Discussion of Legal and Ethical Issues

ICT has given rise to a host of legal and ethical issues. Preservice and inservice
teachers need to know a reasonable amount about these issues. Because of their
positions as teachers or potential teachers, they need to be above reproach.

General Comments

International Society for Technology in Education

Oregon's Teachers Standards and Practices Commission

Oregon Law

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General Comments

Preservice and inservice teachers need to carefully examine their own role modeling
in areas such as:

Stealing software. (This includes all aspects of making and/or using illegal
copies of software).
Plagiarizing. It is exceedingly easy to do "cut and paste" without referencing
the source and without paying attention to copyright laws.
Making illegal or unethical use of ICT facilities.
Damaging, destroying, stealing, and illegally using ICT facilities and files that
belong to others.

Because of their positions as teachers or potential teachers, preservice and inservice

teachers need to be above reproach in the bulleted items listed above.

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International Society for Technology in Education

The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers speak directly to
this issue. The sixth of the standards states:

6. SOCIAL, ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND HUMAN ISSUES.

Teachers understand the social,ethical,legal,and human issues surrounding the use of

technology in PK-12 schools and apply those principles in practice. Teachers:

A. model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use.
B. apply technology resources to enable and empower learner with diverse
backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities.
C. identify and use technology resources that affirm diversity
D. promote safe and healthy use of technology resources.
E. facilitate equitable access to technology resources for all

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Oregon's Teachers Standards and Practices Commission

Oregon's teachers must meet the requirements specified by the Teacher Standards and
Practices Commission. The second of the five general TSPC requirements for all
teachers is:

2. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT: Establish a classroom climate conducive to

learning: e.g., positive classroom management, safe and developmentally
appropriate environment, efficient organization of time and materials, and
effective transitions.

A. Affirms dignity and worth of all students and provides the positive support
students need to be effective learners;
B. Communicates classroom rules and behavioral expectations that provide
a safe and orderly environment for learning, and that are appropriate to
the level of development of students;
C. When establishing classroom rules and procedures, applies to all
students principles of gender equity and racial justice, and applies
principles of least restrictive environment for students with disabilities;
D. When establishing and maintaining classroom rules and procedures,
models appropriate social behavior and provides meaningful
reinforcement when it occurs;
 E. When establishing and maintaining classroom rules and procedures,
takes into account the influence of the physical, social, and emotional
climates of students' homes and the community on motivation and
behavior;
F. Monitors student conduct, and takes appropriate action when
misbehavior occurs;
G. Interacts thoughtfully and courteously with students and parents and
resolves conflicts in a professional manner, respecting the cultural
context of the community;
H. Uses classroom time effectively to provide maximum time for learning;
I. Manages instructional transitions decisively, effectively, and without
loss of instructional time;
J. Arranges and sets up materials and equipment in advance of class to
facilitate their effective and efficient use during lessons; and
K. Coordinates the use of instructional assistants, parent volunteers, student
assistants, and other support staff to achieve instructional objectives, if
these resources are available in the school setting.

A number of the requirements listed above are of a legal and ethical nature.

Nowadays, most schools and school districts have "Acceptable Use Policies." These
are usually designed just for students, but may also be designed for teachers. Students
(or, students and their parents) must agree to abide by these policies for student use of
school ICT facilities. Teachers play a major role in educating students about the
policies and implementing them.

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Oregon Law

There are a number of Oregon laws, rules, and regulations that talk about legal and
ethical use of ICT facilities. Click here for brief summaries of some of them, along
with Web links. Here are two of the brief summaries:

Oregon Department of Administrative Services: 03-21 Policy and Standards

(February 18, 1997) [Online]. Accessed 6/14/01: http://spr.das.state.or.us/policies/03-
21aup.htm.
SUBJECT: Acceptable Use of State Electronic Information Systems

ABSTRACT: Requires that all agency electronic information systems be used for
agency business with minor exceptions.

Oregon University System: Acceptable Use Policy [Online]. Accessed

6/14/01: http://www.ous.edu/its/ITSacceptuse.html. Quoting from the Website:

OUS's computing resources and facilities are intended for legitimate instructional,
research, administrative, public service, or approved contract purposes. Use of OUS
resources should be consistent with the goals of facilitating and disseminating
knowledge, encouraging collaborative projects and resource sharing, aiding
technology transfer, fostering innovation and building a broader infrastructure in
support of education and research. Individuals who disregard elements of this policy
may be subject to appropriate disciplinary action by OUS.

Those using computer facilities and services must respect the intellectual and access
rights of others locally, nationally, and internationally. Users are expected to follow
acceptable standards of ethics and conduct in their use of computing resources.
Responsible user behavior includes consideration for other users, as well as efficient
use of the computing resources.

Ethical Issues with Using Technology in

the Classroom
Opinion

As we increase the use of technology in the classroom, we must also be

conscious of ethical issues that arise from that technology use. Understanding
the biggest ethical issues affecting our classrooms will help us better understand
how to address them.
Technology in the Classroom
Ethics has always been at the core of creating a thriving learning environment.
We are well accustomed to teaching students ethics through principled
examples, such as: these are the rules (don't push); here are reasons for the
rules (don't cause harm to others).

The widespread availability of technology brings new and challenging ethical

issues to the forefront. Doug Johnson, an expert in educational technology,
acknowledges that technology in the classroom can be extremely disruptive. He
argues that our society has imposed guidelines for things children cannot do (for
example: we drive after age 16, vote at 18, and drink at 21) because children are
not emotionally developed for these activities. However, in our attempt to
educate children to become computer literate, we push them into cyberspace
without guidance. How can we expect them to know how to behave ethically on
the internet, with their identity hidden, when we haven't fully taught them to act
ethically in real-life situations?
In fact, the Alliance for Childhood discusses how advancement in technology is
progressing faster than adults can understand the ethical ramifications of its use.
They find that, especially at developmental ages, children highly benefit from
learning ethics in face-to-face interactions, which are unfortunately becoming
more uncommon with screentime distractions.
If we take some time to understand the biggest ethical issues affecting our
classrooms, we can better understand how to address them.

Academic Honesty and Research Ethics

In the Connected Age, it's easy to go online and download multimedia (illegally or
legally). There are even subscription sites that allow unlimited downloading of
movies, music, or games, which further blurs the line between what is free and
what is copyrighted. In fact, some students are confused that copying and
pasting is plagiarism because their source material didn't have an author, and
therefore it was ''common knowledge.''
Plagiarism is a big ethical concern, especially with search engines that make it
easy to find any query. The widespread availability of knowledge also makes it
easier for students to fabricate research and fake a source. Reinforcing how to
cite authors, and why it's important to respect the intellectual property of others,
will help to minimize these occurrences. Requiring well-cited sources will also
help prevent any fabricated research.

Electronic Communications
Electronic communication between teachers and students can be helpful, but the
line can become blurred between business and personal. Keep electronic
communications professional, and warn students of the dangers of thinking that
their emails and text messages are personal. Especially when using school or
business email systems, these types of communications can easily be made
public.

Social Networks & Cyberbullying

According to their company info page, Facebook has 1.79 billion active users,
and 66% of these users log on every day. That's a staggering number! Some
educators are using Facebook to share multimedia with students, or as a way for
students to connect and collectively brainstorm. My college had a Facebook
page for our cohort, and while the intentions of connecting students through the
page were positive, they provided no guidelines for the page's use and it
inevitably led to ethical issues. One student began snapping pictures of a
particular student and posting them to the page, making fun of him at every turn.
This repeated-over-time pattern of hurtful behavior was cyberbullying.

Social Networks can also bring up ethical issues for teachers who are ''friends''
with their students. Teachers may learn things about their students, like seeing
posts about underage drinking. A young student doesn't understand that they
have waived their right to privacy by posting things on social networks, and they
often feel that Facebook is anonymous because there is no face-to-face
interaction. This feeling also enabled my classmate to cyberbully another student
without feeling the full weight of his actions. This is a teaching moment to help
students understand that Facebook is not a diary and it is not anonymous. Our
actions and posts on public social networks could one day prevent us from
getting a job, or they could cause us to become unemployed.

Confidentiality
Between utilizing online forums, social media, and other online applications,
schools are collecting a lot of information about students. The U.S. Department
of Education's Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) offers best practices
for teachers to follow when enrolling in new online services. Their advice includes
reviewing the contract for data use and retention policies, as well as being
transparent with students and parents about district information policies,
including what is being collected and how it will be used.

How to Address Technology Related Ethical Issues

Connecticut's Teacher Education and Mentoring Program advises teachers to
employ their best professional judgment when dealing with technology-related
ethics. They find it helpful for teachers to recognize these types of situations and
to discuss them with other educators to develop awareness of new ethical
issues.

In addition to identifying ethic related situations, it is important for teachers to

outline both technology rules and the reason for the rules (remember our don't
push example earlier?). Focus on how technology can enhance or expand the
student's learning, and help them see how technology can connect and build
upon their real-life activities and learning.
And, of course, create clear boundaries of what students can and cannot do
while on a classroom computer. Arlene Rinaldi developed 10 Commandments for
computer network users at Florida Atlantic University. The commandments
include not harming others, not snooping, not using the computer to steal, not
using other people's intellectual output without authorization, and understanding
the social consequences of things you do on the Internet.
His last rule is important: ''Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show
consideration and respect.'' Isn't this what we have traditionally been teaching
students? To treat others as they want to be treated, to show respect for the
humanity of others no matter their race, religion, or sexual orientation, and the
importance of doing the right thing.