Letter from the Editor
I created The Ethical Web as a Multimedia project for my New Technologies of Instruction class at University of North Texas in Fall 2014. I had to research a topic and communicate my findings with whatever technology tools are available.
I wanted to combine different types of media to encourage interactivity and discussion of cyber ethics. The Multimedia project consist of a website, blog articles, and a standalone interactive magazine.
For the topic, I decided to study cyber ethics and
more specifically cyber bullying. I feel that it is one of the most important challenges of our time. How many countless stories on the news were about online bullying, harassment, identity theft, or copyright infringement? The Internet is a wonderful place to communicate and challenge ideas, but also a murky swamp full of trolls, malware, and all kinds of hostile experiences.
Sometimes you have to step back and realize that the people you interact with are, well, people. It can be quite easy to say
things you would never say in real life because all that is between you and them is a computer screen. We tend to make mistakes and learn from them because that's what it means to be human.
I believe that Internet ethics must be challenged, discussed, and taught to youth so that they can grow to be responsible and respectful human beings in both reality and digital perspectives. I hope this multimedia project will encourage you to discover and explore what it means to be a digital citizen.
Crystal Hollis is a graduate student at the University of North Texas. She is pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary with a concentration in Interactive, Virtual and Digital Communication. You may connect with her on LinkedIn or reach her at [email protected].