Lesson 1
Developing a 21st century moral compass
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Target Audience
Key Stage 4/5
Lesson Aim
To enable pupils to explore their own moral and ethical standpoints in relation to new media.
Learning Objectives
 Pupils should be able to question how they and others respond to common scenarios
resulting from the use of new technologies.
 Pupils should be able to question whether they have a moral or ethical code of conduct
with regard to the use of new technologies.
Timing 60mins
Organisation- Whole class activities, pair work,
individual work
Preparation
Moral compass points need to be printed out
and placed around the class room.
Resources: Moral compass point handouts,
Harm Vs Risk handout, clips to be streamed
(see below for URL), post-it notes for micro
manifesto activity
Lesson Outline
Starter
20 minutes
Activity 1
Activity 2
What would you do? : A Twenty first century moral compass
about our online behaviour.
What are the key issues for young people? Harm v risk chart
Where do you stand: writing a micro digital manifesto
Activity 3
Presenting your manifesto
10 minutes
Plenary
Living in a digital democracy: listening to young people
around the world talking about their activities online. Think
about these issues from a global perspective. Would young
people have different opinions in the Middle East? Asia?
1. Ask the groups to consider if the issues on the Harm v Risk
chart would remain the same for different age categories
e.g. silver surfers and early learners?
2. Watch the winner of internet security provider Trend
Micro’s short film competition. Is this an effective way to
present a manifesto? Is the film persuasive and innovative?
Would it be effective for all ages or just one?
http://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.com/internetsafety/Home.do
5minutes
Extension
activities
10 minutes
15 minutes
Starter.
What would you do? : A 21st century moral
compass. (reproduced with kind permission
from Mike Ribble)
Activity 1
Having explored the 21st century moral
compass ask the students to consider the key
issues for young people.
See the teachers’ notes and guidance below
where you will find scenarios to share with
students. To prepare for the activity, the moral
compass points need to be placed on the
walls around the class for this activity.
Read out each scenario or display them on
the interactive white board.
In response to each scenario, students should
congregate by the compass point that
corresponds closest to their view. Give
students one minute to move. Ask students
why they decided to adopt this view and use
the teachers’ notes below to explore
discussion where appropriate.
‘Which issues are you concerned with when it
comes to using new technologies?’
Activity 2
Activity 3
Encourage students to review their charts.
Which key issue do they feel most passionate
about? Is it possible to educate and/or
campaign within the whole school community
to address this issue?
Students are to present back their manifestoes.
Explain that you would like all the groups to
come up with a “micro manifesto” i.e. a
statement that outlines their beliefs in relation
to the key issues they have already been
exploring E.g.
“I believe that all users of the internet have the
right to be safe from viruses online. As users of
the internet we have the responsibility of
staying up to date with issues related to the
security of our connected devices and to
update security software when prompted to
do so.”
To do this, distribute the harm v risk handout.
Pupils should weigh up the risk of encountering
the key issues online vs. how much harm
exposure to that key issue could cause. Check
for understanding of all terms and if pupils feel
they would like to add any further issues.
Pupils should work in groups of four, ranking the
key issues against risk and harm. Once
completed, they can feed back to the class,
explaining how they made their decision.
Class teachers may choose to:
a. ask the rest of the class their reactions
to the manifesto and to debate the
value of the ideas held in the
manifestoes
b. vote and choose the most effective
manifesto which the whole class will
support
c. give students further time to develop an
innovative way to seek support for their
manifesto e.g. using the school virtual
learning environment
d. create a class/ year group declaration
of rights and responsibilities in relation to
the internet
Plenary:
Use the interactive whiteboard to show the films on the Safer Internet Centre website.
http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day-2011/hear-what-young-people-think
Do young people around the world have the same issues? E.g. will all countries have the same
issues relating to personal information? Consider religion, culture and government – would these
themes impact on young people’s attitudes to their online rights and responsibilities?
*Teachers’ notes and guidance for use with the moral compass exercise
Forwarding on of indecent images of a fellow student
If sexual content of a minor (anyone under the age of 18) is found on a mobile device the
owner of that device could be held criminally responsible for being in possession of “images of
child abuse”. Prosecution and being added to the sex offenders list could be a consequence
of sending/receiving and/or keeping this type of content. Over the last few years cases of
young people texting sexual content (known as “sexting”) have been on the increase.
Most of the young people are likely to choose “wrong” as a response to this scenario. You may
want to highlight parts of the school/college Acceptable Use Policy and/or anti bullying policy
that relate to this scenario.
Some students may want to choose “it depends on the circumstances”. For example, it may be
right to forward on the content to a parent, carer, tutor or service provider in order to get the
photo removed from a social network or website.
It is important to highlight the ease at which digital content can be copied, edited and
distributed. Many young people can underestimate the speed at which digital content can
escape their control and the possible consequences for the creator of the content, individual in
the photo/video and anyone who receives it.
Creating a blog featuring staff and students
Some pupils may hesitate before making a decision. As with many decisions relating to the 21st
century compass the answer to this scenario is not necessarily an easy one. Creation of content
is part of the web 2.0 phenomenon and a well put together blog may be seen by potential
employers and further education establishments as evidence of initiative and resourcefulness.
However, encourage your students to think about the sorts of things they will need to consider
each time they upload – particularly if the blog features staff and students. Have they asked
permission before posting content? Are they giving away too much personal information
about other individuals? Have they properly looked in to the privacy tools provided by the
service? What would their policy be if someone objected to the content on the blog? Is there a
subject matter that may be more suitable? Are there any considerations students should make
when they are blogging in college/out of college?
Using Facebook for hours at a time during exam revision season
The obvious answer to this statement is that it is wrong and it is likely to be the option chosen by
most students as it could seriously affect exam results. Teens often cite Facebook as being a
great way to avoid doing homework and revision. However, ask your pupils: Is it possible for
Facebook to be used to enhance learning? Could curriculum area groups be created to
encourage collaborative learning? What sort of guidelines might need to be in place e.g.
Should people be able to post at all times of the day? What should happen if a teacher
notices a student posting at 3 o’clock in the morning? Should they take action or is 3 o’clock in
the morning ok? Might there be consequences for staying up until this time?
Using a service that allows you to leave anonymous messages
Your students’ reactions to this statement may be initially a negative one. Some websites allow
anonymous messages to be sent and received. These sites often create gossip and issues that
can be difficult to referee. However, there are many instances where it may be appropriate to
use a service where anonymous messages/chat can take place e.g. where a young person is
seeking advice or counselling. The most important thing to get your students to consider is the
sort of sites they choose to seek advice from. Ask them how they can know if the sites they use
are trustworthy? How can they be sure if the anonymous advice givers have the qualifications
and qualities necessary to give good advice? Is it a service that college recommends? Has a
friend spoken about a good experience with the service? Has the student researched the
website and the service it provides?
“Unfriending” a fellow student on Facebook
Your students may have mixed reactions towards this statement depending on their personal
experiences. You are likely to find young people very reluctant to get rid of contacts from their
Friends list due to the culture of belief that the more friends you have the more popular you are.
Allow your students time to make their decision and then ask them about their choices. Some
students may say that “unfriending” is wrong as it can be used to socially exclude other
students i.e. bullying. Other students may present the view that it is a good line of defence if
one of the contacts on your account is being abusive or harassing you.
It is important to encourage students to think carefully about all of their contacts on Facebook.
Highlight the importance of staying in control of who they are in contact with and who they
allow to contact them. Guidance for older teens in relation to Facebook friends they don’t
know is difficult – you may want to discuss the safeguards they put in place before allowing a
stranger to contact them through Facebook and other media e.g. Questioning why that
person may want to be in contact – are they a friend of a friend? A friend of a friend is more
likely to be a safe contact than a “random” person with whom they have no connection. If
that person has a public profile who are their friends?
The scrutiny of potential online contacts is a key online skill all users of the internet should
employ.
Sharing information that was given in confidence in a private message online
From the work that Childnet has carried out with older teens we know that one of their greatest
concerns is privacy online. Many teens understand privacy tools well and utilise them to protect
their reputation and behaviour online. However, regardless of the privacy tools provided by
online services it is still very difficult to control other people’s posts and photo uploads. Therefore
most teens are likely to move to the “wrong” end of the 21st century compass.
Explore this statement a little more and ask your students if this has happened to them and how
it made them feel? Do they think that there might ever be a scenario where it may be
appropriate to share private information provided by someone else? E.g. a student at risk. It’s
important for students and staff to recognise that the internet is never a truly “private” platform
and that they leave digital footprints wherever they go. Class teachers may want to consider
raising the fact that often devices have the capability of sharing private messages with larger
audiences through screen capturing technology (sometimes known as “screen munching”).