Course Guide for

IS 201
Computer Ethics
University of the Philippines OPEN UNIVERSITY Master in Information Systems Programme 1st Semester, AY 2012-2013

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course looks at computer ethics from a broad perspective. We will tackle the ethical issues faced by a computer professional as part of the job; including the issues faced by professionals in other work areas/disciplines where computers are used. That is, we will discuss computer ethics as a category of professional (applied) ethics, similar to medical, legal or accounting ethics. For example: o Should you derive personal income from a creative work geared towards the common good, OR should you allow free capturing, storing and sharing of information so that the greatest number of people can benefit from your invention? o If you demand information access regarding others, would you be willing to give up your own personal privacy and confidentiality? We will also discuss the ethical issues derived from the impact of computers (or more broadly, information technology) on society. We will therefore discuss universal access, social networking, employment, the use of computers in education, etc. issues that often touch on ones political and social views, rather than ones experience as a computer professional. In the process, we would be able to define social accountability in an information society. To be able to do this, we will need to have a solid grounding on ethical theories. That is why the first chapters of this course discuss basic ethical concepts and issues. Later, we will discuss the application of these ethical principles to issues involving computers and networking.

IS 201 Course Guide 1st Semester 2012-2013 UP OPEN UNIVERSITY

COURSE GOALS
This course will help you develop your knowledge about ethical concepts, relate these concepts to the work of a computer professional, and analyze specific ethical problems. In the process, you will hopefully develop an open and inquiring attitude towards the implicit and explicit social contracts and understandings in a developing information society, and define your role as a socially accountable person in the context of your organization, community and country. By the end of this course, you should be able to: 1. Define ethics and how it fits into philosophical thought 2. Define computer ethics 3. Describe philosophical challenges to computer ethics 4. Describe unique ethical problems in information technology 5. Reflect on your personal ethics as a computer professional and a member of an online community

COURSE MATERIALS
Upon enrollment, you will receive the following materials: 1. Course textbook: Reynolds, George, Ethics in Information Technology, 3nd Edition, Course Technology, Cengage Learning, Boston, USA, 2010. The course textbook represents most of your readings this semester. It is imperative that you read and understand the textbook material thoroughly. However, it would be very useful for you to visit the websites indicated in the book. There will be other required and recommended readings that will supplement the book. They will either be uploaded or their links supplied from the course board. 2. This Course Guide which contains the requirements and other information pertaining to this course.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
You will be using the Internet quite heavily for this course. Thus, if you will not have access to a good internet connection for the semester or if you foresee such circumstances, I advise you against taking this subject. I shall not accept the no or slow internet access in my location as an excuse. In addition to your Personal Computer (also for video editing) you may need to use either a digital camera or a video camera (or even cellphone camera) as your video recorder in the process.

IS 201 Course Guide 1st Semester 2012-2013 UP OPEN UNIVERSITY

COURSE OUTLINE
This course is divided into two units, further divided into 12 Sections: Part 1 Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Part 2 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Appendices

Appendix A: Brief Introduction To Morality An Overview of Ethics Ethics for IT professionals and IT users Computer and Internet Crime Privacy Freedom of Expression Intellectual Property Software Development The Impact of Information Technology on the Quality of Life Social Networking Ethics of IT Organizations Related Laws/Code of Ethics (appendices)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Your grade will be computed as follows: 1. Participation in the Discussion Boards (30%) 2. Ethical IT Advocacy Video (25%) 3. My Ethics Project (25%) 4. Final Exams (20%)

1. Participation in the Discussion Boards (DB) (30%)

Interaction in this course will be done online, using a learning management system called Moodle. Navigate to http://support.upou.edu.ph for information and use the
moodle login http://myportal.upou.edu.ph/ . Email or call techsupport regarding your enrollment key for IS201_1_2012, after you have created your account (techsupport@upou.edu.ph). If techsupport does not respond, email fics@upou.edu.ph

You will notice that your textbook contain Discussion Questions and What Would you Do? segments. Over the duration of the course, I will pick out some of these or ask other questions related to these for online discussion. Check our course site at least twice a week for the latest discussions or activities posted. Your formal answers should more or less have a 200-300 word count. But more than quantity of words, I am more interested in the quality of your posts and that they appeal to our higher critical thinking. Do not try to impress me or your
IS 201 Course Guide 1st Semester 2012-2013 UP OPEN UNIVERSITY

classmates with a lot of cut and paste information. And if you do, please always cite your sources. Furthermore, never copy your classmates posts verbatim. You also have a right and duty to patrol your classmates ethical behavior in this class.

2. Ethical IT Advocacy Video (25%)

To show your concern for the ethical issues of this course, you will be required to make a 45 sec 1 minute (can exceed 20 sec for your introduction if you need) advertisement video/presentation advocating any one of the ethical issues as your cause (campaign against pirated software, report the latest hoax, bridge a digital divide, warn people about cyberbullying, or give tips to avoid internet predators) . After having filmed/recorded your presentation via camcorder, or digital camera, or cellphone, and after having edited it (windows movie maker, etc.) you will then upload your presentation to youtube (for uniformity and integrity). Please use a professional account with e-mail traceable to your full name. It will be useful in your academic future for your e-portfolio. Then you will only put the URL (youtube address) in your thread in the discussion board. Please do not plagiarize presentations. If you copy segments from other sources, please cite them (video credit). Youtube now takes IPR very seriously and will not publish your work if coming from pirated sources. If your work is not allowed by youtube, then it means you did not pass their ethical criteria and you will not earn a grade from me (since I will not see your work there). More importantly I want to see and hear you introduce your work with your full name as subtitle in the first few seconds or your clip/presentation. This will act as your cover page and video signature to prove that the presentation is yours. The Ethical AD Video is due on or before July 28, 2012. Late Submissions after August 15 will not be graded anymore.

3. My Ethics Project (25%)

For you Ethics Project you will: Plan a three hour seminar (could be more not less) on Computer Ethics and its relevance, to an audience of your choosing (at least ten persons). You could have Computer Ethics for teens or students, for kids, for your office mates, for administrators, or for any group in your community. Thus your lesson plan for the three hours should be according to the intellectual level of your audience. Meet with the group you chose and execute the lessons you planned. Please document your seminar with pictures and indicate the time/day. You could have either all the three hours in one day, an hour a day for three days, or several minutes in different days. Evaluate what you did and compile a report of the whole activity.

IS 201 Course Guide 1st Semester 2012-2013 UP OPEN UNIVERSITY

Your Ethics Project paper should contain at least these: Three hour lesson plan (detailed with activities according to the level of your audience; do not give me a simple outline, I want to see details of what you teach). Documentation of the seminar (digital pictures of the event with matching time/day of execution; list of participants, place held, etc.) Important: Please compress your pictures before you put them inside the word processor (tip: not more than 400K per picture so that it would not bloat your file). Evaluation Report of your Activity (content of this is left to your imagination) The compiled Ethics Project paper is due on or before September 15, 2011. Submit only the final copy in the submission bin. No videos attached please (only links to video are allowed if you wish), compress your pictures and try not to exceed a 2MB limit for the file. (Please read our board advisory for more detailed information). Late submissions after the September 21 will no longer be graded.

4. Final Exams (20%)

The Final Exams will be on September 22, 2012. Please always check your discussion board to await further announcement on the details of how this will be delivered. GRADES The Passing Grade is set at 70% of your total requirement output. I will not give a grade of EXT in this course. If you feel you cannot find time to join the discussions in time and fulfill all requirements at the end of the semester, then drop the course. In case of emergencies, please contact me so that I could make arrangements for a possible re-scheduling of your submissions. But that would have to be at my discretion, not yours. I assure you that if you submit all requirements complete and on time, there is no reason why you could not earn a very good grade in this subject. HOUSE RULES 1. Regarding Deadlines I am very peculiar about the deadline of submission. If you will be late by a few hours (12-24), that would still be ok. A few days or a week late will merit already a corresponding amount of subtractions from the grade. 2. Regarding Intellectual Honesty The UP Open University stresses both academic excellence and intellectual honesty. As a UP student, you are expected to do your best. Whatever assignments you submit, they are presumed to be your own work. When you
IS 201 Course Guide 1st Semester 2012-2013 UP OPEN UNIVERSITY

copy and paste from a source, please do cite the source you got the paragraph from to distinguish it from your personal idea. Do not be tempted to take shortcuts by having someone else do your work for you, or by doing work for someone else. There are strict academic rules regarding intellectual honesty with sanctions ranging from warnings to expulsion from a program. In the past, there have been those given failing grades for plagiarized work, and were reported to disciplinary tribunals (and consequently suspended). If you find that you are unable to finish certain requirements, the best solution is to contact your FIC for help, not cheat. CONTACT INFORMATION I am Gerard G. Ravasco, the Faculty-in-Charge (FIC) of the course this semester. I am presently working with the Salesians of Don Bosco. Although my Masters Degrees are in Development Communication and in Theology, I do have some background in the field of Ethics and bits of hands-on experience in computer hardware and networking (MCSA/MCSE). My undergraduate degrees are in Theology (Philosophy as requisite) and in Industrial Education (Electronics as major). You can contact me via email at gravasco@gmail.com . Please indicate IS_201_yourFamilyname on your subject bar so as not to be accidentally labeled as spam by the security software and so that I could distinguish you as a student. The reason for this is many of you use aliases/usernames in e-mails which are so far from your real names. It would be rather hard for me to identify and give a grade to beautifulgirl5, cuteboy7 or whiz kid9. I hope you will enjoy the course.

IS 201 Course Guide 1st Semester 2012-2013 UP OPEN UNIVERSITY