E-Portfolio

The first subsection of part V of this code of ethics is equally applicable to teachers, administrators, and students. It is clear that the examination and alteration of files belonging to or authored by another person requires specific guidelines. Teachers and administrators in their ordinary course of duties may create, record, and correct the files which the school district maintains concerning students' personal information such as attendance, academic performance, standardized testing grades, and behavior records, and whatever additional files are required by specific district or administrative directives. With this right teachers must also agree not to improperly alter these records with false or damaging information, or use them in any way that may be deleterious to their students.

The rule is directed specifically, but not solely, at districts that retain student records as electronic files on their computers. Access to these records must be limited by established district policy. Also the right of access by students and their parents to their own records needs to be specifically defined by the school or school district. Students may not access the records of other students without special permission. This section is based on the deontological argument of personal rights as further defined and adjudicated in the U.S. Constitution and laws. Hopefully the computer system administrator will be sophisticated enough to configure the computer network in such a way that students will not have access to the files of other students or teachers.

Because many students may not know the meaning of plagiarism, this code requires that they be instructed in the meaning of the act in order that they may be taught to avoid it. Teachers need to instruct their students in the proper method of quoting copyrighted materials, and the standard method of giving credit to the source of a quotation.

The third section involves the application of copyright restrictions to computer use. There is considerable debate concerning the moral and ethical status of copying the intellectual property of other people, and this section does not address this controversy, but rather reiterates establish legal requirements. Students will usually need to be taught the requirements of the copyright laws because they may not be aware that copying CD's, audio files, video files, and software may be violations of the law. Part of the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) needs to include discussion of copyright and copyright infringement. Students must understand that under current law stealing refers not only to the theft of physical objects, like a CD player, but also to "intellectual property" which includes the electro-magnetic codes recorded on a memory medium like a floppy disc, hard drive, or CD.

The fourth subdivision is one that is directed to more sophisticated users of technology.It restricts clearly illegal and unethical acts, which may harm other people, such as the misappropriation of other peoples' computer or on-line identity, their authorization codes, or passwords. Included here is the theft of long distance telephone services, which, however does not include the legitimate use of computer programs which allow the user to communicate in real time with distance friends and acquaintances via the internet. These ethical requirements are closely related to the to 'do no harm' directive, which is essentially the prime directive in all professional ethical systems since the famous Oath of Hippocrates.

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