As educators in this new digital age, we are coming increasingly aware the impact of our online presence can have in regards to how we are preserved by our community and peers. With so many fantastic tools at our fingertips that enable us as teachers to share our children’s learning with their whanau as well as our colleges, the need to identify and understand your professional ethics has never been so important. Ethics is commonly defined in terms of what it is not - misconduct, abuse of power and deception Ehrich et al. (2011). However ethical principles such as integrity, responsibility and care are used to provide guidance on our behaviour as professionals. The ethical dilemma that I wish to address is around sharing student’s photographs and learning content online. The first time I really was made aware of the importance of following the correct procedures around code of ethics was when Apple created an educational video involving students at our school. Every family needed to complete a form which gave Apple permission to use their child’s image in the making of the video. If the family did not sign the form, the child was not allowed to be photographed, even if it was a whole school event, or they were taking photos at break time, that children would need to be removed from the vicinity. It was a huge undertaking and really highlighted how seriously Apple followed their Code of Ethics. At a classroom level, for the past few years all our teachers and students had their own blog to deliver content and share learning. This scenario reminded me of the ethical dilemma of information privacy online shown in one of this week’s videos. By analysing this dilemma using the ethical decision making framework Ehrich (2011) there are a number of factors involved. Firstly around professional ethics, which refers to the point that teachers are expected to behave according to the schools codes of conduct Ehrich et al. (2011). At our school, all families are required to sign a form, stating whether or not they give the school permission to share images of their child online. If they are not willing, then the teacher is informed and their wishes respected. Often I tend to avoid full facial photographs of children if possible, rather I take close-up of what they are doing as a means to guide my own professional ethical practise. In regards to the Apple scenario, an important force present is the culture of the organisation. They had very clear and formal procedures that were unwavering, almost intimidating, as we were constantly aware of making sure we were all following their code of ethics. I believe that the factor of global context was also relevant because this video was to be shared internationally so that added extra rigour to their digital ethics. So where to now? currently at our school, we have reviewed the effectiveness of blogs to connect with parents and share learning. We found that not many actually visited their child’s blog and that the posts being made were inconsistent in terms of quality and content. Also that any parent could visit any child’s blog to see what they were doing. Therefore we have switched to Seesaw which is a much more private forum in which parents and whanau can only see their child’s work. This way, it is easier to ensure that the content being shared is more private therefore adhering to our school’s code of ethics. References Ehrich, L. C. , Kimber M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011). Ethical dilemmas: a model to understand teacher practice, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 17:2, 173-185, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2011.539794
1 Comment
Katie Gordon
3/31/2018 11:35:03 am
Kia ora Trudi,
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