Welcome to your e-Ethics Blog!


Express your thoughts and questions on the e-Ethics modules and post your comments on the individual case studies.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Ethics Module for Instructors - Case #1

Consider the following scenario and post your answers to the questions in this discussion thread.

Source Grabber

A first year teacher hurriedly creates a curriculum, grabbing sources (pics, video, case studies, course material) from the internet. She plugs the downloaded content into her PowerPoints and handouts. During the year, the teacher is evaluated several times, and after some encouragement from her administrator, she decides to publish her curriculum and put it up for sale for other first year teachers.

What is the ethical issue in this scenario?

What ethical points from the module are relevant to this scenario?


Has the instructor been consistent in her application of rules and guidelines in the course syllabus?


Has the instructor demonstrated academic expertise in the content being provided?


Has the instructor presented fair but firm adherence to legal principles of internet use?


Has the instructor provided full disclosure of materials and resources for evaluation?


Has the instructor seemed cognizant of the ethical principles outlined in the NEA Code?

What can the teacher do to support an ethical outcome?


Ethics Module for Instructors - Case #2

Consider the following scenario and post your answers to the questions in this discussion thread.

Gifted Barrier

A bright and gifted student in an online class finishes his deliverable projects early. Genuinely wanting to learn as much as he can from his esteemed instructor, the student requests extra assignments, projects, and/or materials and guidance to further his educational experience. His online instructor tells him to “relax and enjoy the time off due to early completion! After all, so many of your classmates feel overworked as it is; you should feel lucky to have earned some downtime!”

What is the ethical issue in this scenario?

What ethical points from the module are relevant to this scenario?

Has the instructor attempted to address special needs, characteristics, and situations in this class?

Has the instructor been conscientious about availing her presence?

Has the instructor clearly outlined goals and objectives for the class?

Has the instructor demonstrated academic expertise in the content being provided?

Has the instructor demonstrated fairness and openness in evaluative techniques?

Has the instructor expressed guidelines for proper communication and collaboration?

Has the instructor exuded an air of openness to questions, comments, and feedback?

Has the instructor promoted an atmosphere of cross-cultural nurture and acceptance for all students?

Has the instructor seemed cognizant of the ethical principles outlined in the NEA Code?

What can the teacher do to support an ethical outcome?

Ethics Module for Instructors - Case #3

Consider the following scenario and post your answers to the questions in this discussion thread.

Embarrassing Correction

An online student, in a college course about collaboration, has a hard time adjusting to the pace and sudden demands by team members in a setting that is relatively new to her. Inevitably, she confronts and posts less-than-professional, discordant remarks on the discussion board, directed at other students whose critiques were somewhat austere. The online instructor of the course, immediately resolute to stop the animosity in its tracks, decisively and publicly posts a harsh reprimand (directed unambiguously by name at the offending student) on the discussion board for the student (and everyone else) to see.

What is the ethical issue (re the instructor) in this scenario?

What ethical points from the module are relevant to this scenario?

Has the instructor attempted to address special needs, characteristics, and situations in this class?

Has the instructor been conscientious about availing her presence?

Has the instructor been consistent in her application of rules and guidelines in the course syllabus?

Has the instructor demonstrated fairness and openness in evaluative techniques?

Has the instructor expressed guidelines for proper communication and collaboration?

Has the instructor promoted an atmosphere of cross-cultural nurture and acceptance for all students?

Has the instructor provided clear rubrics, criteria, and expectations that must be met to succeed?

Has the instructor provided full disclosure of materials and resources for evaluation?

Has the instructor provided modeled and scaffolded examples for complex themes and practices?

Has the instructor seemed cognizant of the ethical principles outlined in the NEA Code?

What can the teacher do to support an ethical outcome?

Ethics Module for Instructors - Case #4

Consider the following scenario and post your answers to the questions in this discussion thread.

On Their Own

An online instructor started her virtual classroom career with zeal, anxious to apply all the collaborative strategies and principles of the preparatory books she read and wrote for this very moment of application. She correctly begins the course with introductions, modeling every aspect of every assignment for the first few weeks. Soon, the instructor finds that the demand for feedback and “hand-holding” is enormous, seemingly proportional to the scaffolding she provides, and she quickly tapers her modeling. By week four (of sixteen), the teacher is hardly a visible presence on the discussion boards or announcements page. She pops up every now and then to assign grades based upon strict rubrics, but beyond that, the students are left on their own, teacher-presence reduced to a frustrating near-nonexistence. By week eight, it seems that the teacher responds only when first asked by email.

What is the ethical issue in this scenario?

What ethical points from the module are relevant to this scenario?

Has the instructor attempted to address special needs, characteristics, and situations in this class?

Has the instructor been conscientious about availing her presence?

Has the instructor been consistent in her application of rules and guidelines in the course syllabus?

Has the instructor clearly outlined goals and objectives for the class?

Has the instructor demonstrated fairness and openness in evaluative techniques?

Has the instructor expressed guidelines for proper communication and collaboration?

Has the instructor exuded an air of openness to questions, comments, and feedback?

Has the instructor presented fair but firm adherence to legal principles of internet use?

Has the instructor promoted an atmosphere of cross-cultural nurture and acceptance for all students?

Has the instructor provided clear rubrics, criteria, and expectations that must be met to succeed?

Has the instructor provided full disclosure of materials and resources for evaluation?

Has the instructor provided modeled and scaffolded examples for complex themes and practices?

Has the instructor seemed cognizant of the ethical principles outlined in the NEA Code?

What can the teacher do to support an ethical outcome?

Ethics Module for Designers/Developers - Case #1

Consider the following scenario and post your answers to the questions in this discussion thread.

Kim Matel, an instructional designer at a small corporation, was asked by her boss John, to design a training module based on his friend’s dissertation research on human resource data. Although the information is not proven and potentially incorrect, John feels it would give validity to his friend’s research could be of “benefit” to the company’s employees. If the information is proven as incorrect, the result could be adverse to employees. To sweeten the pot, John has offered Kim a $1000 bonus if she completes the module to spec within the timeframe.

Should Kim agree to create the module even though she knows the information has not been proven?


Will any laws be broken?

Can you determine any other problems with this practice?

Would Kim be honest and demonstrate the appropriate integrity if she complied?

Would Kim be dedicated to the service of others if she agreed?

Ethics Module for Designers/Developers - Case #2

Consider the following scenario and post your answers to the questions in this discussion thread.

Your training company is offering a course for $3,000, and you learn that your main competitor is now offering a course, with supposedly the same outcome, for $1,600. You figure that their course has to be shallow and deficient, but you experience the pressure to match their price by stripping your own course to the point where it will be inadequate.

Will you bow to the demand of the marketplace? Why?

Do you instead take the time to find the proper resource(s) to try and resolve this ethics issue? Why?

If you choose the first option mentioned above, would you consider your decision ethical?

If you choose the first option mentioned above, would you consider yourself dedicated to the service of others?

Ethics Module for Designers/Developers - Case #3

Read through the following scenario and respond to the questions in the discussion thread.

Rod Vaughn is the team lead and key instructional design developer for a major university. The university’s educational technology director wants him and/or members of his team to explain how to use a new piece of software. This software would analyze the content of the past three years worth of student e-mails of which the director has copies.

Should Rod explain the software to the director?

Has the director violated any ethical code?

Does Rod have any ethical obligations in this situation?
Would Rod have the appropriate integrity if he complied?

Ethics Module for Students - Case #1

Louis is taking his first online course on instructional design. He has a background in Chemistry and is currently a teacher at a local high school. During his course, he is required to read a book and participate in asynchronous discussions. He has worked hard to participate as much as possible and tries to incorporate some humor into his posts. Many posts were generated as a result of his joke. Of note is the course's lack of a specific Code of Conduct for online communication. The instructor, as a result, had to generate “on-the-fly” regulations for the posts.

Louis has decided to keep away from the posts and participate as little as possible. However, the instructor is grading the students according to the number of posts the students includes per week. Louis have sent a private email to the instructor justifying his decision because of the lack of a Code of Conduct for the class. Consider the following questions and post your answers to this discussion thread:

Do you think a Code of Conduct must be explicitly included in the Syllabus of an online course?

Do you think Louis' argument to avoid participation is valid? Why or why not?


In online courses, the student is responsible for his own learning. How can you, as an instructor, motivate students when a situation like this arises?

Friday, April 4, 2008

Ethics Module for Students - Case #2

Ethics is not only about doing things right, but also stopping wrong things from happening.

Navigate to and read the following case by clicking on the graphic below and then hit the BACK button to return to this exercise:



Then submit your answers to the following questions in the discussion thread:

Why would you think Kevin decided to engage in plagiarism?

If you were Adam, how would you convince Kevin to write his own paper?

Most of the consequences of plagiarism involve either failing the course or getting expelled.

Do you think these consequences help to reinforce moral and ethical values within students? Why or why not?

If you were Mrs. Adam, would it have made a difference to you if Kevin had written the references on the paper?