Digital Citizenship, Ethics, and Safety
Domain 3 - Digital Citizenship, Ethics, and Safety covers legal and ethical use of technology: privacy law, copyright, online safety, and acceptable use. This domain rewards precise distinctions among statutes and policies.
Legal anchors
- FERPA: protects education records; parents or eligible students may inspect and seek amendment; directory information can be released unless opted out.
- COPPA: applies to commercial online services directed to children under 13; requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information.
- CIPA: tied to E-rate funding; requires filtering or blocking of specified content and an internet safety policy.
- Copyright and fair use: four factors - purpose, nature, amount, market effect. Creative Commons and public domain materials have predefined permissions.
- Section 508/ADA and WCAG: accessibility obligations for digital content and procurement.
Worked example
A teacher wants to post a scanned chapter of a current textbook on the LMS for absent students. Fair use? Factor 1: nonprofit educational purpose favors use. Factor 2: a published textbook is factual but creative expression is protected. Factor 3: scanning an entire chapter is a substantial portion. Factor 4: substituting for purchase harms the market. The balance likely disfavors posting the full chapter; a licensed excerpt or library reserve is safer.
Traps
- 'It is for school, so it is fair use' - purpose is only one factor.
- Posting student photos or names without checking directory-information status.
- Confusing COPPA (commercial child data) with FERPA (education records).
- Treating a district AUP as legal advice rather than policy.