1. Code of Ethics in E-learning Kaido KikkasEstonian IT College *** Tallinn University CEPOL 55/2012Tallinn, August 28, 2012

2. The Mighty Technology Yesterdays expensive rocket science is todays everybodys stuff. Examples: Todays mobile phones have more computingpower than early Big Irons Long time (~20 years) ago, some folks actually soldnews as their main business Mass media vs social media Todays home studio equipment (whether music,photo or film) was a professionals dream once Bottom line: people can do great things when they dont have to face stupid obstacles 3. E-learning Before early 80s: contact learning, pre-IT distance learning (correspondence, radio, TV) 80s and early 90s: computer-based learning (PC as an interactive video player); CD-ROMs, learning software, multimedia 90s: e-learning 1.0 e-mail, Web 1.0, scripts and applets Early 00s: e-learning 2.0 learning management systems (WebCT/BB, Moodle) Today: e-learning 3.0 Web 2.0, distributed and personal learning environments 4. Opening up At first, e-learning was a closed process using closed tools proprietary LMSs with well- guarded access Later, the tools opened up (Moodle, Claroline, Manhattan, ILIAS etc), but the content was stil closed Nowadays, a rising trend is open (and distributed) tools to provide open learning experience examples range from MIT OpenCourseWare to Wikiversity to Khan Academy. MMOG => MMOOC 5. Houston, we have a problem... Technology has evolved a lot Humans are (mostly) still the same Possibly the most dangerous person to confront is a WEB (Well-Equipped Blockhead) (has anyone seen Idiocracy?) 6. A big question Does the cyberspace exist? Or: is the online world a new environment or just the extension of the RL (Real Life)? Maybe both are correct (in a sense)... Real Life with a twist? The cyberspace is Like a knife can be used to cure or to kill Like an amplifier contacts, relations, stupidity... 7. Ethical issues in e-learning:an overview Why, what, how, how much, when Who is the teacher? On Internet, nobody knows youre a dog Someone tries to steal my dreams! When things go sour 8. Why, what, how, how much, when In the cyberspace, misunderstandings and controversies get amplified too KISS Set the rules but not in stone and try to make people forget about them (to hell with the grade, this thing is FUN!) Divide the workload along the course and use a clearly-defined point system instead of exam When in doubt, rule in favour of students Build a community 9. Who is the teacher? Dictator dictates everything Supervisor the superficial official, does not care Guru loves the stuff but is a bit too hippie Sensei the older brother/sister who happens to have seen and done it before. Recall the classics: "Daniel san, karate here (points to forehead). Karate here (points to his heart). Karate not here (points to his belt). You understand?" *** Daniel: Yeah. Im sorry. That was pretty stupid. Miyagi: Miyagi say that to father when same thing happened. Father agree it was stupid. Father was right. 10. On Internet, nobody knows youre a dog In general, Dogbert was right Yet Can we always speak our mind? Direct vs self-censorship Does the information stay inside? Can truths be different? How does the e-learning system used influencefreedom of expression? 11. Someone tries to steal my dreams! Pacta sunt servanda Yet, the best before of todays intellectual property is long gone When doing e-learning, do you sell your materials, or sell your brains (know-how, experience, insight)? Do regulate the legal side but keep it free (Creative Commons licenses are a good way) 12. When things go sour E-learning can have a dark side, amplified (again!) by the cyberspace Destructive personalities (on both sides!) Cyber-hooligans Spammers Criminals Well-defined policies help (study guide etc) Technical safeguards (backups, firewalls etc) An Armageddon scenario (aka WSHTF)? 13. (a very provisional) Code of Ethics E-learning is a two-way process with mutual influence community aspects are important Motivation is of prime importance and the teacher has the key here Continuous work rather than one-time exams Often, there can be many truths Set the legal framework, but do not go crazy Have a safety valve on the course (when things go sour) 14. Thank you The slides will be available athttp://www.slideshare.net/UncleOwlunder the Creative Commons BY-SA license