Activity #9

Scenario 4: Age Restrictions
Ms. Applegate, a Spanish teacher, heard about an interactive poster tool called Glogster. She played around with it and made some really cool electronic posters about different Spanish-speaking countries to use as visuals with her students. Her students liked the posters so much that she decided to have students make some of their own outlining some key features of different Latino holidays.  Ms. Applegate discovered in the computer lab while her 8^th grade students were creating accounts that Glogster asked students to verify that they were at least 13 years of age or older. This didn’t pose a problem for her 8^th graders but Ms. Applegate panicked because the following period she planned to do the same activity with her 6^th graders. 

1.  Discuss the possible ethical issues involved.

The primary ethical issue here is the material is age restricted by the website.  If Ms. Applegate has her 6th grade students make accounts she is going to have to have them lie about their age.  Asking students to lie is probably frowned upon, yet more importantly, if there is a restriction for the site it may not be suitable for students under a certain age.  
2.  Determine if the safety or well-being of anyone is in jeopardy.

Well, assuming that material on the site may not be appropriate for children under 13 (in the case of gloster the only issue I can see is students under 13 may not be developed enough to use some of the comment sections of the site.  
3.  What advice, strategy, or policy would you recommend to individuals or schools based on this scenario?

This is a tough one.  Obviously Ms. Applegate has reviewed the site and feels it is appropriate for her 6th grade students.  Now, should she let, what may be an arbitrary limitation get in the way of authentic learning, or should she abide by the limits of the site?  By making blanket school based decisions about this, and not allowing individual teachers decision making ability in this regard, you risk having arbitrary restrictions that build distrust among teachers.  I would advise that the school create some kind of system that allows for approval of sites that are age restricted.  Who would make up the review board for this is another question.  
4.  Share any real-life incidents or personal connections related to the scenario.

Mmm...so I have actually done this before on sites.  For instance in my AP US Government course I have students participate in research done by Columbia University.  About 1/3 of the students in the class are above 18, yet the research site does restrict participation to 18+.  Like Ms. Applegate I reviewed the study and found it appropriate for younger students.  I suspect that the age limit was created by the researchers to ensure they could pass an internal ethics review.

Scenario 6: Course Management Overload
Ms. Carlson is excited to use Edmodo, a course management system similar to Moodle with her students.  Although Edmodo isn’t officially supported by the tech department like Moodle is, she is excited to use it because she finds it much more intuitive to use and she likes the interface better than Moodle.  Ms. Carlson is vigilant about the privacy settings, has informed her principal and parents of her instructional goals and objectives. Her students jump on board and post to the discussion at record numbers. Ms. Carlson is pleased to see such motivated dialogue on a novel that had previously felt like pulling teeth.  Two weeks into the unit, she receives a parent complaint. The complaint is as follows: 
     Dear Ms. Carlson, Mr. Miller, Mr. Hamilton and Ms. McIntyre,
     Although my son is a motivated and active participant in all of your classes, I am concerned that the school does not seem to have a unified course management system. He is using Moodle in Math, Edmodo in English, Schoology in Science, and Kidblog in Social Studies. Furthermore, all of these sites require different logins and passwords. As a parent, I am having a difficult time keeping this all straight and am requesting that the school discuss this issue and figure out a more streamlined approach. 
     Thank you for your consideration,  
     A supportive but confused parent

1.  Discuss the possible ethical issues involved.
There does not seem to be any major ethical issue with this scenario.  The ethical issue here is the teacher is using a site not approved by the tech department...an ethical violation that honestly is on par with telling a telemarketer you don't speak English.  It is unethical but the means to an end may be justified.  
2.  Determine if the safety or well-being of anyone is in jeopardy.
Assuming that the other sites have security concerns, students personal information and privacy my be up for grabs here.  
3.  What advice, strategy, or policy would you recommend to individuals or schools based on this scenario?
I would recommend that schools allow teachers to use the devices and sites they feel are best for their classes.  I think some small review system should be created but teachers should be allowed freedom when it comes to incorporating technology into a course.  
4.  Share any real-life incidents or personal connections related to the scenario.
Again this scenario is all too familiar.  I stopped using Moodle about 2 years ago because I could not stand to use something that was surpassed by America Online about 10 years ago.  I currently use schoology and find it to be far better than moodle or any other social networking service.  Students like it and I have yet to confront the issue above.  I think this is because so many students  enjoy the format that they don't complain about using it to their parents.  Although...never say never when using technology and students.