Applying the Code of Professional Conduct to the Online Environment (Week 5/6)

As a user of social media, I enjoy posting, tweeting and adding pictures to my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. I reserve the right to accept “friends” and refrain from accepting parents and students within these digital platforms. I understand my responsibility as an educator to maintain a level of professionalism in and out of the work environment. I have read the Alberta Teacher’s Association Code of Professional Conduct and understand I have an ethical responsibility to act “in a manner which maintains the honour and dignity of the profession,” (Teachers.ab.ca, 2004). How does this apply to the online environment? Looking through my Facebook pictures there are a few that I would question and reconsider, but I tend to be a bit on the conservative side. Looking through colleagues pictures, my pictures would be considered very tame. When it comes to actual posts, I, unlike some colleagues refrain from posting anything negative relating to my profession, district and students. So, what is considered inappropriate content to post/share? Who determines what is considered unethical content?

Stories of teachers losing their jobs for inappropriate online activity are becoming common place. According to the College of Education in Austin Texas, teachers have been fired for posting inappropriate pictures and writing negative comments about students (Community.edb.utexas.edu, 2013). Caregiver Lindsey Stone was fired for posting a picture that was considered offensive to many people, in particular military personnel (Ronson, 2015). These are examples that I feel are reasonable terms for dismissal, but if they are continually occurring, are teachers unaware of expectations online? With the changing landscape of technology and privacy, an update to the Code of Professional Conduct to include online environments may be worth consideration. Rather than a reactive approach, districts and teacher’s unions should develop a proactive document to support educators in understanding what is considered appropriate and inappropriate online sharing.  

References

Community.edb.utexas.edu,. (2013). Why are teachers getting into trouble? | Social Media Professionalism for Teachers. Retrieved 27 February 2015, from http://community.edb.utexas.edu/socialmedia/node/61

Ronson, J. (2015). 'Overnight, everything I loved was gone': the internet shaming of Lindsey Stone.the Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/21/internet-shaming-lindsey-stone-jon-ronson

Teachers.ab.ca,. (2004). Code of Professional Conduct. Retrieved 27 February 2015, from http://www.teachers.ab.ca/About%20the%20ATA/UpholdingProfessionalStandards/ProfessionalConduct/Pages/CodeofProfessionalConduct.aspx

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Albertalandlord.org,. (2015). Retrieved 27 February 2015, from http://www.albertalandlord.org/images/ethics.jpg

Worries and Wonders Online (EDER 679.33 Blog Post #4)

The readings and discussions have once again given me much food for thought. Yet, I don’t feel I am any closer to answers. In fact, I have many more questions that leave me wondering and worrying about the impact online access is having on our students and the long term effects.

The article by Harste and Albers (2012) had me thinking about my role as an AT consultant and the message I have been delivering to teachers in regards to online advertisements. Often in my workshops when I am demonstrating online tools, a website that I select may have an advertisement for a product or game. My solution has been to install an online tool, such as Adblock that recognizes advertisements on a page and removes them so that the user does not see the ad. This is usually the suggestion I give to teachers when asked how to stop these pop up advertisements from displaying on a student’s screen as they can be distracting and sometimes inappropriate. However, after reading the article, I have started to think about my patchwork solution as not good enough. Putting a bandaid on an open wound won’t solve the problem. Clear boundaries and discussion about media advertisements and images are essential to help students develop critical thinking and analysis skills.

How do skills associated with critical examination of advertisements transfer to critical analysis of other media texts?  Harste and Albers (2012) claim that instruction around visual media images is necessary in a literacy curriculum. The activities conducted in the Harste and Albers (2012) study provide students with opportunities to think and look critically as a consumer and as a marketer. A quick google search led to numerous lesson plans on marketing and consumerism. Yet I wonder about the responsibility of parents too. Whose role is it to lead students in understanding online consumerism and targeted advertisements, educators or parents? I believe a partnership is necessary to spread a common message. Unfortunately, I have friends that allow their children to install apps on iPads and iPhones. Children who have made in app purchases that add up to a large sum of money. Parents who have laptops and TV’s in their children's bedrooms or in the basement away from adult monitoring. It makes it difficult for educators to teach students about consumerism and online safety if parents are not monitoring what their children are seeing, hearing and reading.

References

Getadblock.com,. (2015). AdBlock. Retrieved 5 February 2015, from https://getadblock.com/

Harste, J.C., and Albers, P.  (2013). "I'm riskin' it":  teachers take on consumerism. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(5), 381-390.