Navigating The Moral Prospect
Ethical Consideration in The Digital Age
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55613/jeet.v34i1.144Abstract
Technology is advancing rapidly with an increase in interpersonal interactions. The digital environment gives new opportunities to the learner. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted an unprecedented shift from face-to-face to online learning. Presenting both unique opportunities and challenges. Educators, in response, embraced digital engagement to cater to 21st-century learners, fostering critical thinking and innovation. However, the digital environment also brought forth ethical considerations, which have led to prominent discussions in education. This paper delves into the crucial aspect of developing a comprehensive code of ethics for online education while advocating for the establishment of clear internal procedure, policies, and guidelines to support ethical practices. The creation of such a robust code of ethics serves as a cornerstone not to push technological development, but to guide ethical integration by outlining principles that promote responsible behavior, safeguard privacy, and ensure equitable access to educational resources. Furthermore, the paper explores how educators can play a critical role in promoting ethical behavior among 21st-century learners. By incorporating, critical thinking skills, and encouraging discussions and assignments rooted in personal, professional, and life experiences, educators can introduce a sense of responsibility and ethical awareness in their students. The paper underscores the importance of initiative-taking measures, such as a well-defined code of ethics, to navigate the evolving landscape of online education responsibly. It contributes to the ongoing discourse on ethical considerations, offering insights and recommendations for fostering a digital learning environment characterized by integrity and ethical conduct.
References
Allen, A. L. (2012). An ethical duty to protect one's own information privacy. Ala. L. Rev., 64, 845. https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1450&context=faculty_scholarship
Bărbuceanu, C. D. (2020). Teaching the digital natives. Revista de stiinte politice, (65). https://cis01.central.ucv.ro/revistadestiintepolitice/files/numarul65_2020/13.pdf
Chen, P. S. D., Lambert, A. D., & Guidry, K. R. (2010). Engaging online learners: The impact of Web-based learning technology on college student engagement. Computers & education, 54(4), 1222-1232. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131509003285
Chugh, D., & Kern, M. C. (2016). Ethical learning: releasing the moral unicorn. Organizational wrongdoing: Key perspectives and new directions, 474-503. Cambridge: Cambridge university press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316338827.017
Chugh, D., & Kern, M. C. (2016). Becoming as ethical as we think we are: The ethical learner at work. Organizational wrongdoing. https://provost.baruch.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/11/MollyKern-2013.pdf
Collins, R. (2014). Skills for the 21st century: teaching higher-order thinking. Curriculum & leadership journal, 12(14). http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/teaching_higher_order_thinking,37431.html
Corbett, F., & Spinello, E. (2020). Connectivism and leadership: harnessing a learning theory for the digital age to redefine leadership in the twenty-first century. Heliyon, 6(1), e03250. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020300955
Chawdhry, A., Paullet, K., & Douglas, D. (2017). Evaluating ethics in distance education learning from student point. Issues in information systems, https://iacis.org/iis/2017/3_iis_2017_69-77.pdf
Dennis, M., & Harrison, T. (2021). Unique ethical challenges for the 21st century: Online technology and virtue education. Journal of moral education, 50(3), 251-266. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057240.2020.1781071
Dhawan, S. (2020). Online learning: A panacea in the time of COVID-19 crisis. Journal of educational technology systems, 49(1), 5-22. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0047239520934018
Dweck, C. (2015). Carol Dweck revisits the growth mindset. Education week, 35(5), 20-24. https://portal.cornerstonesd.ca/group/yyd5jtk/documents/carol%20dweck%20growth%20mindsets.pdf
Finn, C. E. (2012). Education reform for the digital era. Thomas B. Fordham Institute. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED532508.pdf
Johnson, L., Becker, S. A., Estrada, V., & Freeman, A. (2015). NMC horizon report: 2015 library edition (pp. 1-54). The New Media Consortium. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/151822/
Gewin, V. (2020). Five tips for moving teaching online as COVID-19 takes hold. nature, 580(7802), 295–296. https://moodle.technion.ac.il/pluginfile.php/1647117/mod_resource/content/1/CAREER%20FEATURE.pdf
Hakimi, L., Eynon, R., & Murphy, V. A. (2021). The ethics of using digital trace data in education: A thematic review of the research landscape. Review of educational research, 00346543211020116. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3102/00346543211020116
Keown, S., & Bourke, B. (2020). A qualitative investigation of fixed versus growth mindsets of third and fourth grade students. Education, 140(2), 51-58. https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1069&context=etd
Kereluik, K., Mishra, P., Fahnoe, C., & Terry, L. (2013). What knowledge is of most worth: Teacher knowledge for 21st century learning. Journal of digital learning in teacher education, 29(4), 127-140.
Kivunja, C. (2014). Do You Want Your Students to Be Job-Ready with 21st Century Skills? Change Pedagogies: A Pedagogical Paradigm Shift from Vygotskyian Social Constructivism to Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Siemens' Digital Connectivism. International Journal of Higher Education, 3(3), 81-91. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1067554
Lendis, E. I. (2014). Teaching in a 21 st century educational context: A case study to explore the alignment between vision, instruction and the needs of a 21 st century workplace (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne university). https://dsc.duq.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1832&context=etd
Ma, C., Ma, Y., & Lan, X. (2020). A structural equation model of perceived autonomy support and growth mindset in undergraduate students: the mediating role of sense of coherence. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 2055. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02055/full
McCoog, I. J. (2008). 21st Century teaching and learning. Online submission. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED502607.pdf
Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies. https://repository.alt.ac.uk/629/1/US_DepEdu_Final_report_2009.pdf
Mosanya, M. (2021). Buffering academic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic related social isolation: Grit and growth mindset as protective factors against the impact of loneliness. International journal of applied positive psychology, 6(2), 159-174. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41042-020-00043-7
Muhammad, A., Ghalib, M. F. M. D., Ahmad, F., Naveed, Q. N., & Shah, A. (2016). A study to investigate state of ethical development in e-learning. J. Adv. Comput. sci. appl, 7(4), 284-290.
Naqvi, W. M., & Sahu, A. (2020). Paradigmatic shift in the education system in a time of COVID 19. Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences, 9(27), 1974-1977. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666518220300115
Nottingham, J., & Larsson, B. (2018). Challenging mindset: why a growth mindset makes a difference in learning–and what to do when it doesn’t. Corwin Press, 2018
Nussbaum, M., Barahona, C., Rodriguez, F., Guentulle, V., Lopez, F., Vazquez-Uscanga, E., & Cabezas, V. (2021). Taking critical thinking, creativity and grit online. Educational technology research and development, 69(1), 201-206.
Olcott, D., Carrera Farran, X., Gallardo Echenique, E. E., & González Martínez, J. (2015). Ethics and education in the digital age: Global perspectives and strategies for local transformation in Catalonia. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 12(2), 59-72. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.7238/rusc.v12i2.2455.pdf
Pastor-Escuredo, D. (2020). Ethics in the digital era. arXiv preprint arXiv:2003.06530. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2003/2003.06530.pdf
Pokhrel, S., & Chhetri, R. (2021). A literature review on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning. Higher education for the future, 8(1), 133-141. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2347631120983481
Reamer, F. G. (2013). Distance and online social work education: Novel ethical challenges. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 33(4-5), 369-384. https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/facultypublications/392
Renu, N. (2021). Technological advancement in the era of COVID-19. SAGE open medicine, 9, 20503121211000912. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20503121211000912
Rhew, E., Piro, J. S., Goolkasian, P., & Cosentino, P. (2018). The effects of a growth mindset on self-efficacy and motivation. Cogent Education, 5(1), 1492337. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/2331186X.2018.1492337
Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know. International Society for technology in Education. https://epale.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/digcit-excerpt.pdf
Rissanen, I., Kuusisto, E., Tuominen, M., & Tirri, K. (2019). In search of a growth mindset pedagogy: A case study of one teacher's classroom practices in a Finnish elementary school. Teaching and teacher education, 77, 204-213. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X18307947
Singh, B. (2019). Character education in the 21st century. Journal of Social Studies (JSS), 15(1), 1-12. https://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/jss/article/viewFile/25226/12181
Spengler, S. S. (2015). Educators' perceptions of a 21st century digital literacy framework (Doctoral dissertation, Walden university). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1555&context=dissertations
Sugiura, L., Wiles, R., & Pope, C. (2017). Ethical challenges in online research: Public/private perceptions. Research Ethics, 13(3-4), 184-199. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1747016116650720
Sullivan, L. S., & Reiner, P. B. (2020). Ethics in the digital era: Nothing new? IT professional, 22(1), 39-42. https://web.archive.org/web/20201106154223id_/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/ielx7/6294/8994109/08994136.pdf
Sun, L., Tang, Y., & Zuo, W. (2020). Coronavirus pushes education online. Nature materials, 19(6), 687–687 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-020-0678-8
Taufiq-Hail, G. A. M., Sarea, A., & Hawaldar, I. T. (2021). The Impact of self-efficacy on feelings and task performance of academic and teaching staff in Bahrain during COVID-19: Analysis by SEM and ANN. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(4), 224.
Teo, P. (2019). Teaching for the 21st century: A case for dialogic pedagogy. Learning, culture, and social interaction, 21, 170-178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2019.03.009
Toprak, E., Ozkanal, B., Aydin, S., & Kaya, S. (2010). Ethics in e-learning. Turkish online journal of educational technology-TOJET, 9(2), 78-86. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ898005
Turner, T. L. (2011). Teaching ourselves and our students to embrace challenge: A review of mindset: The new psychology of success. Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing, 20(2). https://sc.edu/nrc/presentation/annual/2016/handouts/CI-96%20-2.pdf
Vargo, D., Zhu, L., Benwell, B., & Yan, Z. (2021). Digital technology use during COVID‐19 pandemic: A rapid review. Human behavior and emerging technologies, 3(1), 13-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.242
Veletsianos, G., & Navarrete, C. (2012). Online social networks as formal learning environments: Learner experiences and activities. The international review of research in open and distributed learning, 13(1), 144-166. https://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1078
Williams, M. K. (2017). John Dewey in the 21st century. Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education, 9(1), 7. https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1147&context=jiae
Xu, K. M., Koorn, P., De Koning, B., Skuballa, I. T., Lin, L., Henderikx, M., ... & Paas, F. (2021). A growth mindset lowers perceived cognitive load and improves learning: Integrating motivation to cognitive load. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(6), 1177. https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fedu0000631
Yamamoto, J., & Ananou, S. (2015). Humanity in digital age: cognitive, social, emotional, and ethical implications. Contemporary Educational Technology, 6(1), 1-18. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/cet/issue/25739/271521
Yilmaz, Y., & Çelebi, C. (2022). Views of Information Technologies Teachers on the Effects of Values Education on Informatics Ethics. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 9(1), 506-530. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1327829.pdf
Zhao, H., Xiong, J., Zhang, Z., & Qi, C. (2021). Growth mindset and college students’ learning engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic: A serial mediation model. Frontiers in sychology, 12, 224. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.621094/full
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Dr. Pradeepika Nelumdini Samaranayake

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC-BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after publication, while providing bibliographic details that credit JEET (See The Effect of Open Access).