A Blizzard of Decisions
“Everything [we] do, every decision [we] make has ethics at its core driving or motivating [our] actions and decisions” (Mindlab, 2016, n.p.).
So, that got me wondering … how many educational decisions do teachers make in a day? There is very little research but Ferlazzo (2014) and Goldberg (2003) have estimated it can be from 1500 to upwards of 3000 ‘non-trivial’ decisions a day. Many of the decisions we make, we do automatically, and they reflect our morals, values and beliefs. Each will have an impact on our students, our school, our community and our careers.
“Generally speaking, New Zealand teachers...show limited awareness of the detail of the codes of ethics of their teacher organizations…” (Hall, 2001, p.6). If this still remains true 15 years later, (especially in light of new technology and social media changing our teaching practice and in conjunction with what Hall (2001) suggests is a community willing to challenge decisions teachers make) then as teachers, we need to be proactive. We must work together to develop skills and strategies that will enhance and strengthen our school culture by developing a common understanding of how to approach ethical problems.
My ethical dilemma: If I require my students to post on their blogs set up by the school, especially if the student isn’t happy with their work, am I caring for the identity and privacy of my students?
|
After completing the reading Ethics of Teaching with Social Media (Henderson, 2012) I was left wondering about an issue that hadn’t occurred to me before this week. Everyday I ask my students to post on their blogs or to collaborate with classmates using a host of Google Apps. As adults we all know of the possible implications of posting to social media. Facebook has been the focus of many negative media stories since it began connecting people in 2004. It never occurred to me to include blogs in that same context. Finding an audience for student’s work on the wall of the classroom is one thing. To ask students be brave enough to publish to the web is quite another.
The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers (2003) states our primary obligation as teachers in New Zealand is to “protect the confidentiality of information about learners obtained in the course of professional service, consistent with legal requirements”. Also we are to “respect the privacy” of our parents, family and whanau. So I asked myself, can a blog do that when it is in a public forum?
As teachers we “encourage the creation of texts that extend beyond the control of the authors” (Henderson, 2014, p. 2). Teachers who use social media in their classrooms argue that these blogs give students an authentic audience and that they are important for collaborative purposes because people can comment on them. These blogs create another way to engage our families - especially those who live far away. And teachers are right, blogs can fulfill those 21st century learning objectives and more.
Yet Henderson (2014) got me thinking when he suggested that there are ethical issues that we need to address. Some of the writing, images and videos students put online are about family, the special things they do, places they visit and things their family members say. At times these texts describe quite personal feelings or are silly and fun--reflecting the life of a year 5 or 6 student. Some students will have posts full of fantastic comments acknowledging their learning and others won’t. Some families will be prepared to share these aspects of their lives, others may not.
There are long term implications when you post online that should be considered as well. Do students as young as 9, 10 and 11 years old truly understand that their teachers are helping to create their online digital tattoo (a.k.a. digital footprint)? Do they realize that their blog and all its posts will be part of who they are forever? I, for one, am immensely grateful that the haircut I have for the grade 2 photo day is relegated to my mother’s photo album.
I am not saying for a minute that blogging for students is a bad idea. But what I am suggesting is that it needs more than blind acceptance. We need to involve our entire community. We must revisit these issues often within the year, in light of how rapidly technology is changing and how me might better reflect the needs, privacy and safety of our students.
Students need to be involved and learn to make decisions about what information should go online, what doesn’t and why. Teachers need to address not only the obvious negative issues, but also how, within the context of school work, can we best protect our students. Parents, caregivers and whanau need to be part of the dialogue to help support the school, the teacher and their children. Perhaps signing a consent form at the beginning of the school year isn’t enough. Food for thought.
Students need to be involved and learn to make decisions about what information should go online, what doesn’t and why. Teachers need to address not only the obvious negative issues, but also how, within the context of school work, can we best protect our students. Parents, caregivers and whanau need to be part of the dialogue to help support the school, the teacher and their children. Perhaps signing a consent form at the beginning of the school year isn’t enough. Food for thought.
In the end I couldn’t put it any better than the Ministry of Education (2015) - The ultimate goal is to ensure the online safety of all students whilst fostering a positive culture of digital technology use.
References
Goldberg, M. (2003). Keeping Good teachers. Chapter 26: The Qualities of Great Teachers. Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104138/chapters/The-Qualities-of-Great-Teachers.aspx
Education Council N.Z. (2003). The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers. Retrieved from: https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0
Ferlazzo, L. (2014). Quote of the Day. Retrieved from: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2014/02/22/quote-of-the-day-have-you-ever-wondered-how-many-decisions-we-teachers-need-to-make-each-day/
Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers
Henderson, M., Auld, G., & Johnson, N. F. (2014). Ethics of Teaching with Social Media. Paper presented at the Australian Computers in Education Conference 2014, Adelaide, SA. Retrieved from http://acec2014.acce.edu.au/sites/2014/files/attachments/HendersonAuldJohnson_EthicalDilemmas_ACEC_2014_0.pdf
Mindlab. (2016). Week 29 Practice Influence of Law and Ethics. Retrieved from: https://app.themindlab.com/course/release/664-week-29-practice-influence-of-law-and-ethics
Ministry of Education. (2015). Digital technology - Safe and responsible use in schools. Retrieved from http://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/School/Managing-and-supporting-students/DigitalTechnologySafeAndResponsibleUseInSchs.pdf
Hi Susan
ReplyDeleteI know I am supposed to write more for purposes of assessmnt!! But with time not on my side, one more blog to write so as to avoid
extension land! I just wanted to say I really enjoyed yr blog as I have all your blogs. Your writing style is engaging and has consistently gone to the heart of the matter which I have found really interesting. Again I feel your concern for your students regarding the blind faith we are modelling for them in encouraging them to open everything to public scrutiny. These are emerging beings/learners and Im not sure why we as teaches feel there is so much value in exposing their learning journey to the world? Still freaks me out as big old adult! The comments regarding exposing them to an "authentic audience" is so undermining of the authentic peer group and school community in which they live and learn. How much more authentic can one get? As for comments from family life shared.....I shudder to think what my 7 year old may innocently expose about her kooky dysfunctional family. Privacy definitely a thing to behold! Grade 2 photo a treasured moment in time🤓
Thanks Helen
DeleteTime is precious especially in the school holidays. Thanks for your comment.
I think what part social media playing in student's learning is a conversation schools and their parents should be having. Not just a "This is what we do in out school" kind of chat but where both really understand the purpose.
I read something last night about students curating their work and how social media should be a place for student's to decide to share because they think it reflects their learning the best.
So now I am wondering if I should have less say in what goes into the blog...parents and students more... and then the blogs might better reflect my student's learning.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that online safety and privacy is paramount and fostering a positive online culture is of high importance. Until recently I have avoided using social media with my students as I felt I lacked the knowledge and skills to monitor diligently and deal with ethics. Henderson et.al (2014) argue there are four ethical dilemmas of consent, traceability, boundaries and responding to illicit activity that teachers should consider when using social networks in the classroom. I agree that as teachers we need to explicitly teach students how to create positive digital footprints in safe authentic communities. As Helen says this can easily be their own peers and school community. Now and in the future our students are likely to be googled for jobs, university, or other things, the more we educate the better. We all make mistakes and like you I am glad that many of mine are not “Googleable”. As teachers we need to help our students shape and build a positive legacy.
Henderson, M., Auld, G., & Johnson, N. F. (2014). Ethics of Teaching with Social Media. Paper presented at the Australian Computers in Education Conference 2014, Adelaide, SA. Retrieved from http://acec2014.acce.edu.au/sites/2014/files/attachments/HendersonAuldJohnson_EthicalDilemmas_ACEC_2014_0.pdf
Hi Grace
DeleteDoes your school have a good online policy in place? I think for me, I would like my school to support teachers not only with PD and devices but with the skills to not only make decisions that are routine but in unusual situations as well. I would like to think that I can act with confidence when an issue does arise to minimise harm to my students.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved to BYOD, one of the systems that we used to track student learning was for each student to have a blog to record their learning and share it. Parents had the option of it being public or private. I spent many a night considering how to steer them carefully into the brave new world of digital communication and consider the ethical implications of posting students private learning journeys on a public platform (for those that were public). I took the most cautious approach in all cases.
Funnily enough, we then found out many students had have several personal Instagram, Google and Facebook accounts even though they are under 13 yrs, all public and with parents seemingly oblivious to the potential implications.
Digital citizenship and how to communicate responsibly is definitely an area we need to have more conversations as teachers and as learning communities to develop best practice.
We have a similar situation at our school Ximena.
DeleteWe all have a part to play. Creating relationships with students and their family and whanau is a great place to start. There are lots of ideas that we need to work with our school community. Teaching kids how to be cyber safe is just one of them.
hi Susan, Reading your blog was a reminder to me of how important it is to stop and review our school practices in light of student safety. In the frenzy to get a class blog up and running a few years ago, I had not really taken the time to actively scrutinize what I was uploading-but I had a real wake up call when a parent challenged me on her sons image and his privacy. I have clearer praactices in place now and our school has a policy which is signed by parents our not according to their views on accepting public domain use. It was an important step but I agree with the comment above that it would be great to have more PD around safety and ethics within our school and across schools.
ReplyDeleteWe have a consent form for students and parents to sign...and for me that was enough. Other people looked after it in the school and I taught some ideas around digital citizenship - and then this week I figured out I need to take a more active role.
DeleteIt interesting to read so many different aspects to our online activities. To date we have had no problems at my school but we have been asked to clarify for some parents and to give specifics about what we mean by images/ students' work etc.
ReplyDeleteToo often we presume that we have a shared understanding but it is good to check that that is the case. I am happy when parents feel comfortable enough to query rather than jump in full of anger and surprise.
In this busy life not every notice or email is given time and consideration by parents so it is always good to re-visit aspects of school through newsletters, websites, and meetings.
It is a big job to keep on top of it though - hats off to all those teachers out there leading digital safety in their schools!
Hi Susan
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love your second grade photo, and am particularly impressed that you have put it 'out there' into cyberspace for the world to see forever and ever, amen! You're right - that is exactly what we are doing for our children, but the difference is that you, as an adult, have chosen to put it up, with full knowledge of the consequences. What are we posting on our blogs, and the children posting on their own learning blogs, that in years to come they will look at and cringe, wishing it had been relegated to Mum's photo album? Like you, it was not something I had considered until this week. Of course, I know about cybersafety and digital footprints but do our students really have a choice in uploading their work? Of course, as teachers we wouldn't force a child to post something but in reality, if a child doesn't push back when reluctant, can we truly call it consent? It is up to us to ensure that our kids know the consequences of sharing anything online, and the earlier we start to embed that message the better, so that they can make good decisions as teenagers and beyond. My husband employs people on a regular basis and he always checks out their profile on Facebook as part of the process. He says it gives him a 'better feel' for who the person is, and whether they might be a good fit for his team. I'm not sure how many kids actually understand the consequences of their digital actions, but getting them to make those decisions early on, with the guidance of parents and teachers can only be a good thing.
Love your writing, Susan - you always seem to get to the core of the issue. Thank you!
Thanks. Student agency is important in all aspects of their learning - including blogs.
DeleteWow Susan, this is also an area I had never considered. I have had my entire syndicate of 76 students and just realised that I did not instruct them to make them private! EEEK! I am now wondering how much teachers should be educated around this. Creative commons are also another area where I think teachers are lacking in knowledge and perhaps ethics. I remember parents being up in arms 5 years ago when a forward thinking teacher set up email addresses for her students, only to have to remove them all, just two years later this was the way to of the educational future. A great read and very thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteWow Susan, this is also an area I had never considered. I have had my entire syndicate of 76 students and just realised that I did not instruct them to make them private! EEEK! I am now wondering how much teachers should be educated around this. Creative commons are also another area where I think teachers are lacking in knowledge and perhaps ethics. I remember parents being up in arms 5 years ago when a forward thinking teacher set up email addresses for her students, only to have to remove them all, just two years later this was the way to of the educational future. A great read and very thought provoking.
ReplyDelete