CHAPTER 2 DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES AND RISKS

MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY is defined as a set of competencies that empowers

citizens to access, retrieve, understand, evaluate and use, to create as well as share
information and media content in all formats, using various tools, in a critical, ethical and
effective way, in order to participate and engage in personal, professional and societal
activities.

*The longer someone reads online forums, the more information he/she could learn, but at
the same time the higher the chance of encountering something offensive.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES?

While there are many potential risks of using ICT like mobiles, computers, and the internet,
there are indeed plenty of opportunities. Teachers have busy and complex lives, constantly
dealing with a diverse set of people, and doing a range of tasks like teaching, supervising,
mentoring, organizing events, joining meetings, attending conferences, and supporting their
families. ICT can make life easier for teachers and their students. Below we describe some
digital opportunities.

BEING MOBILE

Mobile phones and tablet computers allow people to conduct many activities that they once
would have had to do in a fixed location. People can call or text, video chat, make an
appointment, respond to an email, play games, listen to music, seek information, or even do
work online. Mobile technologies can be used inside or outside, stationary or moving, alone or
with others. The mobility aspect is actually a huge safety advantage since we can be connected
and seek help almost anywhere in times of distress.

Since smartphones include many other functions besides phone calling, such as a camera lens,
it’s not necessary to carry many other items (like cameras, calendars, notebooks, computers,
etc.) to perform the tasks you want. If you see a beautiful scene, just pull your phone out of
your pocket and take a picture!

Being mobile is not just limited to being outside; you can even “be mobile” at home. The
convenience of a handheld device can allow you to multitask and roam around from couch, to
kitchen, to bedroom while staying connected.

The proliferation of travel-related apps has brought another dimension of mobility to our lives.
Online navigation apps like Waze, Bing Maps, Google Maps, and Apple Maps have made it
easier to go from one point to another, providing us with addresses, directions, travel time
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estimates, and some also have real-time traffic updates. Websites like Wego, Agoda,
TripAdvisor, Trivago, Traveloka, Kayak, Cheapoair, Ctrip, AsiaWeb Direct, and Booking.com
have made it easier to browse possible travel destinations, and find thousands of options for
flights, accommodation, car rentals, and more. The competition in this sector has brought
prices down, meaning that more people can afford to travel now.

MAKING FRIENDS AND NEW CONTACTS

The digital revolution has allowed us to meet new people who share our interests and
people whom we might not be able to easily meet in “real” life. Since the internet is global,
one is not limited to making friends with people in their immediate surroundings—
theoretically, someone can befriend a person on the other side of the world, and
communicate instantaneously at very low cost. Digital communication tools can allow us to
learn about other people’s cultures and traditions.

People can use digital communication tools to get in touch with teachers in other parts of the
world, hear their stories, and appreciate their similarities and differences. Students can do the
same with students from other parts of the world. The practice of “pen pals”, long a tradition
of the education sector, can be made easier and more frequent through social media.

MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS

Internet and mobile-enabled communication also makes it easier to maintain existing

relationships. Literally at the touch of a button, we can ask how our friends are doing, plan
meet-ups, share pictures of our recent trip, or engage in chitchat to relieve boredom. For
families who are geographically separated for work or vacation, children, parents,
grandparents, and other relatives can easily stay in touch with each other. And thanks to
certain ICT innovations, you can have a conversation with multiple people at the same time, as
if you are in a group setting.

Digitally enabled communication is not just about maximizing frequency or quantity of

interactions either—it can also improve the quality of interaction. Some people feel more
comfortable and confident to express themselves online, as it removes some of the worry or
embarrassment they may feel during face-to-face interactions. This is very important for the
adolescent period, when teenagers want to break free from their regular safety net and peer
support becomes essential.
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PARTICIPATING IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING NETWORKS

It has become easier to reach out to people for academic, business, or vocational reasons
through e-networking, establishing and sustaining contacts that could help us achieve our
professional goals. Networking is no less important to teachers than it is to other professions
— perhaps even more so—given the diverse demands of the teaching job. Teachers are
resource mobilizers, mentors, cheerleaders, negotiators, assessors, designers, and even
learners. They need to maintain regular communication with other teachers, parents, learners,
administrators, and other stakeholders. Their network is key to staying up-to-date with the
latest teaching strategies, instructional material-making methods, assessments, classroom
arrangements, and a variety of other ideas for growth.

However, teachers should be careful not to let their professional life overwhelm their personal
life. Teachers and learners should be able to disconnect sometimes; they both need spare
time. They also have the right to keep their school life and personal life separate, although it is
understandable that there will be some overlap.

FACILITATING LEARNING

Students can quickly ask their peers for help, ask each other questions about homework, and
trade notes online. Even people who are not in school, like adults and out-of-school youth, can
continue learning via the internet. Millions of people around the world learn about a vast
array of subjects by reading articles, blogs, and forums, watching clips, and listening to
podcasts online. Many people join online classes and receive education even if they live in a
remote place or lack the means to travel. In the past, in-depth reading material was found
mostly in libraries, which many people did not have access to. Now, the Check out the MT4T e-
book: Teachers’ Personal and Professional Learning Networks for 21st Century internet acts as
a global library, with much more information that people can access at an affordable price,
and in far shorter time. It opens us to a world of new learning opportunities.

There are a variety of well-established modes of learning using ICT. In the 1980s and 1990s,
ICT-mediated learning mainly involved the use of desktop computers without internet, radios,
floppy disks, and CD-ROMs. In the new millennium, however, the internet—accessed through
laptops, tablet computers, and cellphones—has become the most popular medium for
elearning. E-learning can vary in formality, ranging from short nuggets of information for the
casual visitor to fully-developed courses for the degree-seeking student. An increasing number
of educational institutions offer online courses and podcasts. Podcasts are digital audio files
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that can be downloaded from the internet and played on a computer or portable media
player, like an iPod. Online courses and podcasts may be intended for a specific audience or
for the wider public. Some require payment while others are free of charge. SEAMEO
INNOTECH offers online courses designed for both teachers (e.g. Gearing Up Responsible and
Outstanding Teachers in Southeast Asia for the 21st century, or GURO 21) and school
principals (e.g. Excellence in School Leadership for Southeast Asia). Visit SEAMEO INNOTECH’s
website for more details.

e-Learning can be text driven, or highly interactive with pictures, charts, diagrams, animations,
movies, and even augmented reality. e-Learning can be autodidactic, whereby a person learns
alone, or it can be done 1-on-1 with an instructor. One-on-one interaction is a popular
arrangement for the growing online English learning industry in Asia. Groups are also possible,
either with attention mainly on one instructor (lecture-style), or with more equal participation
(seminar-style).

Even teachers that are not officially teaching an online course can take advantage of the
growing number of online learning management platforms, such as Edmodo or Coursera, to
help them manage their regular classes. A teacher can post class announcements, lectures,
videos, and assessments to such sites, while students can submit their assignments, ask
questions, download resources, and join in discussions. Many learning management platforms
also automatically tabulate assessment results and help teachers track student performance.

COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION

There are many tools online that can facilitate instant collaboration. There are applications for
project management that allow multiple people to track tasks, resources, and people.

Many communication applications have features allowing for group communication via chat,
call and video. Cloud storage applications enable people to save files to an offsite server that
can be accessed by others, if the owner permits. These services allow people to share all sorts
of files, such as documents, spreadsheets, pictures and more, which they can view, edit, and
return. Some of these applications also enable collaboration in real-time. People with whom a
document has been shared on Google Drive, for example, can be identified as “editors” and
can simultaneously edit the document online. Many other online, live cooperative applications
have been developed for specific purposes, such as creating designs, making photo albums,
scheduling meetings, carpooling, and planning events like birthdays, weddings, and more.
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Teachers can use these collaborative tools for school projects, such as organizing an event (e.g.
ASEAN Day), drafting a grant application, or making preparations for a new facility (e.g. a new
auditorium), which would usually involve multiple people.

DOING RESEARCH

The web is a popular tool for research. One reason why is because of powerful search engines.
Search engines are software programs that search for content across the Internet based on
keywords or phrases of the user’s choice. They give access to myriad sources, and moreover,
can provide an index of sources incredibly fast. Search engines like Yahoo, Google, Ask, Bing,
and Baidu have become household names. Teachers can use search engines to find content for
their lessons, check their facts, and access videos or images that they might want to show their
class. Students can use search engines to find out more about a particular topic, seek answers
to their questions, and collect sources for an essay.

HOW TO USE SEARCH ENGINES EFFECTIVELY

It is important that teachers and students know how to choose the right search terms—
specific and relevant—such that the results better match their desired inquiry. Once the
engine displays the list of sources, you should check the number of options returned. If there
are too many, you can add keywords to narrow the search. Every search engine uses a
different algorithm, so it also helps to try multiple search engines to find new resources.
Despite the ample information that can be garnered from the web, it is important that people
critically evaluate the sources that appear. Consider several factors before deciding to use an
online source, for example: is the source relevant, reliable, and accurate? Is it written by an
authority of the topic? Does the author have any affiliations that might lead to bias? For whom
is the information intended? Is the content up-to-date? Is the information verifiable, including
the identity of the author?

These kinds of questions are especially important to ask when gathering information from
social media or personal blogs. A lot of information posted to social media is misinformation:
inaccurate or false. Teachers and students should be careful when using them for research.
See Chapter 11 for more guidance on tackling misinformation on the web.

ACCESSING AND DISSEMINATING RESEARCH

The internet also facilitates the dissemination of research. In the past, academic journals only
published in print. Now, most people access academic journals online. The vast majority of
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journals have an online presence, and many have cancelled their printed editions. This is true
for both international, regional, and country-level academic journals.

The advantage of online publications is that they can be downloaded instantly, some of their
content can be previewed before purchasing, they do not suffer from wear and tear, and they
have dynamic features. For example, graphs can be enlarged, diagrams can reveal additional
content with the hovering of a mouse, and citations have live links that can take you to other
publications.

Despite having an online presence, most traditional research publishers charge monthly
subscriptions to access their journals, or charge fees for every article downloaded. However,
there is a growing market of open access journals that are free of charge, which is great news
for educators-cum-researchers in less developed regions. There are also hybrid journals, which
charge for some articles and offer others for free. Regardless of whether a journal is free or
not, users should make sure that it is legitimate and credible. Some publishers are fake, run
money making scams, or simply incompetent. Avoid journals that do not have a proper peer
review process, or those with dubious “experts” on their editorial board. You can check lists of
these so-called predatory journals and publishers at the following websites:

Stop Predatory Journals

archive.today

Besides academic journals, teachers can make use of general repositories of research and
knowledge products such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate wherein they can discover other
people’s work, share their own, and even connect with other researchers.

PLAYING GAMES AND RELAXING

ICT—particularly smartphones, computers, and the internet—provide many opportunities for

entertainment. A large number of games can be downloaded from the internet or played
directly online. In the past, computer games were bought and sold in retail stores at a high
price, and one would have to worry about whether the software was compatible with one’s
operating system. Now that the internet has become a repository and a marketplace for
games, there are many more games to choose from, they are cheap (or even free), quickly
obtainable, and versatile. The internet is also a platform for other forms of entertainment,
such as music, e-books, audio books, podcasts, television shows, and movies, giving people
plenty of exciting, relaxing, and/or interesting options to spend their free time.
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There are games to improve language skills, math skills, and critical thinking. There are games
for drawing and making music. There are also games through which students can learn subject
content, like history and geography.

A note of warning: do not forget that spending time disconnected, being present in the
moment, and taking care of ourselves is necessary for our wellbeing. Using ICT can be fun, but
we should resist the urge to constantly be stimulated thru electronic means.

PROMOTING CREATIVITY

The internet can be like a magical wonderland, in which one can encounter all sorts of strange,
exciting, surprising, thought-provoking, and hilarious things. Mobile phones, computers, and
tablets, are springboards into this wonderful world. Once you enter this world, there are
videos to inspire, games to stretch your imagination, pictures to upload and playfully edit, and
myriad applications to expose oneself to other people’s creativity or foster your own. Online,
you can get ideas about cooking, gardening, or building something, and you can also share
your own innovations. You can watch very talented people model activities that you are
interested in, such as dance, singing, acting, and others. You can see where friends have gone
on holiday, inspiring you to plan your own vacation.

Online, teachers can get ideas for creative activities or lesson plans to conduct in their
classrooms. They can find thought-provoking quotes, inspirational stories, unusual pictures,
fun songs, and interesting videos. They can look for websites or mobile applications with which
students can make things, like collages, drawings, or models. There are also applications that
allow users to record their voices, sing with others, play on electronic instruments, and mix
music. Teachers can also make more exciting lectures, using software like Prezi that uses
motion, zoom, and spatial relationships that will grab the attention of their students.

The internet can expose you to things that you would otherwise never have encountered,
fostering fresh ideas and unexpected directions in life. Inspiration and motivation in life are
very important for mental health, such as satisfaction and happiness. The online world also
gives people the chance to discover different facets of their personality and to interact in novel
ways.

SEEKING HEALTH INFORMATION

In many parts of the developing world it can be hard to access a doctor. Most countries in
Southeast Asia have fewer than one doctor per 1000 people (World Bank, n.d.). With so few
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doctors, accessing health information and care is a challenge. Another challenge is

confidentiality—in small communities, youth may be reluctant to see a doctor because they
suspect friends and families will find out about it, provoking gossip, alarm, or stigma
(McCarthy, 2015). The internet can be a valuable source—sometime the only source—for
information about health issues. Furthermore, the Internet offers a space for finding peer
support: interacting with others who have the same health problems. [Disclaimer: information
online is not always accurate. Acting on health information without proper knowledge or
guidance can be risky, so be sure to use reliable, trustworthy websites, and to consult a doctor
when possible].

Meanwhile, mobile phones and other technologies are being increasingly used to mediate
care, such as reminding patients to take their medicine, informing them that a medical result is
ready for pick-up, and sending warnings or important advisories. ICT can help people get
connected to a health professional, opening the possibility for instant communication of
symptoms and access to medical records.

Teachers, guidance counselors, and school nurses can explain to their teenage students the
applications of ICT to health. They can show them some of the sites where students can find
reliable information about both physical and mental health issues, particularly those
commonly experienced by young people. They should be encouraged to find out as much
information as possible about sexual health, for example, so that they can be make
responsible decisions in future. And if they think they might have a problem, they can
proactively seek professional guidance. They can also be introduced to online safe spaces for
open conversation about health problems.

ENHANCING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND ENGAGEMENT

The ease of communication and information sharing online makes it easier for people to stay
informed about current issues affecting their schools, communities, provinces, countries, or
even the world. Online, they can quickly plan meetings, forums, protests, seminars, and
conferences to engage with important topics, in online or offline venues, tackling problems
together rather than in isolation. In areas where free speech is limited, sometimes the internet
is the only avenue through which sensitive subjects can be discussed. This is one of the
advantages of anonymity that the online world can offer.

A great example of public participation thru ICT is in times of calamity. Even though roads are
impassable and buildings are damaged, sometimes school communities still have access to
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electricity or a mobile signal. In such cases, people in the community (e.g. teachers, students,
parents) can find out about evacuations, the weather, the extent of destruction, and deliveries
of relief goods (e.g. food, clothes, medical supplies). Teachers can reach out to families to
know the status of their students, and update them on the resumption of classes. Principals
and teachers can organize interventions like psychosocial trainings, alternative learning
activities, and fundraisers via social media.

ENGAGING IN COMMERCE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The internet has been used by millions of people to supplement their regular income, make a
living, or in some cases become very rich. People have started all sorts of businesses online.
Tech savvy individuals who have good ideas for mobile and web applications can develop their
apps and upload them to online app stores. They can also do web design for those who want
to create their own websites but cannot do it themselves. Some people make money by
providing remote technical support for everything from computer repairs to software issues to
even gaming.

People with niche business interests like pet food, rare wine, and handicrafts can set up
websites to promote and sell their products using e-commerce software. Budding authors and
artists who don’t have connections with established publishers and record companies,
respectively, can upload and sell their content online. Skilled workers and professionals can
promote their expertise online and market their services, such as cover letter writing,
encoding, language learning, training, coaching, task managing, and consulting. [Note: some
online businesses are scams...critical thinking is necessary to be able to recognize false
advertising, illegitimate claims, and other attempts to swindle.]

Those who are adept at using social media can become social media marketers, helping
businesses get more attention through strategic postings of text, images, and videos.
Individuals with large followings on any platform, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or blog
sites, may also be tapped by businesses to be brand advocates for them. As affiliate marketers,
they have the opportunity to earn “smart passive income.”

Even teachers who have no plans for an online business can benefit from the digital economy.
The web has opened buyers to new markets. Many online companies make deliveries all over
the world. Teachers (or their schools) can order books from other countries, in different
languages and for various levels. Teachers can buy educational materials like posters, charts,
games, and maps online. They can purchase educational assessment tools, or research
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instruments in case they are conducting a study. Teachers are no longer limited to the
materials given to them by their government, or those found in local stores.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DIGITAL RISKS AND THREATS?

The following sections describe some of the risks and threats associated with the use of
mobile, computer, and internet technologies. While students and teachers can greatly benefit
from ICT, they can also have negative experiences. A Microsoft survey of 14 countries revealed
that 65% of adults and youth aged 13-17 have been exposed to an online risk, averaging 2.2
risks per person.4 The commonest negative experiences were unwanted contact (43%), being
the target of mean behavior (22%), unwanted sexting (24%), trolling (21%), harassment (17%),
hate speech (16%), sexual solicitation (15%), and doxing5 (12%). Two out of three people said
that risk exposure had consequences in their life, such as losing trust in people online (40%),
losing trust in people offline (30%), increased stress (23%), reduced sleep (23%), reduced
participation in blogs and forums (21%), depression (15%), and others.

It is important that educators and students are aware of what could go wrong in cyberspace,
so that they can recognize a risky situation when it happens. In the remaining part of this
chapter, we provide a preview of these cyber problems, and in the following chapters, we
present techniques on how to deal with them.

CYBERBULLYING

Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person. Examples of

cyberbullying include calling someone mean names online, writing improper, abusive, or
hurtful messages, or posting inappropriate photos of someone that might cause their shame,
sadness, embarrassment or anger. Online behaviors of flaming (deliberately aggressive
exchange), impersonation (usurping an identity to damage someone’s reputation), trolling
(baiting others with immature, mean comments), cyber stalking (repetitive, unwanted
contact), and outing (revealing someone’s personal/private information) can be forms of
cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is happening around the world, but rates vary. A series of Europe-wide surveys
found that cyberbullying is rising. The percentage of children aged 11-16 who reported
receiving hurtful messages online rose from 8% to 12% from 2010 to 2014, respectively.

Sometimes, perpetrators of cyberbullying do not realize that what they are saying or doing
constitutes cyberbullying, while victims likewise don’t always realize that they are being
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cyberbullied. Online bullies of young people are most often young people as well. Youth
belonging to ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities, or who are otherwise perceived as
different (e.g. overweight, disabled, etc.), are at greater risk of being cyberbullied (Keith &
Martin, 2005).

Teachers should realize that cyberbullying could be happening between the students in their
class, or between their students and other young people. It is probable that at least one of
your students is being cyberbullied, and it is invisible to you.

Even teachers can be cyberbullied—by other teachers, their principal, parents, or even their
own students!

CYBERSTALKING

Cyberstalking is characterized by the repeated or continual following of someone through

online channels, and often accompanied by harassment. A cyberstalker might obsessively
track a person’s online activities, including their posts of comments, pictures, and videos, and
attempt to make unwanted contact with the victim or interfere with the victim’s social life. He
or she may also annoy, taunt, or scare the victim by posting strange and malicious material for
the victim to see. Sometimes a cyberstalker passively follows every online move of an
individual, without making contact with the person.

A cyberstalker takes advantage of the anonymity of the web to pursue or harass an individual,
thinking that he/she would not be held accountable for his anti-social behavior. Cyberstalking
can be considered a form of cyberbullying.

Cyberstalking can occasionally happen in a school setting. A student who is sexually or

romantically attracted to another might, in rare cases, cyberstalk their love interest. The
student could be afraid of face-to-face rejection, or may have already been rejected. He then
resorts to pursuing the individual online in hope that the person’s feelings may change. The
student’s crush tells the stalker to stop bothering her, but he doesn’t take no for an answer. In
revenge, he tries to disrupt her life by posting nasty things on social media.

TROLLING

Trolling is also closely related to cyberbullying. Online trolls taunt and insult their targets,
which could result in someone feeling depressed, angry, or low in self-esteem. The
difference between a troll and other kinds of cyberbullies is that a troll typically does not have
a deeper goal for harassing someone except to provoke a reaction. Trolls delight in discovering
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that they have had a negative effect on someone. Trolls are often less discriminating than
other cyberbullies when it comes to choosing whom to bother: they may even do it randomly
to strangers.

If teachers and students read news articles or forums online, they will probably encounter
trolls in the comments section below. Trolls can also be found in the comments section of
YouTube videos or pretty much any public website that allows for commenting and discussion.
How do you spot a troll? Anyone who says mean, hateful things directed to anyone is probably
a troll. Their statements are often illogical and repetitive. And if you try to reason with them,
they normally resort to ad hominem attacks, and are completely unwilling to change their
views. The best thing that teachers and students can do when they encounter trolls online:
ignore them.

CYBERGROOMING AND EXPLOITATION

Cybergrooming is a process of befriending (online) a person to gain his/her trust in hopes of

exploiting the person. For example, a criminal may pose as somebody he/she is not, slowly
build a relationship with a child through seemingly innocuous messaging, and eventually cajole
the child to either meet the criminal or commit lewd acts on camera/video. Provided with the
right incentive, the child might not know he/she is a victim and that the images could be
shared with a wider audience. It is estimated that millions of pornographic pictures of children
exist online, representing tens of thousands of children, and more pictures are being uploaded
with the advent of easy-to-use, cheap, digital cameras (UNICEF IRC, 2012).

In the worst cases, meeting up with cybergroomers face-to-face could lead to the child’s
abduction, direct physical exploitation (such as through pornography, prostitution, rape), sale,
slavery, and other forms of grave harm. These crimes, however, are rare.

Young people without a strong support network, such as those whose parents or siblings are
not around, could be enticed to meet strangers with the promise of “protection,” materials
goods, or money. Teachers should also remind their students to be careful about whom they
communicate with online, as not everyone is who they seem to be. Furthermore, they should
never feel compelled to share sexual images of themselves, to anyone. Once a picture like that
is in someone else’s computer, they have no control over it.
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EXPOSURE TO INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT

With a few clicks, almost any internet user in the world can access sexual, violent, or other
controversial material. Safety features of websites and web browsers are easy to circumvent
and disclaimers provide little deterrent to would-be visitors. Content that depicts or promotes
drugs, alcohol use, sex, gore, violence, hatred, and intolerance can disturb or influence
children. Professionals are concerned of growing addiction to pornography, for example, and
pressure on girls to conform to the behavior and appearance of women in pornographic
videos (UNICEF IRC, 2012).

Children themselves can become complicit in spreading inappropriate content, particularly

through social media. Applications like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Snapchat
allow easy sharing of pictures and videos. A teen, in a moment of narcissism, boredom, or low
self-esteem, could post a compromising picture that he/she may regret after it spreads
throughout his/her network of friends.

Students have probably seen things on digital media that are inappropriate for their age. Even
the movies shown on public transportation are often disturbing. “Sanitizing” classroom
discussions—avoiding talk of violence and sexuality—is not the solution, because that means
the students are potentially being exposed to such content in their private lives without the
chance to talk about it. Teachers can carefully bring up such topics and ask the students how
they feel about it. They can also discuss what disturbing content says about the industries that
make such content, and society as a whole. Students should be made to feel that they are in
control. They can take proactive steps to avoid such content, and speak out against the people
responsible for promoting violence and degrading sexual material. Through empowerment
and critical thinking activities like the ones in upcoming chapters of this e-book, teachers can
also dissuade their students from emulating the negative behaviors they encounter in digital
media.

DAMAGE TO ONLINE REPUTATION

It’s easy for information to be put up online, but it is hard to take it down. In this day and age,
mistakes someone has committed can be revealed online and stay there indefinitely. In
previous generations, indiscretions of youth were left to fade in people’s memory, but now
people can be reminded of embarrassing moments over and over again. Information that we
would prefer to be kept private can become wide public knowledge. Our online reputation is
also called our “digital tattoo”, and it can be elevated and destroyed quickly. A damaged
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digital tattoo can affect someone’s education, social life, and work. In the United States, for
example, a Microsoft study found that a whopping 70% of employers have rejected applicants
based on their online reputation (Cross Tab, 2010).

As teachers, there is a need to educate our students in understanding their emotions and
online behaviors: why they do what they do, why they share what they share. If we train them
to recognize, interpret, and evaluate their own emotions, then they will be less likely to impair
their digital footprint with irresponsible behavior. Chapter 10 offers some guidance on how
teachers can do this.

EXCESSIVE USE OF ICT

Children can become “addicted” to surfing the web and playing games online. It is debated by
scholars how comparable computers, mobiles, and the internet are to conventional drugs, but
there is growing consensus that excessive use of ICT is a problem, even though it might not be
classified as a formal addiction (Livingstone et al., 2011). Excessive use is less about the
amount of time spent but rather the extent to which ICT use negatively impacts upon other
aspects of one’s life. For example, if a child skips meals or sleep to be online, feels bothered
by temporary lack of access, surfs the internet even when he/she is not interested, sacrifices
interactive family and friend time to play computer games, neglects homework, or
unsuccessfully tries to reduce his/her ICT use, these are all signs of excessive ICT use. In
European countries, indicators for excessive use are on the rise, and one in four children
occasionally experiences going without sleep or eating due to the internet, and (Livingstone et
al., 2011). However, trends vary significantly from country to country. Data in Southeast Asian
countries is limited.

Consequently, teachers need to model and promote having a balance between online and
offline life, underlining the importance of mindfulness, being present in the moment, and
occasionally disconnecting from ICT. A groundbreaking Harvard study, which tracked the lives
of hundreds of people starting in 1938 and continuing to the present, found that the healthiest
and happiest people were those who maintained close, interdependent relationships with
family and friends. Their relationships mattered more than wealth, fame, and career.

The lessons of this adult development study: good relationships keep us healthier and
happier. Loneliness and isolation make us less happy, health deteriorates earlier, and brain
declines sooner. Happiness is not about the number of friends you have; it is about the
quality of your close relationships.
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The study’s current director, Dr. Waldinger, recommends that one of the actions we can take
to improve our happiness is “something as simple as replacing screen time with people time.”
If students make positive changes to their habits now, it will have a long term impact on their
lives.

PHYSICAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

Use of computers and mobile technology can lead to several bodily ailments, such as back,
arm, and neck pains and worsening posture. If the computer use involves prolonged sitting, it
can cause hip rotation, thereby forcing a change of walking gait. A more serious possible
outcome is deep vein thrombosis, although this normally impacts middle aged and elderly
people who have limited physical activity for long periods.

Staring at a screen for a long time can strain the eyes due to glare, resulting in dry, watery,
itchy, burning, or other uncomfortable eye states (Cashin-Garbutt, 2012). An incorrectly
positioned computer screen can also cause eye strain. If the screen is too high or too low, your
stare will be forced to deviate from the natural direction (which is straight out in front, and
slightly down), leading to eye muscle fatigue. People can also forget to blink their eyes when
staring at a screen, causing dry eyes due to lack of tears.

The unnatural light of the screens also affects our sleeping patterns. Our brain does not
perceive it is night time, so the hormone serotonin in our body does not convert into
melatonin, which is what we need to feel sleepy. Without sufficient melatonin, we may
experience insomnia (the inability to fall asleep). Insufficient sleep can have many
consequences on our health, including a weakened immune system.

Mobile phones can be dangerously distracting in some situations, such as walking on the
street or driving in a car. If someone is browsing and/or typing on the phone while walking on
the street, he/she may not notice hazards like oncoming vehicles. Similarly, if someone is
attempting to ride a car, motorcycle, or bicycle while talking on the phone, it is more difficult
to monitor one’s environment and the person may not react fast enough when confronted
Check out the learning packet on Internet Addiction here! It contains a teacher’s guide and
presentation slides to conduct a learning activity for the classroom. with a hazard. Vehicular
mobile phone use has been linked to road accidents, and therefore banned in many countries.
A person is approximately four times more likely to get in a car accident when using a mobile
phone than without (NHS, 2014).
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Teachers should raise awareness about the physical dangers of ICT use. They should warn their
students not use their mobile phones while walking on the street or driving any kind of
contraption (including bicycles)! Teachers should also explain—and even better, exhibit—the
importance of good posture, reducing screen time (thereby avoiding long periods of sitting and
strain on their eyes), and healthy sleep habits.

SALES FRAUD

Sales fraud is when products or services are offered online but turn out to not exist, do not
match the stated specifications or quality, or the payment for such products/services is not
processed correctly or fairly. Some examples include fake raffles, claims of winning money,
fake holiday trips, invitations to ghost events, websites that purport to sell original products
but are in fact selling imposter brands, and many others. In some cases, a website might offer
a genuine product, but the payment terms are misleading. For example, the billed amount is
not the same as the price advertised, or the buyer is locked into a regular subscription when
he/she thought that it was only a one-time payment. The objective of most people engaged in
sales fraud is to make money from their victims.

Educators can be victims of sales fraud. Temporary websites crop up from time to time inviting
teachers to education conferences, when in fact the conferences are imaginary. The teacher,
for instance, submits an abstract to present the results of her latest action research. The
conference website looks glamorous, and claims a number of credible sponsors with their
logos splashed on the page. A week later, the teacher receives a reply from the “conference
organizers” that her abstract has been accepted. After the teacher has paid the conference
registration fee online, the organizers no longer answer her emails. Another week later, the
conference website can no longer be found. It has been removed, and the teacher does not
get her money back.

IDENTITY THEFT

Identify theft is when personal information is stolen and used by other people pretending to
be the victim. An individual could attempt to steal one’s personal information by coaxing the
person to reveal it, or it could be automated through a website, application, or computer
virus. The thief could use the person’s name, bank information, email address, house address,
and other information. There are also scams by which the thief presents himself as a person in
an emergency, temporarily needing cash or the use of someone’s bank account, but the
money is never returned. As with sales fraud, the objective of most people engaged in identity
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theft and related scams is to make money, but in rare cases identity theft could be used to get
communication access to other people in the victim’s network or to acquire certain privileges.
The act of acquiring someone’s personal information (especially financial information) by
posing as a legitimate company or trustworthy person is known as phishing.

For school age children, identity theft most often happens in the context of social media. A
student might create a fake account and pose as someone else. The motivation varies: some
do it for humor, others for courtship, and others for intimidating someone else. In countries
such as the Philippines, it is not uncommon for teenagers to have multiple Facebook
accounts...one for their parents’ and girlfriend’s eyes, and an alternative account for
conducting communications that they don’t want their parents or significant other to know
about. While having multiple social media accounts is not automatically bad (youth should be
able to experiment with different sides of their personality, and have a potential escape from
overly controlling loved ones), teachers can ask them to reflect on their actions. The line
between experimentation and dishonesty is fine. Secondly, while someone could assume a
fictitious identity, it is not acceptable to steal another person’s identity, because the person
never gave you permission to do so.

MISINFORMATION

Because the internet is an open community (in most places), people are free to upload
almost anything they want, even if it is not true. This characteristic is not like traditional
sources of information: most libraries, for example, collect books with a certain standard of
quality in mind, because they have an educational mandate to the public. Reputable academic
journals, meanwhile, publish articles that are rigorously vetted by experts. The internet does
not have such controls. Even a five year-old could upload material to the internet, completely
make-believe (if he/she is technically savvy enough to do so, that is). Sometimes, information
is uploaded as a joke or prank, pretending to be real when in fact it was just a hoax. These
factors have led to a proliferation of fake news, which has become a hot topic among
politicians, media outlets, and the general public. Fake news can have negative consequences,
because people might act upon the information on the assumption that it is real, potentially
harming themselves or others. People could form false opinions, views, convictions, and
stigmas, and spread the misinformation to others.
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PLAGIARISM

In other cases, the information found online is correct, but the purported author is not who he
says he is. This is called plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of taking someone’s work or ideas
and pretending it is yours. A person might dishonestly claim a whole work is his own creation,
or take pieces of it and incorporate into his own work without crediting the original source.
Both are forms of plagiarism and are generally illegal. Plagiarism is harmful because it takes
away someone’s chance to be recognized and benefit from his/her creations. It can also harm
the person who plagiarized: if he is exposed, his reputation, job, and future career could be
destroyed.

BASIC LEVEL INTERMEDIATE LEVEL ADVANCED LEVEL

Recognize his or her Specify the nature, role and Formulate his or her
information and media scope of his or her information and media
(content) need, identify and information and media (content) needs into concrete
save information and media (content) need, in order to strategies and plans to search
content from easily located locate and select from various for and access information
and accessed information and potentially conflicting from diverse sources using
sources using basic tools. information sources and relevant diverse tools in a
providers of information and systematic, explicit and
media content using various efficient manner, and retrieve
tools, storing it and applying existing information for
key legal and ethical further utilization.
principles.
Select information sources Analyze and differentiate Within the context and
without clear assessment quality of and evidence of multiple conditions
criteria, and with limited relevant information sources applicable, interpret,
application and awareness of and content, understanding compare, critically evaluate,
major principles, conditions the necessity of media and authenticate and hold
and functions of media and information providers and synthesized information and
information providers in their implications for society, media content, appreciating
society as well as being unable to recognize work of author(s), and media
authentication of information different viewpoints; as well and information providers
and media content. as store selected information within the context of
and media content for further sustainable development of
application. society, organization or
community.
 19

Organize and save retrieved Create, produce and Combine information and
information without communicate new media content for creation
substantive synthesis using information and media and production of new
basic tools and distribute content in new formats using knowledge considering socio-
without critical appraisal or appropriate channels and cultural aspects of the target
ethical and legal tools for well-defined audiences and then
considerations for limited application as well as communicate and distribute
application. engaging in a dialogue with in various appropriate
others with limited awareness formats and tools for multiple
of ethical and legal applications in a participatory,
implications. legal, ethical and efficient
manner, as well as monitor
influence and impact made.

MIL Competency Matrix (Tier Two)

COMPETENCY PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Recognizes the need for information and media content.
M.I.-literate person is able to 2. Defines the need for information and media content.
determine and articulate the 3. Recognizes the need and importance of media and
nature, role and scope of the information providers
information and media 4. Knows that different types of information needs / problems
(content) through a variety of require different sources of information (other people,
resources. groups, organizations or objects) and/or places from which
something comes, arises, was created or obtained (such as
M.I.-literate person is able to library, archive, media, Internet)
access needed information 6. Assumes that different types of information needs /
and media content problems may not be solved without others’ help, such as
effectively, efficiently and people, groups or organizations
ethically, as well as media 7. Connects and consults with other individuals, groups,
and information providers. organizations, or levels to formulate a general statement /
question
M.I.-literate person is able to 8. Develops search strategy (-ies) to find appropriate
retrieve and temporally hold information, media content, information providers, means
information and media and tools
content using a variety of 9. Knows roles and functions of information producers and
methods and tools. media institutions in society where information and media
content could be found and located
M.I.-literate person 11. Seeks to identify an author, producer, organizer,
 20

understands necessity of disseminator of information and media content

media and information 13. Understands the role of metadata
providers in society. 14. Identifies, differentiates and prioritizes potential
information sources by type of information source, date,
M.I.-literate person is able to topic, author, sender, receiver, keywords, tags and terms, etc.
assess, analyse, compare, 15. Appreciates diversity of information and media content
articulate and apply initial provided by information providers and media, as well as
criteria for assessment of the appreciates diverse formats.
information retrieved and its 16. Distinguishes formats of information and media resources
sources, as well as evaluate 17. Decides what types of information and media resources
media and information are required
providers in society. 18. Knows importance and relevance of tools for locating
information and media content
19. Recognizes limitations, challenges and possibilities of
locating information and media content due to technical,
legal, economic, social-cultural, political and other reasons 20.
M.I.-literate person Refines search strategy, if required 21. Locates those
communicates information, information sources, using appropriate tools.
media content and 22. Determines the method(s) and strategy(-ies) for accessing
knowledge in an ethical, legal information and media content
and effective manner, using 23. Determines the availability, costs, time, benefits and
appropriate channels and applicability of acquiring the needed information and media
tools. content, applying the method(s) and strategy(-ies) formulated
above
24. Follows basic laws, regulations, policies, rights and
principles related to ethical access to: information,
documentary heritage, media content, ICTs, other media and
information providers
25. Acknowledges the importance of the rules, laws and
regulations related to access to information
26. Knows that access to information and media content
could be restricted 27. Uses diverse tools to access
information and media content
28. Accesses selected information and media content through
a variety of media and other information providers
29. Accesses media and other information providers, including
those on the Internet, for self- expression, creativity, social
and political participation.
30. Uses various systems and tools to retrieve most suitable
information and media content in a variety of formats
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31. Retrieves different types of information

33. Selects, organizes and holds onto the retrieved
information and media content using appropriate
technologies and tools
34. Knows requirements, rules and practices of holding
information and media content
35. Assumes that retrieved information and media content
could be useful in future 36. Applies basic requirements of
holding information and media content

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