A Self-assessment Approach to Adolescents’ Cyberethics Education

Abstract

Aim/Purpose: Teachers usually educate students’ cyberethics using debate, case-based discussion, and role-playing instructional methods in a face-to-face setting. With the presence of teacher and peers, students may not be willing to share their true attitudes, and it may affect the effectiveness of the teaching methods. To tackle the challenge, the author applied a teaching method with a core component of a pressure-free self-assessment approach to improving adolescents’ cyberethics education. This study aimed to explore the impact of the self-assessment method on students’ self-knowledge and self-awareness of cyberethics. Background: Since people usually use their own devices in an individual environment to participate in online activities, going online can be regarded as a private act. The behaviours of youngsters in the online environment may be different from that in the classroom when they are engaged in a face-to-face discussion, especially as they are not required to use their real names to go online. Research has suggested that youngsters have a higher inclination to misbehave online. Together with the fact that they are regular Internet users, and they are overrepresented online, there is an urgent need to foster ethical online behaviour in adolescents. Methodology: A group of 28 students of age about 14 participated in this study. They were studying in secondary level 3 of a government-subsidised secondary school. All of them were required to take an information technology course in their formal curriculum. The researcher applied a framework of adolescents’ cyberethics education to nurture the students with appropriate cyberethics. It includes four dimensions, namely information security, privacy, intellectual property and netiquette. In the first phase of the teaching method, the students received a lecture on cyberethics to obtain related knowledge. In the second phase, the students were engaged in a self-assessment exercise on cyberethics. Data were collected using a knowledge test, a questionnaire, and the self-assessment exercise. Contribution: This paper highlights the challenge arisen from the face-to-face setting of commonly used instructional methods of cyberethics education, such as role-playing and debate. This study suggested a self-assessment teaching method with the rationales underpinned by theories in the area of social psychology. This paper provides detailed elaboration on the instructional method. The author also suggested a framework of adolescents’ cyberethics education. Findings: The students considered the self-assessment exercise allowed them to reflect on their attitudes on cyberethics. It thereby enhanced their self-knowledge on cyberethics. They also expressed that the method was more effective for self-reflection compared with commonly used instructional methods. Moreover, importantly, they stated that they would be more aware of cyberethics in their future online activities. Recommendations for Practitioners: Teachers are advised to use a self-assessment exercise together with commonly used instructional methods, such as case-based discussion, debate, and role-playing, in their future practices of cyberethics education. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers could consider youngsters’ cognitive and psychological development, and social and emotional factors to improve adolescents’ cyberethics education. Impact on Society: It is anticipated that youngsters would have a higher level of awareness to uphold information security, protect privacy, respect intellectual property and maintain appropriate netiquette. They could then demonstrate more appropriate behaviours when they go online after receiving cyberethics education using the approach elaborated in this paper. Future Research: It is valuable to explore how different factors in cognitive, psychological, social, and emotional domains affect youngsters’ online behaviours. Future research may also design effective instructional methods to improve adolescents’ cyberethics education.

Investigação sobre a Disseminação da Propriedade Intelectual (PI) Orientada para Crianças e Adolescentes

“…O artigo "A Self-Assessment Approach to Adolescents' Cyberethics Education" aborda questões sobre a educação cibernética para os jovens, a importância da conscientização para a segurança da informação, a proteção da privacidade, o respeito à Propriedade Intelectual (PI) e sobre netiqueta. O artigo aponta que os jovens que têm aulas de educação cibernética antes de circularem nesse ambiente apresentam um comportamento mais apropriado ao ambiente virtual (NG, 2020).…”

Measuring Cyber Security Awareness: A Comparison between Computer Science and Media Science Students

“…For example, author Wing Shui Ng showed in his study [8] that it is possible to influence adolescents' information security awareness by improving their self-knowledge and self-awareness using a selfassessment approach.…”

Desarrollo de competencias digitales a través del aprendizaje activo en contextos universitarios con ambientes m-learning

“…En un estudio en indonesia, se determinó que el nivel de netiqueta o de ética digital, como lo denominan los autores, en estudiantes era del 35,23%, por lo que recomiendan que las unidades educativas, deben desarrollar una nueva alfabetización que incluya la alfabetización de datos, digital y humanística, la misma que favorecería la alfabetización digital (Sari et al, 2020). Esto se corrobora cuando se afirma que el comportamiento de los jóvenes cuando están en línea es diferente que cuando están en un aula, ya que no están obligados a dar sus nombres reales para interactuar (Ng, 2020). De ahí la necesidad urgente de trabajar en el desarrollo de esta competencia en los estudiantes.…”

“…Por ello es imperante la necesidad de exponer durante tiempos más largos a nuestros estudiantes a situaciones de trabajo colaborativo en una metodología activa, para el desarrollo progresivo de la competencia de colaboración Finalmente, con relación a la competencia de Netiqueta, en el análisis cuantitativo también se evidenció un desarrollo significativo y fue confirmado y explicado en el análisis cualitativo, ya que, en el grupo de WhatsApp, surgió una situación particular de comportamiento fuera de los estándares, por parte de uno de los estudiantes, lo que permitió observar a detalle esta competencia. Los estudiantes aprendieron la necesidad de definir y respetar las normas de comportamiento del grupo, así como identificarse correctamente en el grupo, este aspecto es muy importante ya que al no estar identificados con sus nombres reales, el comportamiento en línea puede variar del reflejado en un entorno físico (Ng, 2020); así mismo rescataron la intervención oportuna del profesor. Frente a la incomodidad por comportamientos no adecuados algunos analizaron la situación antes de intervenir para el bienestar del grupo y otros optaron por ignorar el tema o al compañero.…”