Review of "Developing Ethical Direction"

In the article “Developing Ethical Direction” the authors explain that children need to be taught that stealing copyrighted items from the Internet is illegal and unethical. They go on to suggest that students will not always agree on what is right, and often will argue that there are shades of grey when it come to copyrighted material on the internet. Another prevailing belief that young people hold is that if no one knows that they are taking copyrighted material it is acceptable. The authors suggest that the best way to help young people understand what is right is through discussion, self-reflection, and role modeling.
I agree with the author that when it comes to the Internet, people often believe that everything is “fair game.” For several years, musicians were loosing a vast amount of money by people downloading their music for free. It was not until the government started to crackdown on the crime that people stopped the illegal activity. If other media forms are not also regulated and people are not taught to be more conscientious, I believe that this activity will continue.

Reference:
Ribble, M. S., & Bailey, G. D. (2005). Developing Ethical Direction. Learing & Leading with Technology, 32, 36-38.