihood and way of life.

The impact of decisions and the resulting consequences may depend on one's circumstances and point of view. Using "just consequentialism" as the basis for making decisions may result in controvery, particularly when all parties affected do not have the same values.
In addition, while different groups may hold some values in common, if a remarkable difference of opinion regarding an isolated value exists, the decision may be regarded in a less-than-favorable light by some, even if the decision is based on most of the core values. While Moor addresses this possibility by advocating the greatest good for the greatest number as a method of determination, circumstances are not always clearly quantifiable.

Real-life Application

2006-02-01T17:30:00.000-08:00

A descriptive scenario can be a clear example of how the Potter Box and "just consequentialism" can be used to guide a thought process based on ethical concerns in "real-life" situations. While the steps in the process are clear and can lead to a definitive conclusion, the steps are rather arbitrary, even within the context of a continual feedback cycle. I am not sure that applying arbitrary steps in ethical decision-making is a negative-- however, I am not entirely convinced it is completely positive, either!

Devils Advocate

2006-02-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

The imprecise nature of the terminology is one of the reasons that it is possible to rationalize ethical decisions and also is one of the factors that makes the continuous feedback potential within the model possible, and even desirable. The Potter Box and the concept of "just consequentialism" are interesting models in terms of their malleability. I appreciate the positive features of both the Potter Box and Moor's ethical framework. However, I find it interesting to consider the implicit factors that leave the methodology open to interpretation/manipulation. The positive features can be potential drawbacks, and the subjective aspects can also be advantageous.

Define "Flourishing"

2006-02-01T17:28:00.000-08:00

"Ethics needs a unifying principal. Moor’s 'just consquentialism' would protect rights through an impartiality test, then increase benefits to promote human flourishing."

The concluding statement of your third blog succinctly captures the essence of Moor's concepts. However, as I considered the definition, I found myself wondering how Moor defines his terms.
For example, what constitutes "impartiality" and what is the objective criteria for measuring and assessing the nature and degree of impartiality? Furthermore, what is "flourishing"? How can the state of "flourishing" be evaluated, measured, determined-- and by who-- does it have a cultural context, a social context, a political context?

Ultimately, it seems that Moor's concept of "just consequentialism" provokes questions based on the use of "loopy vocabulary" that needs explicit defining. Rather than providing clear answers to ethical dilemmas "just consequentialism" seems situational, open to interpretation, and capable of provoking endless questions (the feedback process?), but no definitive answers.
Perhaps this "looping" quality is a strength as well as a possible weakness. However, conceptually, I think that Moor's solution for ethical problems would gain persuasive strength if the vocabulary were more specifically defined.

"Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics"

2006-01-29T16:26:00.000-08:00

Ten Commandments Of Computer Ethics

Created by the Computer Ethics Institute
If Duplicated, Please Cite the Computer Ethics Institute

1. Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Harm Other People.
2. Thou Shalt Not Interfere With Other People’s Computer Work.
3. Thou Shalt Not Snoop Around In Other People’s Computer Files.
4. Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Steal.
5. Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Bear False Witness.
6. Thou Shalt Not Copy Or Use Proprietary Software For Which You have Not Paid.
7. Thou Shalt Not Use Other People’s Computer Resources Without Authorization Or Proper Compensation.
8. Thou Shalt Not Appropriate Other People’s Intellectual Output.
9. Thou Shalt Think About The Social Consequences Of The Program You Are Writing Or The System You Are Designing.
10. Thou Shalt Always Use A Computer In Ways That Insure Consideration And Respect For Your Fellow Humans.

"The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics" were first presented in Dr. Ramon C. Barquin's paper, "In Pursuit of a 'Ten Commandments' for Computer Ethics."

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

Information Literacy and Ethics Pathfinder

2006-01-29T14:16:00.000-08:00

Title of the Topic: Information Literacy and Ethics for Middle and High School Students

Scope: The E-Pathfinder is designed to provide subject-based guides to resources on information literacy and information ethics. The E-Pathfinder resources include brief annotations, which are intended to inform teachers, to guide instruction, and to be used by middle and high school students. The E-Pathfinder topics include: Academic Honesty, Assessment Criteria, Computer Ethics, Copyright and Fair Use, Ethical Codes, Evaluation of Information Resources, Information Literacy Standards, Intellectual Property, Internet Research, Piracy, Social Responsibility, and Use of Electronic Communication Tools.

Targeted Audience: Resources for middle and high school teachers and their students, concerning information literacy and ethical issues related to information resources and the access and use of information in a variety of formats. The purpose of the E-Pathfinder is to assist teachers in helping middle and high school students develop information literacy while becoming proficient and responsible users of information resources, information technology, and information systems.

Code of Ethics for Educators

2006-01-29T12:15:00.000-08:00

Professional Codes guide educators in serving students responsibly. By studying various codes, educators receive guidance in evaluating the ethical foundation of their teaching practice.

"Ethics matters because it helps us to act responsibly" (Hauptman, 2002, p. 139)

Hauptman, R. (2002). Ethics and librarianship. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

Code of Ethics of the Education Profession

NEA Code of Ethics of the Ecucation Profession

ASIS&T Professional Guidelines

Ethics and Innovation

2006-01-28T19:24:00.000-08:00

Ethics regarding any innovation must be considered in the context of its development and application!

Applied Ethics Resources on WWW

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

Resources on Computer and Ethics

A Critical Campus Concern, Information Ethics

Just Consequentialism and the Potter Box in Information Ethics

2006-01-28T18:45:00.000-08:00
The situation: You are working doing website development for a non-profit organization that has patrons/users from several different language groups, English and two others. Describe how you would decide how to deal with providing access to all of the users and how you would convince your supervisors and others that the expenditure for your time and expertise is worthwhile.

The Potter Box provides a model for making ethical decisions. The model categorizes ethical dilemmas within a four-step analytical framework. By defining the situation and analyzing the facts, “values, principles, and loyalties” (Black, 2003, sl. 7) it is possible to use applied ethics to make complex, socially responsible (Baker, 2001, p. 168) decisions.

The first step in applying the Potter Box approach requires defining the situation objectively, identifying the relevant facts that are at issue in the situation, and providing detailed information related to the ethical dilemma. The facts of the selected situation involve questions about providing web-based access to users from three different language groups, including English. The identified dilemma can be defined in regard to the question of the ethical obligation that does or does not exist on the part of the non-profit organization to provide access to web-based information in languages that all patrons can comprehend. If some patrons cannot understand English, is the organization obligated to present web content equitably (Baker, 2001, p. 164) in relevant languages so that all patrons can retrieve the information provided?

The next step in the analytical process involves identifying the values of the non-profit organization. In this situation, the assumption is that the organization is interested in providing web-based access to all patrons. While the time involved in creating access for people from language groups other than English may be a concern, it is clear that patrons who do not understand English will not be able to use the web-based information unless that information is provided in all relevant languages. Cost-based concerns are not apparently an issue in this situation. If the primary concern of the organization is providing respectful access and autonomy (Baker, 2001, p. 163) for all interested patrons, then providing access that facilitates the comprehension and use of information by all patrons, regardless of their language, is a core value. While English may be a primary and universal language, the result of offering information only in English compared to offering the information in all languages relevant to the organization patrons, means that a limited group of English-speaking patrons will find the organization website useful.

The principles on which the non-profit organization is based can be applied to this situation. If a core value is accessibility for all patrons, then principles of utility dictate that the website should be designed to meet the needs of all patrons, including the presentation of information in all relevant languages. According to John Stuart Mill's “Principle of Utility”, it is essential to seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Based on this ethical philosophy, the organization website should be available in all languages represented by the organization’s patrons. As an additional philosophical consideration, John Rawls' “Veil of Ignorance” requires the organization to consider the perspective of the patrons affected by decisions about the presentation of the website. How will patrons feel if they cannot access the information on the website because they cannot understand the language in which the information is presented? Based on the Judeo-Christian “Persons as Ends” principle, the organization is obligated to follow the “golden rule” when considering the needs of patrons. How would English-speaking patrons feel if they could not read the website? Alternatively, the principle of compromise or “Confucius' Golden Mean” and the principle of moderation or “Aristotle's Golden Mean” emphasize a moderate approach in decision-making. In this situation, compromise and moderation may require alternative methods of providing information for use by all patrons. These time-honored “modes of ethical reasoning” (Black, 2003, sl. 7), clarify how to compare and apply ethical principles to the situation, with the identified values of the organization being regarded as “categorical imperatives” (Wikipedia, 2006) based on maintaining patrons’ trust (Baker, 2001, p. 159) in regard to the issue and options under consideration.

In this situation, the web designer must determine whether allegiance is primarily to the organization or to the patrons. Since the non-profit organization is presumably intended to serve the patrons, the web designer can make a persuasive case for providing information in all relevant languages and not just English. If time is a concern for the organization, the web designer may offer to build the website in English initially, with a plan for adding translation of content to the two other languages. Based on the authentic (Baker, 2001, p. 161) service-orientation of the organization, the time and effort expended on providing web-based information in all relevant languages is in the best interests of the patrons, and therefore the organization.

In conclusion, based on analysis of the situation using the Potter Box model for decision-making, the web designer can confidently make an ethically-based case for presenting the organization website in English, initially and then adding the other two relevant languages. This course of action addresses the essential values, principles, and loyalties according to the facts presented in the defined situation. The ethically-based decision will allow the organization to present the website in a timely manner and also offer web-based content in all relevant languages because “vulnerable audiences must not be unfairly targeted” (Baker, 2001, p. 166). The impact of the decision means that the website will be available in English initially, but will eventually offer information in the two additional languages. Both the organization and all of the patrons will benefit from this decision, because no interests are disregarded.

However, since the Potter Box is “a linked system” (Wikipedia, 2006), the issues related to this situation can be reconsidered and analyzed from different perspectives within a “framework for ethical planning and evaluation” (Tilley, 2005, p. 317). In the situation presented, “the ethical evaluation of a given (decision or) policy requires the evaluation of the consequences of that (decision or) policy, and often the consequences of the (decision or) policy compared with the consequences of other possible (decisions or) policies” (Moor, 2004, p. 108). It is essential to remember that “Policies are rules of conduct… Policies recommend kinds of actions that are sometimes contingent upon different situations” (Moor, 2004, 107). Based on how the situation is defined, and different perspectives on the values, principles, and loyalties involved, different decisions and/or policies could be made to resolve the issues.

References

Backus, N. & Ferraris, C. (2004). Theory meets practice: Using the Potter box to teach business communication ethics. Proceedings from the 69th Annual Convention Cambridge, MA: The Association for Business Communication. Retrieved January 27, 2006, from http://www.businesscommunication.org/conventions/2004Proceedings.html

Baker, S. & Martinson, D.L. (2001). The TARES test: Five principles for ethical persuasion. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 16 (2 & 3), 148-175. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum.

Black, J. (2003). Ethical decision-making models across the professions. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida. Retrieved January 26, 2006, from www.stpt.usf.edu/peec/Decisionmaking.pdf

Moor, J.H. ( 2004). Just consequentialism and computing. In R.A. Spinello & H.T. Tavani (eds.). Readings in cyberethics (2nd ed.) (pp. 107-113). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Wikipedia. (2006). Potter box. Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved January 26, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potter_Box

Tilley, E. (2005). The ethics pyramid: Making ethics unavoidable in the public relations process. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 20 (4), 305-320. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum.

Teacher-Librarians

2006-01-28T14:34:00.000-08:00

Librarians are obligated to take their role as teachers every bit as seriously as their roles as information organizers and providers. The responsibilitites of information specialists encompass a range of tasks related to information resources. Librarians must apply ethical decision-making strategies in a variety of situations regarding information provision, in order to meet their professional obligations to patrons and to the information itself. In these roles, teacher-librarians are truly public servants.

ALA Code of Ethics

ALA Intellectual Freedom Statements and Policies

TILT

Applied Ethics, ICTs, and the Internet

2006-01-28T14:21:00.000-08:00

In view of the potential consequences of decisions made in regards to regulation/control of Internet information resources, it seems that applying clearly defined evaluative criteria to issues involving ICTs and the Internet is imperative.

Information Ethics Tutorial

Tutorial Sections
The tutorial includes an introductory section, five main sections, and a quiz:

* Introduction provides an overview of the tutorial itself.
* Understanding instructs the reader about the basics of the copyright system.
* Student focuses on your rights and responsibilities in using copyrighted material in the academic setting.
* Plagiarism defines and describes the repercussions of using someone else's work as your own.
* Digital Copyright narrows the focus to the legalities of all digital media.
* Alternatives provides other types of intellectual property rights, such as Creative Commons or Public Domain.

Each section contains a number of sub-sections. While the sections are arranged in a logical progression, each section can stand on its own, so it is not necessary to follow them in sequence.

Applied Ethics

View Across Decades

2006-01-27T22:05:00.000-08:00
Anne, your descriptive blog touched me in a very personal way.
My husband and I were children of the fifties; he grew up to go to Vietnam as a Special Forces Green Beret. We met in grad school at a time when computers were huge square boxes that fit entire rooms, and computer science meant learning a language based on X and O.

When we married, seven of our nine children were born at home, the first three in a one-room homestead cabin on an isolated Montana ranch. We raised cattle, and kept horses, chickens, pigs, and goats. Our food was grown in huge gardens under the hot dry Montana summer sky, and our babies wore cloth diapers. We did not have running water, let alone a TV. We were regarded as "hippies," though we definitely did not characterize ourselves that way. We considered our lifestyle as an alternative to what we perceived as the conventional 9-5 rat-race.

Living in one room on an isolated ranch, we read A LOT of books. Ironically, our oldest son graduated from Harvard Law School, and our oldest daughter is a grad student at U of Penn, having completed her undergraduate degree at Swarthmore. The only phone they knew as young children was a party line-- and information sharing was neighbors listening in on conversations.

As my husband entered the personal computer age in the 80s, I obstinately refused to participate-- after all, I owned a bookstore, and the information I found in books had always provided ample resources for my needs.
However, when he was in high school, my second-oldest son-- child #3-- "turned me on" to computers-- and oh my goodness, the information I found! I was fascinated by web-based linking.

Needless to say, we now have 4 dialup computers in our home-- a laptop for my husband, a laptop for son #4--child #5, a desktop for daughter #2-- child #6, and the computer I use for classes, business, etc. Son # 5--child #7 created an amazing 58-slide power point complete with sound and animation for an 8th grade language arts project last week.
I still do not watch TV-- though we have an incomprehensible # of channels available. I still love the printed word.
I like to think that ICTs have not compromised our family's capacity to communicate with one another-- ICT tools definitely make it easier to keep in touch with our older children-- even when they are in Baghdad! (Son #2). However, at this point in my life I am well aware of the laws of energy-- nothing new is created, and new forms necessarily supplant others. Hopefully, "being connected" still depends on the fact that we are human, not whether we have "access"...

Sorry to overpersonalize, but your post reminded my of my own route to the "teacher-librarian information-specialist" profession, and for that I thank you!

"Real Western Around Here"

2006-01-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

Bill Kittredge, a writer friend and mentor, used to say, "It's about to get real western around here."
Bill used his metaphor as a way of explaining what he perceived to be crazy, wild and unexplainable behavior.

The Internet can be perceived as "real western" in the sense that regulation, if it exists at all, is unpredictable, rather localized, certainly not comprehensive, impulsive, and subject to vigilate-like maneuvering based on violent emotions, paranoia, outright crime, and an unfettered entrepreneurial spirit.

The West was settled thanks to a dominating urge for expansionism and supposed opportunity, based to a large extent on the concept of Manifest Destiny, as well as various social, economic, and political factors. Those same forces, and the same perception of entitlement and captialistic perrogatives seem to underlie the development of the Internet and ICTs.

Significantly, we can foresee drawbacks to exponential expansion via the Internet that parallel the movement across the "wild, wild West". The perceived drawbacks of both expansive developments are based on the fact that there was (is) no real plan, no documented long-term vision, and no extablished rules of development and operation.

Politics and Ethics

2006-01-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

An examination of "Personal Privacy Protection: The Legislative Response" (Hernon, 199) is particularly interesting and timely in light of the recent attempt to access Google search records, the 6 month renewal of the Patriot Act, and increasing concerns about identity theft.

The library science resource: "United States Government Information: Policies and Sources" describes the "evolving value" (Hernon, 199) of privacy as a concept, and the resulting attempts on the part of the U.S. Government to protect, control, and regulate privacy via legistlated policies and delineated rights. Chapter 9 presents a history of legislative decisions and the resulting policies created in response to evolving developments information and communication technologies.

Based on the policies presented in Chapter 9, the legislative intention seems to be focused on preserving the concept of privacy while responding to changing technologies and the fact that technology provides increased access to personal information, whether directly or via data manipulation and mining.

Since evolving ICT formats are capable of compromising security, the government realized that security provisions and regulation were needed if the conceptual basis of individual privacy was to be preserved. Based on the history of legislation related to privacy, most legislative policies and regulations were enacted as privacy protection measures. By placing limits on access, the U.S. Government has attempted to preserve the concept and expectation of personal privacy.

The U.S. Government creates initiatives like HIPAA designed to protect an individual’s right to privacy, and then enacts the Patriot Act, which forces companies (like banks) to compile much more information than is needed to open a checking account in order to “prevent terrorism”. However, this recent legislation is particularly controversial because the security of personal information and privacy is unquestionably compromised. Legislation definitely affects our ethical perspective and vice versa.

Hernon, P., Relyea, H.C., Dugan, R. E., & Cheverie, J.F. (2002). United States Government information: Policies and sources. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Technology IS Political

2006-01-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

The focus is not only on the possibility that "artifacts have politics" (Winner), but on the reality that technology is a real political force.
Since "freedom of information is a dynamic concept in government information policy and practice" (Hernon, 165), the pervasive effect of ICTs are clear, because information availability, access, and use is more and more dependent on ICTs and their ability to function reliably yet securely.
Indeed, "public inforamtion dissemination" (Hernon, 191) is governed by policies that mandate ownership "by the people, held in trust by the government, ...and available to the people except where restricted by law" (Hernon, ibid.).
It is the creation and dismantling of restrictions that should concern the people, for ultimately, government-based rules and restrictions regarding information resources and ICTs will determine when and how and whether the digital divide is bridged more than any social or economic factors concerning who "has" or does not "have" information and/or the ICTs that distinguish the "haves" and "have-nots".

Hernon, P., Relyea, H.C., Dugan, R. E., & Cheverie, J.F. (2002). United States Government information: Policies and sources. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Winner, L. (1986). Do Artifacts have Politics? The whale and the reactor: a search for limits in an age of high technology (pp. 19-39). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Rules and Politics

2006-01-27T20:15:00.000-08:00

The social and economic context of information creation, dissemination, access, and use definitely affect availability of resources. Our society is so possession- oriented, having a preoccupation with supply and demand, that those who have access to information must be compared and contrasted with those who do not.
However, since "rulemaking... enables the public to receive information about a law or agency or policy, participate in the formulation of that law and policy, and hold the agency accountable in applying that law or policy" (Hernon, 243) rules and regulations about information access and use become political issues as well as potential social and economic barriers.
In order to function effectively and efficiently, the rules that are made regarding information resources and ICTs must be not only economically feasible and socially expedient for the majority, but also politically correct.
Afterall, equitable access to information is the factor that makes democracy feasible and the democratic process possible, based on every citizen's ability to access multiple points of view, come to individual conclusions based on the available information, and act on informed opinions within the framework of established democratic processes.

Hernon, P., Relyea, H.C., Dugan, R. E., & Cheverie, J.F. (2002). United States Government information: Policies and sources. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Evolving ICTs and the Inscrutable Internet

2006-01-27T20:12:00.000-08:00

The Internet and evolving ICT formats have unquestionably broadened communication global communication capabilities and expanded options for sharing all kinds of information and communicating with others.
However, "in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, debate over the issue of law enforcement monitoring of electronic mail and Web use has intensified, with some advocating indreased tools for law enforcement to track down terrorists an others cautioning that fundamental tents of democracy, such as privacy, should not be endangerend in that pursuit" (Hernon, p. 220). If anything, the issue public safety vs. the infringement of personal rights has only intensified in the years since 9/11.
While the continuintg development and improvement of ICT resources has increased information availability beyond what most people could have imagined even a few years ago, that very abundance has also confused established policies and protocols that guided information use and conventional communication. Although the expansive options are exciting based on seemingly limitless possibilities for sharing ourselves and our knowledge with others, it is the expansive and unlimited nature of ICT potential that makes issues surrounding information ethics so urgent, and the need for ethical answers and well-considered solutions so pressing.

Hernon, P., Relyea, H.C., Dugan, R. E., & Cheverie, J.F. (2002). United States Government information: Policies and sources. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Information Literacy:
How does it differ from Traditional or Computer Literacy?

Privacy Despite Access or vice versa

2006-01-27T20:09:00.000-08:00
Based on the comprehensive use of information technology and resources, information ethics is definitely an interdisciplinary concern. The information technology and communication infrastructure affects nearly every aspect of contemporary experience, from education to business and economics. Established policies governing privacy and the dissemination of public, private, and personal information are not always adequate for addressing issues and concerns related to current ICT developments and practices.
"Information policy... is organized around the information life cycle" (Hernon, 193) Key issues concerning the development of use-based policies must be resolved in regards to managing electronic information resources in ways that are legally and morally acceptable while also protecting personal records yet permitting maximum access.

Hernon, P., Relyea, H.C., Dugan, R. E., & Cheverie, J.F. (2002). United States Government information: Policies and sources. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Computer Security and Internet Security

The Digital Divide

2006-01-21T14:44:00.000-08:00
The consequences of the digital divide involve more than creating opportunities for equal access to information and communication technology and electronic information resources. Equitable access depends on education in information literacy.
Information literacy standards provide a foundation for evaluating proficiencey based on specific indicators for information literacy skills.

"Information Literacy is defined as the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand."
National Forum on Information Literacy

Information Literacy Weblog

Open Directory Project
Society : Issues : Education : Literacy : Information Literacy

Reference: Libraries: Library and Information Science: User Services: Information Literacy

Artifacts and Politics: Technologies of the Self

2006-01-21T14:41:00.000-08:00

The issues surrounding information and communication technologies can be considered objectively, in which quality is based on scientific measurement. However, since there are an infinite number of rational hypotheses that can be used to explain phenomena, an objective approach to solving information-related problems can not lead to absolute conclusions. An objective view cannot be regarded as a “synonym for ‘fair, unbiased, and good’” (Cox, 2004), because ethical definitions must be considered through the relative perspective of cultural contexts and social consequences.

Information technology can also be considered subjectively, based on individual opinion and experience. However, subjective views will be biased in favor of those who are unaffected by the digital divide. The context of ICT’s and information content cannot be thoroughly assessed until all people are empowered with equal access to ICT’s and information resources and are information literate. While experience-based examples can support the understanding of issues surrounding the creation and use of information, the bias inherent in subjective experience cannot be generally applied as evidence for absolute conclusions regarding information technology quality or the best practices for creating, sharing, and using information resources.

Furthermore, ITC can be evaluated from the perspective of inter-subjective reality (Cox, 2004), which emphasizes the role that culture and society play in determining what is best. In the book Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind, George Lakoff examines inter-subjectivity and validates the social construction of reality. Based on this view, cultural influences on the social construction of information technology and information use directly influence quality and practices. Ethical issues regarding the creation and use of information technology and information resources must be regarded through an inter-subjective lens before ethical principles can be broadly applied. In order to construct an ethical basis for quality practices regarding information communication technology and available information, technical considerations and individual experiences must be considered. However, a comprehensive ethical foundation for the creation, dissemination, and use of information cannot be established without regard for cultural influences and social consequences. An inter-subjective perspective in conjunction with objective and subjective consideration of ethical issues regarding ICT’s, information, and information literacy are needed before an information ethics can be effectively formulated and applied.

When making concrete decisions about information technology and use, a strong foundation in objective technical skills and subjective experience must be reconciled with cultural precedents, social interests, and the reality of unequal access to ICT resources. By evaluating information technology, sharing, and use from multiple perspectives, it is possible to resolve issues regarding productivity, accountability, availability, and quality regarding the creation and use of information in diverse formats.

Principles for evaluating information are reconciled when concrete decisions must be made. The social construction of technology plays a large part in how ethical considerations are applied to the practical use of ICT and information itself. The “production and circulation of meaning” (Lancaster, 2005) regarding information representations, informational texts, and electronic media are affected by the way social reality is constructed and the way ethical principles are applied. Interdependent social and cultural forces impact the way information technology is used, access and availability, and the criteria for assessing the merit and usefulness of all types of information.

The influence of moral systems and values on ICT’s, and the complementary influence of evolving ICT’s on those systems and values has created a need to establish a basis for information ethics and to study the ethical creation, distribution, and use of information presented in a variety of formats. Since valid arguments can be made for and against “oral, legal, or social issues involving cybertechnology” (Tavani, 2004), it is necessary to consider the social ramifications of ICT development in relation to a historical chronology of evolving information communication systems. ICT’s have a reciprocal relationship with social imperatives, in that each has been affected by and affects the other. In addition, progressive globalization and political maneuvers have influenced the construction of ICT’s and the reorganization of social systems.

The developmental relationship between society, information technology, and the Internet can be represented by the following timeline:

1982
The word “Internet” is used for the first time.
1984
Domain Name System (DNS) is established, with network addresses identified by extensions such as .com, .org, and .edu.
Writer William Gibson coins the term “cyberspace.”
1985
Quantum Computer Services, which later changes its name to America Online, debuts. It offers email, electronic bulletin boards, news, and other information.
1988
A virus called the Internet Worm temporarily shuts down about 10% of the world's Internet servers.
1989
The World (world.std.com) debuts as the first provider of dial-up Internet access for consumers.
Tim Berners-Lee of CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics) develops a new technique for distributing information on the Internet. He calls it the World Wide Web. The Web is based on hypertext, which permits the user to connect from one document to another at different sites on the Internet via hyperlinks (specially programmed words, phrases, buttons, or graphics). Unlike other Internet protocols, such as FTP and email, the Web is accessible through a graphical user interface.
1990
The first effort to index the Internet is created by Peter Deutsch at McGill University in Montreal, who devises Archie, an archive of FTP sites.
1991
Gopher, which provides point-and-click navigation, is created at the University of Minnesota and named after the school mascot. Gopher becomes the most popular interface for several years.
Another indexing system, WAIS (Wide Area Information Server), is developed by Brewster Kahle of Thinking Machines Corp.
1993
Mosaic is developed by Marc Andreeson at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). It becomes the dominant navigating system for the World Wide Web, which at this time accounts for merely 1% of all Internet traffic.
1994
The White House launches its website, www.whitehouse.gov.
Initial commerce sites are established and mass marketing campaigns are launched via email, introducing the term “spamming” to the Internet vocabulary.
Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark start Netscape Communications. They introduce the Navigator browser.
1995
CompuServe, America Online, and Prodigy start providing dial-up Internet access.
Sun Microsystems releases the Internet programming language called Java.
1996
Approximately 45 million people are using the Internet, with roughly 30 million of those in North America (United States and Canada), 9 million in Europe, and 6 million in Asia/Pacific (Australia, Japan, etc.). 43.2 million (44%) U.S. households own a personal computer, and 14 million of them are online.
1997
On July 8, 1997, Internet traffic records are broken as the NASA website broadcasts images taken by Pathfinder on Mars. The broadcast generates 46 million hits in one day.
1999
College student Shawn Fanning invents Napster, a computer application that allows users to swap music over the Internet.
The number of Internet users worldwide reaches 150 million by the beginning of 1999. More than 50% are from the United States.
“E-commerce” becomes the new buzzword as Internet shopping rapidly spreads.
2000
To the chagrin of the Internet population, deviant computer programmers begin designing and circulating viruses with greater frequency. “Love Bug” and “Stages” are two examples of self-replicating viruses that send themselves to people listed in a computer user's email address book. The heavy volume of email messages being sent and received forces many infected companies to temporarily shut down their clogged networks.
The Internet bubble bursts, as the fountain of investment capital dries up and the Nasdaq stock index plunges, causing the initial public offering (IPO) window to slam shut and many dotcoms to close their doors.
2001
Napster is dealt a potentially fatal blow when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rules that the company is violating copyright laws and orders it to stop distributing copyrighted music. The file-swapping company says it is developing a subscription-based service.
About 9.8 billion electronic messages are sent daily.
2002
As of January, 58.5% of the U.S. population (164.14 million people) uses the Internet. Worldwide there are 544.2 million users.
The death knell tolls for Napster after a bankruptcy judge ruled in September that German media giant Bertelsmann cannot buy the assets of troubled Napster Inc. The ruling prompts Konrad Hilbers, Napster CEO, to resign and lay off his staff.
2003
It's estimated that Internet users illegally download about 2.6 billion music files each month.
Spam, unsolicited email, becomes a server-clogging menace. It accounts for about half of all emails. In December, President Bush signs the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act), which is intended to help individuals and businesses control the amount of unsolicited email they receive.
Apple Computer introduces Apple iTunes Music Store, which allows people to download songs for 99 cents each.
2004
Internet Worm, called MyDoom or Novarg, spreads through Internet servers. About 1 in 12 email messages are infected.
Online spending reaches a record high—$117 billion in 2004, a 26% increase over 2003.

“Sources for this timeline include International Data Corporation, the W3C Consortium, Nielsen/NetRatings, and the Internet Society” (Fact Monster/Information Please Database, 2005).

If “information technology has an ambiguous impact on society” (Capurro, 1996), then it is essential to examine the relationship between technology and society, and the manner in which that relationship affects how information is created, distributed, and used by individuals. The interaction between user and system influences effective navigation, just as the interaction between user and text affects comprehension. Difficulties related to navigating ICT systems affect access and retrieval, while difficulties in determining authenticity and credibility affect a user’s ability to evaluate information quality and usefulness. While information communication technology has increased individual and group access to information and expanded the possibilities of communication, the impact of the Internet and electronic information systems has resulted in a variety of ethical dilemmas. The way in which society accommodates “technological innovation” (Winner, 1986) determines how potential risks, consequences, and opportunities regarding the production, dissemination, exchange, and use of information and information communication technologies are regarded and how information-related issues are resolved.

References

Capurro, R. (1996). Information technology and technologies of the self. Journal of Information Ethics, 5, 19-28. Retrieved January 3, 2006, from http://www.capurro.de/self.htm

Cox, B. (2004). Social construction of reality. Retrieved January 18, 2006, from
http://virtualschool.edu/mon/SocialConstruction/#Sokal

Fact Monster/Information Please Database. (2005). Internet timeline. New York: Pearson Education. Retrieved January 20, 2006, from http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0193167.html

Friedman, T. (1993). Making sense of software. Retrieved January 19, 2006, from
http://virtualschool.edu/mon/SocialConstruction/MakingSenseOfSoftware.html

Jackman, L. & Weiner, S. (2006). National forum on information literacy. New York: Information Institute of Syracuse. Retrieved January 20, 2006, from http://www.infolit.org/

Lakoff, G. (1990). Women, fire, and dangerous things: What categories reveal about the mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Lancaster, R. (2005). Cultural studies. Retrieved January 18, 2006, from
http://culturalstudies.gmu.edu/

Tavani, H.T. (2004). Critical thinking skills and logical arguments: Tools for evaluating cyberethics issues. In Ethics and technology: Ethical issues in an age of information and communication technology (pp.65-86). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.

Winner, L. (1986). Do artifacts have politics? In The whale and the reactor: A search for limits in an age of high technology (pp. 19-39). Chicago, University of Chicago Press. Retrieved December 15, 2005, from
http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~rfrost/courses/Women+Tech/readings/Winner.html

Keys to Information Literacy

Intellectual Property

2006-01-21T07:59:00.000-08:00

The definition of "piracy" is interesting. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "piracy" has several distinct meanings:

pi·ra·cy Audio pronunciation of "piracy" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pr-s)
n. pl. pi·ra·cies

1. a. Robbery committed at sea.
1. b. A similar act of robbery, as the hijacking of an airplane.
2. The unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material: software piracy.
3. The operation of an unlicensed, illegal radio or television station.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Obviously, it is the second definition of piracy that applies to a discussion of information ethics. This definition invites the examination of terms used in the defining statement. For example, "unauthorized" is defined as:
unauthorized

adj 1: not endowed with authority [syn: unauthorised] [ant: authorized] 2: without official authorization; "an unauthorized strike"; "wildcat work stoppage" [syn: unauthorised, wildcat]

Clearly, in order to use information ethically, users need to know and understand the nature of authority, in cluding what constitutes authoritative rights, and who/what is endowed with recognized and appropriate authority to use information. Along with authority, questions of entitlement, rights, responsiblity, and obligation emerge.

The second definition of 'piracy" indicates that "use" and "reproduction" are equally susceptible to acts of piracy. However, the definition clearly states that this susceptibility is for materials that have existing copyrights or patents.

Does the existence of a copyright or patent function as a measure of authority? Without copyright or patent status, is information open to unlimited use or reproduction? If no copyright or patent exists, is the information "up for grabs", with no restraints. What are the potential consequences and results of limitless access to unregulated information products?

Information ethics certainly opens a Pandora's box of questions!!

The resolution of issues involving intellectual property rights vs. free and open access must be based on the ramifications of control vs. deregulation. Questions about individual rights and independence vs. accountability and socially-responsible obligation must be evaluated according to the implications and consequences of either stance. Taken to an extreme, either position can function as a deterrent to creative information production or the availability of accessible avenues for retrieving information.

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Intellectual Property

Anti-Piracy

What Is Plagiarism?

Understanding Copyrights

Defining Information Ethics for Today

2006-01-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

Contextually, information ethics addresses issues related to rights, regulation, freedom and justice. Conceptually, information ethics is concerned with “the technology of privacy” (Pace, 2004), including “access, ownership… security and community” (Smith, 2001). Technology has facilitated a global information infrastructure, in which policies are grounded more in political expediency than in cultural imperatives. For example, “While librarians continue their struggle at USA Patriot Act defiance in order to protect patron privacy, software companies outside the library market are making millions off government-mandated compliance to all those other sections of the Patriot Act that deal with increased information-sharing and searching for terrorist funding” (Pace). Broadly conceived, information ethics lends itself to both moral and legal interpretations. In reality, the interpretation of information ethics can be conveniently construed to justify a variety of political agendas.

Existing ethical theories provide a framework for considering information access and use.
Applying Moor’s “just-consequentialist framework to cybertechnology” (Tavani, 2004) provides a strategy for developing impartial evaluation criteria to evaluate “ethical policies” (ibid.) and guide implementation of policies that address “specific cyberethics issues” (ibid.) and the effects of those policies on the creation, dissemination, and use of information in a variety of formats. If the global information infrastructure created by “computing and communication technologies” (ibid.) is to function cross-culturally, an objective framework for evaluating all types of information and information-related issues must be available. Since information is shared and has the power to influence, it is necessary to determine the ethical foundation for sharing information resources with others.

For librarians, information ethics is complicated tremendously by cybertechnology and the information resources available for serving patrons. “In the technical realm these days it seems like there are mutually exclusive battles between filtering and unfettered access, between anonymity and personalization, and between system flexibility and technical security against worms, spam, and pop-ups. The very security that protects us has the potential to work against us” (Pace, 2004). Intellectual property protection, copyright and plagiarism and “content-based regulation” (ACLU, 2004) are subject to “the special characteristics of communication in networks” (Johnson, 2004). Cybertechnology and network-based communication alter the dimensions of scope, anonymity, and reproducibility (ibid). Since secure communication can be jeopardized, individual rights can be compromised, information integrity can be threatened, and surveillance can be justified (ibid.). However, according to the ALA Code of Ethics “privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted” (ALA, 1995). To be effective, information ethics must accommodate “core values” (Moor, 2004) within “relative frameworks” (ibid.) that have the capacity to adjust to evolving technology and formats for sharing information. If libraries are to continue as advocates for intellectual freedom, then “materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation” (ALA, 1996) or because of the formats in which the information is presented. In order to be faithful to their purpose, libraries must continue to provide access to multiple perspectives, controversial view points, and the open communication of novel ideas.

The American Library Associations clearly interprets the “Library Bill of Rights” as a mandate to provide “access to electronic information, services, and networks” (ALA, 2005). According to this interpretation, “freedom of expression is an inalienable human right and the foundation for self-government. Freedom of expression encompasses the freedom of speech and the corollary right to receive information. Libraries and librarians protect and promote these rights by selecting, producing, providing access to, identifying, retrieving, organizing, providing instruction in the use of, and preserving recorded expression regardless of the format or technology” (ibid.). When “the ethical decision process” (Moor, 2004) is based on intellectual rights, “access to resources and services” (ALA, 2005) cannot be restricted on ethical grounds. Libraries are clearly directed to safeguard access to all types of information and to guard the privacy of users.

In conclusion, according to the American Library Association, libraries are obligated to protect intellectual freedom through written policies that address the access and use of information in all formats. Policy concerns related to “technology, the Internet, and telecommunications” (ALA 2005b) and the “USA Patriot Act of 2001” (ALA, 2006) have inspired ALA committee members to propose a resolution urging “the U.S. Congress to reauthorize a version of the USA Patriot Act (PL 107-56) that safeguards the privacy rights and constitutionally protected civil liberties of all library users and all citizens” (Romans, 2006). The content of the USA Patriot Act 2001 compromises individual privacy and jeopardizes the right to access information through unwarranted surveillance of users and interference with library policies. Without clearly defined and ethically-based criteria, regulation of information amounts to subversion of intellectual freedom and Constitutionally guaranteed rights. While cybertechnology has enabled global information sharing, the basis of information freedom in the U.S. should not be restructured to prevent potentially incriminating information exchange across cultures or within our existing culture on the basis of fickle political interpretations and agendas.

References

American Library Association. (2006). USA Patriot Act 2001. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved January 13, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/civilliberties/theusapatriotact/usapatriotact.htm

American Library Association. (2005a). Interpretations of the library bill of rights. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved January 12, 2006, from
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementsif/interpretations/Default675.htm

American Library Association. (2005b). Technology, the Internet, and telecommunications. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved January 12, 2006, from
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/techinttele/technologyinternet.htm

American Library Association. (1996). Library bill of rights. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved January 12, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementspolicies.htm

American Library Association Council. (1995). Code of ethics of the American Library American Library Association. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved January 12, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). (2004). Fahrenheit 451.2: Is cyberspace burning? How rating and blocking proposals may torch free speech on the Internet. In R.A. Spinello & H.T. Tavani (Eds.). Readings in cyberethics (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Johnson, D.G. (2004). Ethics on-line. In R.A. Spinello & H.T. Tavani (Eds.). Readings in cyberethics (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Moor, J.H. (2004). Reason, relativity, and responsibility in computer ethics. In R.A. Spinello & H.T. Tavani (Eds.). Readings in cyberethics (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Pace, A.K. (2004). The technology of patriotism. American Libraries, 35. Retrieved January 14, 2006 from http://www.ala.org/

Romans, L. (2006, January 12). Resolution on the USA Patriot Act Reauthorization—Draft,
Draft 6. Message posted to GOVDOC-L at http://govdoc-l.org/

Smith, M. (2001). Global information justice: Rights, responsibilities, and caring connections. Library Trends, 49, 519-536.

Tavani, H.T. (2004). Ethics & technology: Ethical issues in an age of information and communication technology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

"A Short Webliography on Computer Ethics for Philosophers"

Computer Ethics and Responsible Use

2006-01-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

The issues related to control of information and information users' obligations to others are definitely matters of ethical debate. Based on diverse opinions and agendas surrounding perceived rights to information that is readily available in a burgeoning variety of formats and issues regarding perceived or actual invasion of identity and privacy, as well as where responsibility for creating, distributing, cataloging, and evaluating information lies, ethical questions regarding the nature of information and information resources are rife.

The issues must be carefully debated, with all possible opinions represented and considered, before the issues can be resolved based on general consensus, and before comprehensive regulatory measures can be enforced.
Concern about computer ethics is the result of the "information revolution" that has tranformed service delivery and culturally-constructed concepts and relationships. Thoughtful consideration of the issues related to information and communication technology, electronic information, and ethics is necessary before the conceptual basis of responsible computing can be determined. An argument for responsible computing can be made only after careful evaluation of pro and con postitions concerning cyberethics, information systems, and how information is provided and used.

In order to form educated opinions, it is essential to consider a multi-faceted subject from many points of view. The following resources offer diverse viewpoints on electronic information and cyberethics:

Resources on Computing and Ethics

Open Directory: Computers, Ethics

Information Ethics Defined

2006-01-20T17:03:00.000-08:00

The subject of Information Ethics covers three broad categories:

1) Information technology development, including technological innovation and engineering professionalism, development and infrastructure processes, and the impact of IT on persons, organizations and global communication;

2) Access and education, including concerns about the implementation and integration of information and communications technology. The social impact of ICT must be responsibly evaluated in order to determine the effects on education, politics, economics and human rights. Bridging the digital divide and providing affordable and convenient access are primary concerns.

3) Legal and policy issues, including intellectual property and copyright, rights to privacy, protection, and freedom of speech and press, the role of surveillance and data mining, regulation and control, filtering, criminal activity, hacking, etc. influence how information is regarded and used.

The following recommended sites offer authoritative resources for considering the philosophical foundations of ethical electronic information creation, access, and use:

A Short Webliography on Computer Ethics for Philosophers

Resources on Computer and Ethics

Information Ethics Problems

Information Ethics

2006-01-20T06:28:00.000-08:00

Electronic communication tools provide new avenues for sharing information with others. However, most still require the ability to read fluently, to comprehend what is read, and to write in ways that can be easily understood by others. Based on the format of websites, wikis, and blogs, the need to teach and learn reading and writing skills and strategies will continue to be a fundamental educational concern and priority! Information ethics is grounded in a presumption of educational ethics, in which children are taught to read, write, and think critically, to evaluate and analyze information, and to clearly articulate opinions based on substantive, direct evidence from relevant, reliable, and authoritative sources of information.

The social consequences of information creation and use are significant. Responsible retrieval is impacted by issues of accessiblity, authority, and confidentiality. In order to access and use information resources effectively, it is essential for users to understand the ethical principles that underlie the responsible creation and use of information, regardless of format or means of presentation. Such understanding is necessary to facilitate thoughtful selection of relevant and authoritative resources. Fundamental knowledge of ethical codes and concepts of intellectual freedom provide the criteria for critically evaluating the source and content of all kinds of information. By developing skills in comprehending and assessing information resources, users acquire the ability to articulate a rationale for information choices. Information literate users are those who can discriminate and differentiate among information that is valid and that which is less credible.