Ethical Issues

Recently, our IP&T class completed a discussion on ethical issues with technology in education. We covered software and media copying, flexible copyright, fair use, privacy and security issues, and cheating with technology. We talked specifically about how these issues affect teachers.

What I Learned About Ethics

This discussion opened my eyes to the wide variety of ways to break the law. Even though there are fair use laws making it easier for teachers to use copyrighted materials for educational purposes, there are still many issues to be aware of when using copyrighted information. I was aware of the basic copyright laws, but I was not aware of the specific details for some types of media. For example, I was not aware that it is only okay to play 30 seconds of a song from a cd. I also became aware of flexible copyright options. I like the idea of flexible copyright. It puts the power in the hands of the author or creator of the work. I realized that privacy and security issues have greater ethical ramifications than I had previously supposed. Letting students use the internet at school provides a way for them access content that is outside of the teacher's direct control. Teachers have an ethical responsibility to protect their students from inappropriate content. I don't know much about firewalls or other computer protection software, but if I use the internet in my classes, this will have to be something I learn. Our discussion about cheating also opened my eyes to the temptation to cheat that students face. I suppose I was somewhat naive as a high school student and didn't really pay attention to the different ways for students to cheat. Technology increases opportunities to cheat.

As a Teacher...

The thing that was the most useful to me about our discussion about ethics was the information about fair use and cheating. This information is directly applicable in teaching. As a teacher, I will probably be using the internet to find information and create assignments for my students. It was helpful to know what I am allowed to use, how much I am allowed to use, how I am allowed to use it, and what I am not allowed to use. I need to make sure that the software in my classroom all has the proper licensing. When I make handouts for my class, I need to avoid information that is copyrighted or not permitted according the fair use guidelines. I will also have rules in my class to help students avoid cheating. A big issue in chemistry could be calculators with programming capabilities. Students will not be allowed to program equations I expect them to memorize into their calculators. In class, we discussed the potential for students to copy their homework off of the internet. I do not see this a major problem in my class. If a student is concerned enough about their grade to search the internet high and low for a problem exactly similar to the one I assigned, well, good for them. But, it won't help them on a test. I expect students to work together and use whatever resources they need to figure out the problem. They may need to be taught how to work as a team without cheating by simply copying each other's work. I can have students practice this in class by assigning problems for them to work on as a group and monitoring how the class is doing at cooperating.