IT+Ethics+Case+Study

IT Ethics Case Study David Hartman Instructional Technology Fall 2013
 * Legal and Ethical Issues: **

Installing the Atlas software purchased for single use on twenty-two computers in the lab is a clear violation of copyright law, not to mention the poor example the teacher is showing her students. Specifically the unlawful use of software in this way is a violation of the U.S. Copyright Act, Title 17 of the U.S. Code and is punishable by a fine of up to $150,000 per offense. One of the problems with the copyright statutes is that they are difficult to discover and enforce.

Being unprepared for a wheelchair-bound student may be forgivable on the first day of school but not being prepared anytime during the school year is unethical, and in some cases illegal. When this student entered the classroom, the teacher should have prearranged a computer terminal to fit the needs of the student. This lack of attention could be considered a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Equal facilities are required for all handicapped students.


 * Health and Safety Issues: **

Student safety in the classroom is one of the most important responsibilities a teacher has. Parents entrust their children to us on a daily basis and once lost, that trust is difficult to restore. The teacher in this case is very irresponsible in that regard. No seating chart, very little supervision, especially during hall duty is unacceptable. This is an easy fix, assign seats to the students and practice proximity in the classroom for safety and to make sure students are on task.

The second issue is the problem with the monitor being knocked over. This could injure a student in many ways, luckily, it didn’t. I think a policy of mandatory logging out and shutting down the computers five minutes prior to the end of the class would solve the issue with hurrying. The remaining five minutes could be used for a recap and questions as well as setting up the next day’s lesson. It also may be a good idea to keep all bags and materials not needed for the class, in the front of the room.


 * Security and Privacy Issues: **

The most glaring privacy issue is the students accessing the teachers grade program and seeing other students grades. This is an easy fix, the teacher should have a policy that her computer is off limits to students and she should log-out or close her browser when she is away from her computer.

One security issue may be the students loading disks onto the computer to continue working or to load there work to continue at home. Although this is common practice, it is possible that a virus could transfer from the disk and infect the schools computers. A policy to check the disks before their used would help but again, this is common practice.


 * Advantages and Disadvantages: **

One advantage would be that the students have access to work on the assignments both in and out of the classroom. Another advantage is that the students can work independently without much guidance but supervision is a must. In my own experience, I find that giving students web based assignments is a great tool in getting the students to think outside the box for solutions. Personally, I believe this is one of the greatest advantages to technology use in the classroom.

One obvious disadvantage is the failure of the availability of the planned assignment. When the power goes out, the server goes down, or the internet service is unavailable, a teacher must always have another lesson or activity ready. Unfortunately, our network frequently has issues and backup lessons are the norm in my class.