E-Portfolio

There are three ethical issues involved in this section of the Code of Ethics. First there is a requirement of nondiscrimination, which is in compliance with the civil rights laws, and regulations of the United States government.

Secondly, there is a requirement that the technology facilities be modified as necessary for students and colleagues who are physically handicapped or suffer learning disabilities, whenever such modifications are reasonably available. The possible source of conflict and debate on this point revolves around the meaning of the term 'reasonable'. I would take this to mean any modification of facilities that would be within the scope of a typical school budget. Modifications for learning disabilities may be the stickiest issue here because there is a dearth of computer programs in specific subject areas, say high school algebra, which are specially designed to meet the learning needs of the learning disabled population. I am not aware of any software available which addresses special need students. Hopefully this part of the code of ethics will not lead to expensive and disruptive litigation, since it is usually the courts who end up deciding the meaning of the term 'reasonable' within any given context.

Thirdly, this section deals with the access of students to technology. It guarantees that students have "equal access to technologies" as other teachers do, in accordance with the school acceptable use policy. Students' access to various pieces of hardware, such as scanners or printers, may be limited by economical consideration, or demand for use. It is necessary that students' rights be somewhat limited in relationship to those of teachers. For example, we do not give students the right to load software on to the computers or the server of a networked system, without approval of the technical facilitator and the teachers who may be affected by the change. This provision must be included in the AUP. Likewise, a student's privilege to download or copy software programs and other information will be defined in an AUP and is discussed in this code of ethics in section V. Students' rights may be restricted or limited in instances where damage to the educational community, the introduction of inappropriate or harmful materials, or the violation of copyright laws may be caused by their intentional or unintentional actions. This ethical construct seeks the greatest good for the greatest number of individuals and is therefore utilitarian. Those that have ultimate control and authority by law over the school's computer community will define the 'greatest good', but only within the context of free and open debate.