The information society

is a society in wich the creation, distrubution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic, political and cultural activity (wikipedia).

This mean, I do believe, that all the information that we hold, we share in a more open way then before. And the main reason for this sharing is the internet.
"Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are central to modern life. They are increasingly used at work in day-to-day relationships, to access everything from public services to culture and entertainment, and for community and political participation" (Europe's information society).

So in general this means that we, who lives in the information society, uses ICT significantly. This we can see in the following youtube - video "Did you know 4.0?", which includes facts and stats focusing on the changing media landscape including convergence and technology.

Does everybody have the opportunity for ICT? What about the developing countries? There is a positive report that shows us that times they are a-changing. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) there is a report that shows that strong gains have been achieved in digital opportunity around the world.

In this picture you can see the Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) that evaluates the opportunity, infrastructure and utilization of ICT for 180 economies worldwide created by the ITU.

One of the challenges we must face in the information society is to develop learning strategies about how to "live" in this information age. Which opportunities and challenges does it give us? How do we relate to the internet and this information society? For example: This flow of information makes people more enlightened. Well, It is what we believe that we are. The "truth" of today, may be outdated tomorrow. And the flow of information can even give some people poorer health. A fresh ad in adressa, says that too much info can give you poorer health. In the ad,Kari Mogstad, says that pregnant women searches the net for info and gets "bombed" with lots of truths. And even too much information. "They do not dare to rely on nature, listen to the body's own signals, and just being in pregnancy" she says.

One of the things I do believe is important, is to teach "the people of tomorrow" how to relate to this society. How does the internet work? What are the "rules" in the internet? How do you use social medias like blogs, social networks, wikis, photography and art sharing, video sharing and music and audio sharing.
Who has the responsibility to teach the children this? Well I do believe it is the school and the guardian. Most of all I do believe that the school needs to take an active part in this information society we live in. They need to teach them right and wrongs.

So how do we live in the information society?
In Norway, according to ssb (Statistics Norway), over 70 % of all homes have a broadband subscription at home. These homes, I believe, uses the broadband subscription to: purchase online, read the newspapers online, watch different TV-shows and to use the social medias.


The opportunities in the information society are huge! Now it doesn't matter if you live in Norway or Poland, you can either way collaborate with each other in a way which was impossible for over ten years ago. Now you can keep in touch with your friend/job/others through e-mail, chat and social networking. No one is too distant.
The accessibility of information is great. You can access to all information which took you days before. Internet on-line shopping: you can order a pizza, a movie or f.ex buy clothes on the net.
Online internet games. Here you can play against a friend, the computer or even other people in the internet community.

I believe that this society to live in is good. But it is important to remember that there are those who haven't got the same opportunities like us. In school you have to take care of those who haven't got internet, we have to be aware and help them so they aren't left behind with task that deals with the internet. It is our job as teachers to not distinguish students from each other, and people from people.

Our job is to teach!

ICT and ethics

“The Facebook”. It all started in 2004 when Mark Zuckerberg and with some help from Andrew McCollum og Eduardo Saverin decided to start an internal network for all the university students. From this time on and to now, it’s called Facebook, and the website currently has more than 400 million active users worldwide.

According to Wikipedia, Facebook is a net community where users can create profiles with photos, lists of personal interests, contact information and other personal information. Communicating with friends and other users can be done through private or public messages or a chat feature. Users can also create and join interest groups and "like pages" (formerly called "fan pages" until April 19, 2010), some of which are maintained by organizations as a means of advertising. To allay concerns about privacy, Facebook enables users to choose their own privacy settings and choose who can see what parts of their profile.

Here is a funny song about "how Facebook works".



Pros for Facebook.

It’s an ideal place to meet and find old friends/new friends, to keep in touch with each other. Friends are an important resource for social belonging, support and networking.

There is a great opportunity to keep in touch with your family, you can share photos, stories and videos.

Cons for Facebook.
All the things that you decide to put on your Facebook is owned by Facebook. This means that if you put a picture of your son "out - there", its rights are now owned by Facebook. This also concern videos, texts and so on. And lately in the media there are concerns about the complexity in the Facebook privacy. As you can read in the New York Times, it's even longer then the Unites States Constitution and it's hard to figure out what are the right settings. So Facebook has called in for a meeting about the privacy settings that people are dissatisfied with. Because we just want to care about how our class mate is doing, not about worrying our self how the information about us will be used. In E24Media we can read that even the European safety authorities calls the changes in Facebook users' privacy for "unacceptable". And recently it is discovered a new hole in the security of Facebook that causes anyone, with or without a Facebook account, search for your status updates. (27.05.10) Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg has anounced that Facebooks privacy setting will be more easy to understand, and more secure.


Show - offs. People can show off with their friend list, saying:"Look at me, I'm popular! I have many friends". This can again feel like a terrible defeat for many who hasen't got many friends. And by the way - How many of your friends are really FRIENDS?

Sites as Facebook can be used for bullying, in terms like tagging photos of you doing something stupid or creating a group against YOU. As we know there is a lot of photos being handed out there without asking the ones in the picture for approval. It is almost a universal belief that it is ok to add your photo to Facebook.


What TO say or NOT to say?
People seem to notice that there could be others reading your facebook page, through your page as a friend, or your page through a friend's friend. This makes things even more important with what you say and what sort of pictures you post. It is important that you choose the right account settings to your account.

Is it ok to talk badly about your old job on Facebook. Where is the limit between privacy and business? What is "allowed" to say on Facebook? Can somebody post f.ex "I'm glad I quit my last job, my new job has so much to offer!" Is this really ok to discredit your old job like this between the lines?

Can you post a picture without asking the ones on the picture for their approval?Anyone who publishes online images must adhere to the Personal Data Act and the Copyright Act. This means that one can not publish a picture of a person without the consent of the depicted. It is he who has published the photos, if any, must prove a voluntary, express and informed consent really exists.
Read more about the legislation here:

- Åndverksloven §45
- Personopplysninsloven §8

So why do we break the law and the ethic? Why don't we care about these rules? Is it that we haven't yet seen the "worse - case - scenarios"?

Still there has been some:

Facebook scandal in sweden. An employee at Karolinksa Univerity Hospital embarked surgery photos to a group on Facebook. The comments on these pictures were also of a offensive nature.

Facebook scandal in Denmark. A press representative for the Danish party Venstre did write on her wall that a person who worked in a kiosk was "on drugs and f#¤%& up". She ended her job.

Facebook scandal in USA. A emplyee did let her frustation take over when she wrote on her facebook-status: "Thank you for dining at Brixx, you cheap "#&%/¤"§!" So the boss had to fire her.

What is really ok to post on Facebook? Why do we post pictures of others without asking them? Why don't we care? Do YOU have a answer to this?