This book proposes a Digital Moral Framework (DMF) that parents and teachers can use to foster moral values and abilities, and address moral challenges faced by young people while using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The second outcome is the Cyber Values Systems model (CVS) that can be used to understand the role of values (moral and immoral) in the use of ICTs.
Challenges Faced by Young People
ICTs have been greeted with enthusiasm in education and in society because these provide incredible means for moral action, productivity, innovation and creativity. However, unethical and inappropriate practices are challenging society and educational institutions to understand the moral values and abilities that can mediate the use of ICTs by young people, and help them respond to the challenges they face.
It is my experience, although some students behave inappropriately at times such as malicious attempts to damage the reputation of peers, inappropriate responses and profiles on social media, they also demonstrate moral agency such as standing up to cyberbullies and supporting their peers in need in the digital world. Because young people can be both moral and immoral, as a teacher I concluded that opportunities for learning are rich. The reality is that the use of ICTs is rich with promise and risks, both of which carry moral consequences and personal responsibility. Young people are often navigating the digital world without the values and skills they need to be good digital citizens.
However, we have an opportunity to be proactive and prepare young people before and after they set sail in the digital world. A proactive approach requires fostering moral agency (one's capacity to act morally).
John Bellavance has worked with NGOs and community organisations to support peace building and wellbeing for 40 years. In the 1980s, he and his wife Anne worked with the African American community to fight crack cocaine. His efforts were recognised by the White House, where President Reagan sent him a letter of appreciation for his efforts to rid America of thissocial ill. In the early 90s he took this fight against drugs to his home country of Canada, were he was able to bring the issue of illicit drugs as a state campaign issue. As part this work he has studied and written about values education for 30 years. The focus of his PhD thesis was the role of values in human/technological interactions with a particular focus on the role of valuesin the use of Information Technologies by high school age children. He has been teaching Information Technology in high schools for 20 years in the areas of computer networks, programming and data analytics.
