Activity 10: Ethical Dilemma

Create a blog post where you identify an ethical dilemma in your own practice links to digital or online access or activity. Explain the dilemma and how you would address the potential issue would it occur in your own practice or (if relevant) detail an actual situation and how it was resolved.

What is an ethical dilemma?

The New Zealand Teacher Council (2005) defines an ethical dilemma as:

“A situation an individual encounters in the workplace for which there is more than one possible solution, each carrying a strong moral justification. A dilemma requires a person to choose between two alternatives, each of which has some benefits but also some costs” 

(Feeney and Freeman, 1999, p.24).

Being in a digital class has seen some ethical dilemmas, particularly around social media. Some examples include:

• Facebook - where staff had posted photos from school events onto their personal pages with consent from those in the photos.
• Youtube - students have open access during school hours in order to access videos to support their learning, yet some were abusing this freedom and accessing inappropriate content.
• School email accounts being used to access facebook, and parents being aware of this.
• Students emailing teachers during the weekends or holidays asking what they’ve been up to.

Recently, my colleague found out that one of her students had set up another gmail account and had signed up to google+ using this account. As the acting Lead ICT teacher, my colleague approached me for my opinions about this situation, and what to do.

The ethical dilemma here was that to set up an email account with google you need to be 13 years or over. All our students are under 12, yet the student has a school gmail account.

From the students point of view I can understand why she chose to do this. We (teachers) tell the students that their school email addresses are for learning purposes only. So in response to this, she created her own gmail account.

But why?

So she could communicate with her mum who lives in Samoa! (My heart broke when I heard this!) The student didn’t want to break the school rules as she felt that emailing her mum wasn’t necessarily “learning”.

The student was very open and honest about why she had created the account. We (my colleague and I, in consultation with the deputy principal) felt that using her school email to communicate with mum was actually acceptable as she would be sharing her learning journey with her mum, whilst also strengthening their relationship. The students best interests were considered, and we felt that this was the best option for her.

The teacher, student and her caregivers have all agreed to use her school email address to continue her relationship with her mum. A successful, happy outcome for everyone, and one that everyone is aware of.

The reality is we MUST teach kids how to be cybersafe, and we need to educate parents to ensure that they help to keep their children keep safe online.

References:

Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. (2015). Teachers & Social Media. Retrieved from http://www.teachersandsocialmedia.co.nz/resources/frequently-asked-questions