Friday, March 23, 2007

Virtual World, Real Problems

Still familiar with this old Indonesian proverb: “Kejarlah ilmu sampai ke negeri Cina sekali pun?” Today, because of the Internet – the golden boy of information technology – students no need to travel far away for finding a better education. Only by sitting quietly in her studying table, a child can learn almost all kinds of knowledge that exist.

The powerful virtue of the Internet encouraged the authorities of South-East Asia Ministers of Education Organization forum (SEAMEO) who gathered in Bali, March 13-14, to agree for an action of integrating communication and information technologies in to education world

The agreement by all means is not a new approach in the field of education. The USA, a leading country in Internet technology, for example, has been conducted an aggressive campaign for computer and Internet using in classroom since eleven years ago, and now days about 98% of public schools in there have some kinds of Internet access for students.

A survey conducted during November and December 2000 by Pew Internet, found that 94% of the USA youths (ages between 12-17) use the Internet for school researches and some 78% believe that the Internet helps them with schoolworks. It was supported by 87% of the youth parents which believe that the Internet helps their children to doing better in school.

However, we should also aware that the wonderful “gift” of information technology -- the virtual world of the Internet -- at the same time also bring new problems to our real world. There are many reports about harmful effects of Internet using from economical fraudulences to sexual abuses especially to children.

So the Internet generates real moral problems, which been the long time concern of international community including the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In their new publication: “Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies: A Survey”, a book prepared by Mary Rundle and Christ Conley, UNESCO reminds international communities of the morally unwanted implications of using information technologies, which interestingly launched in Paris only a day before the Bali's meeting.
“Lacking the time for lengthly reflection,” writes Abdul Waheed Khan, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO, in Forward, “the international community is often faced with immediate policy choices that carry serious moral and ethical consequences”.
According to USA Today, in the USA the Internet has been a tool using by children and teenagers for insulting or being insulted by others. “The damage can be devastating, psychologists say, even as it is not always obvious to parents and teachers,” writes the paper. MindOh Foundation, an e-learning company for kids who have trouble in school, found that number of bullies and victim in the USA could reach 5,502 in every month during the year of 2005.

Similar problem prevails here in Indonesia as well as in another South-East Asia countries. Want to see a nude Indonesian student photograph? Wanna have hot chat with Indonesian teens? Go surfing to the Internet!

In reaction, some countries have enacted laws or regulations including ones that protecting children from virtual sexual abusers especially pedophiles. But many others like Indonesia, haven't. Even in America, Child Pornography Prevention Act 1996, which bans computer-generated sexual images of children, was overthrown by the US Supreme Court in 2002. And just yesterday in Philadelphia, a federal judge also “killed” a 1998 law that protecting children from “harmful” material provided by commercial Websites.

Basically, every societies have its own philosophical standards and norms in dealing with problems that emerging in any circumstances. Its difficult to make an apple to apple comparison of the policies make by countries on this subject. However, when the problems are real and globally occurs, we cannot help not to ask similar questions in approaching them.

Thus, regarding decision for using information technology in education world, here is a question for Indonesian and the other governments of South-East Asian countries to answer: should we give everyone freedom to do everything in the virtual world, or regulated them? Or, in term of technology, quoting Abdul Waheed Khan words:
“(Should we) let technology develop as it will or attempt to programme machines to safeguard human rights?”
What ever the choices will be, just remember that our children entitle to have a better and healthy living and learning environment.

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