The Report
Global Ethics
The guiding premise for all professionals should be to do what is right, under legal protection by following the laws that govern them. Sometimes that is impossible as was in the case of a teacher in New York City (Strike and Ternasky, 1992), who was suspended for one-semester, without pay, for encouraging students to “walk out to protest allegedly racist conditions at the school.” The disciplinary panel imposed the suspension because it believe the teacher neglected his duties by interfering with the work of the school, defined by the board as “teaching and attending classes as scheduled and assigned.” The teacher maintained that he was encouraging the students to “stand up to injustice” by rejecting the abhorrent conditions at the school which were being ignored by the school administration (pg. 212). As the case illustrates, sometimes doing what is the “right thing” is up to interpretation. In the final analysis, each individual has to decide for themselves what they are able, and willing to risk; even when legal counsel makes the consequences very clear.
The above scenario reminds me that ethical decisions are primarily concerned with critical thinking. If critical thinking is defined as challenging our assumptions and looking at a situation from multiple points of view (Van Gelder, 2005), then ethics is a matter of making an informed decision from the information we have available. When I look at the situations that I have already encountered in my professional life, both as a support person and as a teacher, I have found that it always helps to ask more experienced people around me for feedback. Whether it is a colleague, the Dean, a supervisor, department head, or legal counsel, I will try to get a number of different points of view. In the end, I have to determine how my behaviors will affect all of the parties involved. How will my behaviors affect me? How will they affect my institution? How will they affect a learner? Or a colleague? Are there departmental or institutional policies that govern my behavior in this instance? What about the political climate? Will certain behaviors make enemies or friends in the institution? Is the behavior culturally sensitive? Once I have gathered enough information so that I feel I understand which decision to be ethically correct, I make the decision understanding the consequences my behaviors will have. In general, I try to look before I leap. When I have to leap, I try my best not to repeat past mistakes. Now, how does this apply to the project?
In terms of the project, several choices were made that I believe entailed ethical decisions. During the creation of HTML content, I tried to always create an ALT parameter on the IMG tag to assist in web site accessibility. Although much of the site accessibility was controlled by the Learning Management Systems (LMS) that I employed, my decision rested in which system to use. Moodle is based on open standards and was designed by educators. Therefore, its features are in line with accepted educational theory and follow a constructionist approach to learning. I felt this was in the best interest of my learners, so I adopted the system for my course. WebCT has similar features. Since it is the LMS used by my institution, my choice was made for me. Still, getting the best out of the software to benefit my learners was a conscious decision. Other decisions, independent of the technology, also had to be made.
By taking Cognitive Load Theory into account, I attempted to reduce the unnecessary cognitive processing load on my learners. This action aids in their retention of pertinent information. In caring for my learner, I advocate for them. Advocating is an ethical decision. Treating each learner with respect is an ethical decision, as is answering personal correspondence in a private manner so as not to embarrass the learner, or testing students only on the information that has been taught, or being flexible with the schedules of returning adult students. Working an ethical discussion about cultural sensitivity into a class discussion is an ethical decision. Engaging students in ethical dialog is advocating for it.