Presentation at the CEPOL 55/2012 event in Tallinn, August 28, 2012

1. Code of Ethics in E-learning
Kaido Kikkas
Estonian IT College *** Tallinn University
CEPOL 55/2012
Tallinn, August 28, 2012

2. The Mighty Technology
◊ Yesterday's expensive 'rocket science' is
today's everybody's stuff. Examples:
● Today's mobile phones have more computing
power than early 'Big Irons'
● Long time (~20 years) ago, some folks actually sold
news as their main business
● Mass media vs social media
● Today's home studio equipment (whether music,
photo or film) was a professional's dream once
◊ Bottom line: people can do great things when
they don't have to face stupid obstacles

3. E-learning
◊ Before early 80s: contact learning, pre-IT
distance learning (correspondence, radio, TV)
◊ 80s and early 90s: computer-based learning
(PC as an interactive video player); CD-ROMs,
learning software, multimedia
◊ 90s: e-learning 1.0 – e-mail, Web 1.0, scripts
and applets
◊ Early 00s: e-learning 2.0 – learning
management systems (WebCT/BB, Moodle)
◊ Today: e-learning 3.0 – Web 2.0, distributed
and personal learning environments

4. Opening up
◊ At first, e-learning was a closed process using
closed tools – proprietary LMS's with well-
guarded access
◊ Later, the tools opened up (Moodle, Claroline,
Manhattan, ILIAS etc), but the content was stil
closed
◊ Nowadays, a rising trend is open (and
distributed) tools to provide open learning
experience – examples range from MIT
OpenCourseWare to Wikiversity to Khan
Academy. MMOG => MMOOC

5. “Houston, we have a problem...”
◊ Technology has evolved a lot
◊ Humans are (mostly) still the same
◊ Possibly the most dangerous person to confront
is a WEB (Well-Equipped Blockhead)
(has anyone seen Idiocracy?)

6. A big question
◊ Does the cyberspace exist?
◊ Or: is the online world a new environment – or
just the extension of the RL (Real Life)?
◊ Maybe both are correct (in a sense)... Real Life
with a twist?
◊ The cyberspace is
● Like a knife – can be used to cure or to kill
● Like an amplifier – contacts, relations, stupidity...

7. Ethical issues in e-learning:
an overview
◊ Why, what, how, how much, when
◊ Who is the teacher?
◊ “On Internet, nobody knows you're a dog”
◊ Someone tries to steal my dreams!
◊ When things go sour

8. Why, what, how, how much, when
◊ In the cyberspace, misunderstandings and
controversies get amplified too – KISS
◊ Set the rules but not in stone – and try to make
people forget about them (to hell with the
grade, this thing is FUN!)
◊ Divide the workload along the course and use a
clearly-defined point system instead of exam
◊ When in doubt, rule in favour of students
◊ Build a community

9. Who is the teacher?
◊ Dictator – dictates everything
◊ Supervisor – the superficial official, does not care
◊ Guru – loves the stuff but is a bit too hippie
◊ Sensei – the older brother/sister who happens to
have seen and done it before. Recall the classics:
"Daniel san, karate here (points to forehead). Karate here (points to
his heart). Karate not here (points to his belt). You understand?"
***
Daniel: “Yeah. I'm sorry. That was pretty stupid.”
Miyagi: “Miyagi say that to father when same thing happened.
Father agree it was stupid. Father was right.”

10. “On Internet, nobody knows
you're a dog”
◊ In general, Dogbert was right
◊ Yet
● Can we always speak our mind? Direct vs self-
censorship
● Does the information 'stay inside'?
● Can truths be different?
● How does the e-learning system used influence
freedom of expression?

11. Someone tries to steal my dreams!
◊ Pacta sunt servanda
◊ Yet, the 'best before' of today's 'intellectual
property' is long gone
◊ When doing e-learning, do you
● sell your materials, or
● sell your brains (know-how, experience, insight)?
◊ Do regulate the legal side – but keep it free
(Creative Commons licenses are a good way)

12. When things go sour
◊ E-learning can have a dark side, amplified
(again!) by the cyberspace
● Destructive personalities (on both sides!)
● Cyber-hooligans
● Spammers
● Criminals
◊ Well-defined policies help (study guide etc)
◊ Technical safeguards (backups, firewalls etc)
◊ An Armageddon scenario (aka WSHTF)?

13. (a very provisional) Code of Ethics
◊ E-learning is a two-way process with mutual
influence – community aspects are important
◊ Motivation is of prime importance – and the
teacher has the key here
◊ Continuous work rather than one-time exams
◊ Often, there can be many truths
◊ Set the legal framework, but do not go crazy
◊ Have a safety valve on the course (when things
go sour)

14. Thank you
The slides will be available at
http://www.slideshare.net/UncleOwl
under the Creative Commons BY-SA license