Syllabus Review

In the 21st century, tasks, business, communication, and networking are becoming increasingly done electronically, rather than on physical paper. The idea of the “paperless office” is a profound example of how things in the 21st century has become so technologically advanced. I hope to learn how the traditional ethics of the 20th century will develop and be enforced in an online environment. As I follow current events, I notice that the legislative bodies of the state and federal government are typically slow and reactionary to technological crime, and making offenses online punishable. I hope to learn how this affects ethics in digital media, and whether or not laws are effective in preventing technological crime such as identity theft. I look forward to learning about a critical part of digital media today, which is the ethical procedures one should follow when conducting themselves as an informed user online.

The topics of this class interest me because it relates to issues and current events that are taking place and being debated right now. This is not a history course, rather it is a discussion of issues that are being debated and that directly affect me as I sit here and write this syllabus review. That interests me because I can debate and make a difference in the way that these issues are dealt with, and policy that is implemented due to these issues, such as identity theft, becoming more and more prevalent in 21st century society. The topic of whistle blowing, and Wikileaks interests me greatly. Every time I turn on the news it seems as though there is a political scandal that has been alerted because of whistle blowers. The people blowing the whistle on these politicians illegal or immoral activities are online users such as myself. They are following a certain ethical code or procedure that I hope to learn more about as this topic is discussed later on in the semester. Another topic I hope to learn about is the ethics of hacking, and vigilantism online. For example, as I mentioned Wikileaks earlier, is it ethical to hack a government database if the information shows misconduct in official government business? At what point has vigilantism gone too far? These issues interest me, and I look forward to learning more and taking place in discussion about these current technological issues.

This class has opened my eyes so far as to how to conduct oneself online ethically, but it has also opened my eyes to unethical situations that have taken place on Facebook—a website that most people consider essential to everyday life—with the example of the beacon service and how users were entered and considered “okay” with the use of the service. It is not necessarily the ethical violation that every one thinks of when first thinking of digital media ethics, but it is a very important example. Companies assume willing participation in programs online all the time, and it makes one question the ethical nature of doing so. This course has already made me more alert to these marketing techniques of the 21st century.

The only question or concern I had with the syllabus was the use of Prezi to make Prezi-tations. Is prezi like a powepoint? I am sure I will figure it out, but that was my one concern when reading the syllabus.