Who are the Virtual Students in Your Class?

Here is an interesting article to think about. As face-2-face teachers we all have ways to encourage class participation, behavior and time on task but how does this work in an online class? Who are the other students in an online class when students are enrolled from across the state or around the world?

Meet Jane Malan, a thirty-something part-time school teacher interested in languages. Jane was given the duty of being the second facilitator in an online class contributing to theoretical and technical assignments, and at times giving advice to students in the course. Jane seemed to know how to model collaborative behaviors the students could follow and she regularly participated in the “social” posts. I guess some would say she was the model student, or was she?

Jane Malan was placed in the online course to start discussions among the students, encourage others to stay with the course, and to participate in all discussions including the social posts. I imagine the other students liked her but Jane wasn’t real. Jane was a “ghost student” created by the instructor of the course and Jane was controlled by the instructor.

At the end of the course the instructor revealed Jane’s identity. The instructor wanted to answer two questions by “infusing” Jane into the course:

1. How does a virtual student enhance online community?
2. How do students feel about the ethical issues of instructor’s hiding and then disclosing the identity of a virtual student?

I’ve taken online courses and I began to wonder if any of the other students in those past courses were “ghost students” and how would I know? My next thought was why did the instructor feel she had to create a ghost student for the course? The instructor called her Methical Jane, the combination of mythical and ethical created to improve students’ online learning success. The instructor rationalized that if an online course had ineffective facilitation or lack of communication the students’ success and performance would be lower. Also a controlling instructor could weaken online communication and lower students’ success.

I do not see the rationale behind the instructor choosing to create Jane Malan and there is definitely an ethical issue of trust between the instructor and the students. Considering that students should follow proper netiquette when posting to an online class the instructor should already have the ability to monitor forums, blogs, assignments and other postings. So why be a ghost student?

If the instructor is worried about the quality and quantity of collaboration and communication between the students then the instructor needs to be better trained and prepared to teach online without resorting to “ghost students” selectively placed in a class. Another ethical issue would be the idea that an instructor could become a “ghost student” in a colleague’s course. For what reason? To spy? To take information from a colleague’s course to use in their course? To find a way to defame the colleague and/or their teaching practices?

This study raised a lot of ethical questions for me. More than I can ask in one short blog posting. So I invite you to read the entire study and the short summary article to see what ethical questions you have and to ask that you share your thoughts on the issue of “ghost students” in an online course?

To read the entire student please go to:
Methical Jane: Perspectives on an Undisclosed Virtual Student
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue4/nagel.html

To read a summary article outlining the study please go to:
Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i38/38a01001.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

10 Most Dangerous Things Users Do Online

I recently listened to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson. One of the characters was Lisbeth Salalander who was a computer hacker and quite good. She was able to completely take over a person’s computer, follow a trail of money, find bank codes and was able to transfer money from the bad guys’ accounts to new personal accounts she set up. I began to wonder if I was doing all I could to protect my computer from being hacked or becoming a victim of identity theft?

We’ve all heard that you shouldn’t give out too much information on the Internet so I thought with summer vacation fast approaching it would be a good time to remind people how to stay safe on the Internet.

When you think about all the people who will be on vacation this summer with lots of free time you know some of those people will be looking at ways to hack into computers or take part in identity thief. Just type in “computer hacking” or “how to steal someone’s identity” and see how many results you get.

Here is a list of the ten most dangerous things users do online from School CIO dated May 29, 2009: http://schoolcio.com/ShowArticle/932

1. Clicking on email attachments from unknown senders
   a. Email attachments are still the easiest way to contract viruses on your computer.
2. Installing unauthorized applications.
   a. If you can buy and download a software application for $19.95 that sells for much more you’re probably not getting a bargain and the application may have hidden malware or Trojan viruses.
3. Turning off or disabling automated security tools
   a. Even though some security tools may slow down the performance of your computer it’s not a good idea to ignore security updates or just turn off the firewall. This opens up your computer for attacks from malware or viruses.
4. Opening HTML or plain-text messages from unknown senders
   a. HTML text and images may be infected with spyware. Other HTML files may contain Java Scripts or macros that allow an unknown person to gain control of your computer turning the computer into a botnet zombie.
   b. A botnet zombie also known as a zombie army is a group of Internet computers that have been set up to forward transmissions, spams and/or viruses to other computers on the Internet without the owners knowledge. Basically your computer becomes a computer robot or “bot” for the originator who gains control of your computer.
5. Surfing gambling, porn or other legally-risky sites
   a. Most workplaces restrict Internet access to risky sites through content filters. Your home computer doesn’t have the same level of filters and restricted access and many of these legally-risky sites put your computer at risk. When you visit these risky sites a cookie is placed in your computer. That cookie can trigger pop-ups to start appearing when you’re on the Internet – pop-ups of inappropriate advertisements. Systematically deleting the cookies on your computer will help.
6. Giving out passwords, tokens or smart cards
   a. You may have to use a smart card or security token at work but how do you keep your password from family and friends? Simple – don’t give it out. A family member or friend may decide to “look around” and you could become a victim of identity theft.
7. Random surfing of unknown, untrusted sites
   a. Surfing unknown sites can make your computer vulnerable to adware and spams because hackers like to crack into browser securities, One way to protect your computer would be to surf with active content disabled.
8. Attaching to an unknown, untrustworthy WiFi network
   a. Sitting at a quiet restaurant using a free WiFi connection may be a nice respite this summer but what about the guy in the next booth who may be hacking into your laptop using that same free WiFi network?
   b. Be aware that wireless cards that use Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) are easy for hackers to get your username and password.
9. Filling out Web scripts, forms or registration pages
   a. A lot of sites today use some type of security such as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to provide security when making purchases or giving out sensitive information so if you’re not sure a website is secure call the company and speak to a representative before giving out personal information. Also look for websites that begin with https which are more secure.
10. Participating in chat rooms or social networking sites
    a. One of the biggest problems with social networks is the amount of information someone can learn about you by simply searching. Hackers can find out where you work, your business partners, names of family members, where you live and even when you plan to take a vacation. Even using a “closed circle” won’t keep out people who are looking for information so be careful how much information you share in a chat room or social network.