Ethics and Privacy
Ethics and privacy regarding adoption of technology in education today is met with many challenges for both the educator and the learner. Many areas of educational policy and issues need consideration to ensure there is a correct balance for all concerned parties. These include affordability/accessibility of technology for the learner, information collected and stored, trust and accountability of that information, content creation, and owner of content (“Application of the Privacy Act to the University”, n.d.).“In the digital world we define ethics as the systematization of correct and incorrect behavior in virtual spaces according to all stakeholders” (Pardo and Siemens, 2014, para 3). “Privacy is defined as the regulation of how personal digital information is being observed by the self or distributed to other observers” (Pardo and Siemens, 2014, para 3).
When we interact with technology in the classroom or in an online environment, we are giving a level of consent to share personal information and content we create. When using that technology, information may be collected by the learner’s institution or subsequently by third parties (Big Tech). The level of consent needs to be clear and concise for both the collector and user on how the stakeholders collect, store and use information. A breach of privacy may occur if there is no consent or the wording within a disclaimer is vague or not precise. This may lead to ethical concerns with stakeholders. Another example of ethical concerns is when learners participate in digital spaces leading to pirating content, bullying, harassment, and embarrassment of others (Buchanan, 2019, p.2).
Educational institutions are wary of these situations occurring and mitigate with proper procedures and policies, as prevention. Procedures include ethics and privacy committees to review how technology stores and uses information, in line with the institution and business’s overall policies and procedures. Design of policies and procedures regarding the collection and use of information is guided by obligation of the The Privacy Act 1998, National Privacy Principles in Australia,2006, and Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 (“Application of the Privacy Act to the University”, n.d.).
It is in the best interest for these businesses and institutions how they handle private information to maintain the trust of the learner or student. For example, when ethics and privacy policies are well designed and agreed upon in line with government legislation; privacy can be maintained, which allows good educational outcomes preventing unnecessary future problems and litigation.
References:
“Application of the Privacy Act to the University”, n.d., https://policy.csu.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=218

Buchannan, R (2019). “Digitial Ethical dlimemmas in Teaching” Encyclopedia of Teacher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_150-1

Pardo, A. and G. Siemens (2014). “Ethical and privacy principles for learning .” British Journal of Educational Technology 45(3): 438-450.