Ethics of Technology in Education: Challenges and Solutions

This proposed study provides an overview of how the research will be conducted on the ethics of technology in Education. The purpose of the study is to review the ethical challenges observed when using technology in education and develop potential solutions. The study will include both primary and secondary data and they collected from different relevant data sources. Particularly, to collect the primary data, interview and survey will be performed among students and teachers of educational institutes that use technology in education.

Running head: RESEARCH, ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM IN COMPUTING
Research, Ethics and Professionalism in computing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Abstract
This proposed study provides an overview of how the research will be conducted on the
ethics of technology in Education. The purpose of the study is to review the ethical challenges
observed when using technology in education. According to the concepts provided in this
proposal, ethics are a set of principles that should be followed to avoid troubles such as harming
others, hurting others’ sentiment, using unacceptable content. Thereby, the proposed research
will reveal the major ethical principles that are applicable when using technology in education.
The proposed study will reveal the major ethical challenges that appear before the educational
organization when incorporating technology. In order to gain the stated outcome, the study will
include both primary and secondary data and they collected from different relevant data sources.
Particularly, to collect the primary data, interview and survey will be performed among students
and teachers of educational institutes that use technology in education.

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Table of Content
Background/ Information.................................................................................................................3
Research Question...........................................................................................................................4
Review of relevant literature...........................................................................................................4
Role of educational setting in maintaining ethics when using technology..................................5
Ethical Issues in Education Technology......................................................................................6
Teaching ethics in the age of technology....................................................................................8
How to address technology related ethical issues........................................................................9
Critical Review of applicable Research Methodologies..................................................................9
Research Philosophy......................................................................................................................10
Research Approach....................................................................................................................11
Data collection techniques.........................................................................................................12
Data analysis:.............................................................................................................................13
Sampling:...................................................................................................................................13
Detail Project Plan (Gantt chart)................................................................................................14
References and Bibliography.........................................................................................................15
Appendix........................................................................................................................................18
Ethical Consideration.................................................................................................................18

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4RESEARCH, ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM IN COMPUTING
Topic- Ethics of Technology in Education
Background/ Information
The proposed research will be conducted on the ethics of technology in education.
Nowadays, as people increase the use of technology, people also need to be conscious of ethical
issues that increase from the technological use. It is identified that understanding the largest
ethical challenge affecting education will help people understand how to resolve them.
Therefore, the importance of conducting a research on this context lies on the fact that excessive
use of technology in education often neglects the mandatory ethics. So, the proposed research
would help to understand the potential ethical challenges in education caused by excessive use of
technology and address the identified challenges. The purpose of the proposed research is to
assess the ethical issues associated with technology affecting education and develop potential
solution.
As put forward by Zalaghi and Khazaei (2016) ethics has always been at the core of
generating a thriving learning environment. People or the instructors are well accustomed to
teach students ethis through the principles. However, it is certain that widespread availability of
technology often bring emerging ethical challenges to the forefront. Tavani (2011) commented
that technology in classroom could be extremely disruptive. The author argues that the society
has imposed some guidelines for things that students cannot do. Nonetheless, teachers make
attempt to educate students to become accustomed with computers, the instructors push them
into cyberspace without any guidance. Nonetheless, it is inappropriate to expect young students
to behave ethically on internet, when their identity is hidden. Januszewski and Molenda (2013)
on their ethical research discussed how growth and development in technology is moving faster

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and the youths can understand the ethical consequence of the technological use. It is also
identified that particularly at the development stage, the students highly benefit from the learning
ethics in face-to-face communication. Therefore, it can be mentioned that ethics play a great role
in technology and the education setting adoption technology must have to consider the base for
ethics.
Research Question
1. What are the ethical factors influencing the use of technology in education?
2. How ethics associated with technology can be applied to education?
3. What are implications if ethics are not applied in education when using technology?
Review of relevant literature
As put forward by Cheung and Slavin (2013), the privacy of internet users could be one
of the significant issues. The consumption of internet technology has increased rapidly but the
internet connection has become less costly. Nonetheless, it is identified that when it comes to an
educational setting, there are many students who may not know their personal information could
be public when get online. One of the basic principles that exist in many regulations is an
individual cannot leak or share a person’s personal information to others. Nonetheless, it is
nothing unfamiliar that organizations can use personal information that were gathered by their
website and utilize them for telemarketing or sell them to the other firms. Likewise, there are
several facts and findings provided by the scholars in this context. Thus, to conduct a detailed
review of those facts and findings, almost 25 journal articles on ethics and technology have been
considered and used.

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Role of educational setting in maintaining ethics when using technology
According to Zalaghi and Khazaei (2016), the faculties are the significant aspects in any
educational setting. As teachers take the responsibility for enhancement and growth of learners,
the educational organizational setting and the faculties should be aware of the ethical
responsibilities. Tavani (2011) also mentioned that teachers should play their roles like a role
model for the students as the study follow their teachers and learn by example. To become an
effective role model, one may require compassion, sensitivity, trust, commitment and respect for
others (Cheung and Slavin 2013). On the other side, McMenamin et al. (2014) mentioned that
teachers should teach students or make them aware of the harm or less of not following the
ethical rules when using internet and instruct them using technology as such as internet at an
extent adequate to their age and maturity. The instructions must allow students to ask
themselves:
 Does it break the ethical code?
 It is illegal
 Does it trouble your conscience?
 Does it appear as someone is going to be harmed?
 It should alert students to become respectful to others when staying connected to the
internet
Kim et al. (2013) in their experimental study mentioned that faculties should be developed in a
isolated positions to show learners how to get familiar with internet causing no harm for others.
“Internal Society for Technology in Education” mention that faculties must have to use
performance indicators for related to social, ethical, legal and human.

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In addition, according to International Society for Technology in Education, the faculties must
follow the performance indicators for social, ethical, legal and human issues such as:
 Use technology-based resources to authorize and enable learners with diverse
characteristics and ability
 Identify and apply technological resource that ensure diversity
 Promote safe as well as convenient technology
 Provide equal access to technology based resources for all learners
Once a proper training program is developed, the faculties could engage learners properly in
technology embedded classrooms. Hence, McMenamin et al. (2014) commented that educational
setting need to build service workshops for the teachers to improve those skills. Thereby, the
major role of preliminary education system is to create distance learning using internet
technology. It can certainly help students to complete their studies without going to remote
location. They can learn things sitting at home only.
Ingerman and Collier-Reed (2011) opined that the responsibility of organizational setting is also
increasing. The organizational setting such as school, college must create rules and obligations to
help learners to know guidelines of the h using internet properly and in a safe way. For instance,
filtering could be important for educational institution and computers at home. In this context,
Cheung and Slavin (2013) mentioned that teachers as well as family members such as parents
should work together and teacher their kids rules and make them aware of the regulations.
Ethical Issues in Education Technology
As mentioned by Zalaghi and Khazaei (2016), issues related to ethics when using
technology may involve variety of elements including, safety, privacy and unauthorized access at

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the institution. In this context, Tavani (2011) arguably mentioned that as the teachers in schools
or college encourage students to use technology or promote technological education, cyber ethics
should also be a part of their curriculum. On the other side, Januszewski and Molenda (2013)
mentioned that educators do not always need to resolve cyber ethics but they can identify it in
the context of their current curriculum as well as implement the lesson into an ongoing programs.
Cheung and Slavin (2013) talks about an adequate network or “netiquette” which is a necessary
skill for all individuals. The learners are taught to respect adults and be polite to everyone.
Thereby, it can be mentioned that cyber ethics should be considered with the same skills as
technology.
This is because most of the people use computer to interact. Mayes, Natividad and
Spector (2015) state a rule that users or the students should be aware of the fact that there is a
human being with emotions and feeling on the receiving end of the communication.
Furthermore, it is also identified that students safety and privacy is another important element of
cyber ethics that personnel of educational setting is responsible for in the classrooms.
Particularly, “The Children Internet Protection Act” requires that district develop an internet
safety resolving the unauthorized disclosure and dissemination of personal identification
information about the students under age. On the other side, Stahl, Eden and Jirotka (2013)
mentioned about another significant element of ethical issues of technology in the classrooms is
the unauthorized access to some particular website at schools, downloading unauthorized
software web applications.
Technology comes with ethical implications

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As put forward by Wright (2011), the exceptional growth or development of information
technology brings a series of ethical consideration, which to some great extent help students to
become aware of the ethical issues that can be significant aspect of the development as citizens.
Pardo and Siemens (2014) mentioned the ethical consideration could help people a little more
reflective and vigilant. On the other side, Dieker et al. (2014) mentioned that teachers and
students certainly have the right to privacy to the degree that can perform their teaching and
learning. The faculties need privacy to preserve students’ record and information about the
competitive evaluations. Nonetheless, the confidentiality of student’s records could be
disadvantageous to the learning process. Moreover, from this particular fact it can be ascertained
that if instructions are supposed to be provided technologically in the classrooms or throughout
the institutions, the openness about students records could provide a particular vehicle for
gaining achievement through cooperative learning and peer tutoring
Teaching ethics in the age of technology
Kim et al. (2013) mentioned that Ethical decision-making need to be included as one of
the major skills of 21st century. Hence, Conlon and Zandvoort (2011) also mentioned that some
individuals might admit that the “ethical decision making” has always been a required skill.
However, today’s generations are going through the most complex period of human
development. It is certain that access of information, availability and new technologies are
developing and they are broadcasted at a specific rate that human minds might not figure out.
Thus, with the same pace, ethics should be integrated into the mind of young people. In this
context, Mulhearn et al. (2017) society is a dynamic or changing system; thereby, naturally, it
should evolve to survive. When people in the society develop new concept of behavior in the

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technology based environment, it is imperative that others in the society can be involved in hat
process.
As put forward by Paakkari and Välimaa (2013), nowadays, it is easy to find the news of
cyber crime, theft of intellectual property and next cyber-bully suicide could be the part of
today’s reality. The education systems or the setting all across the nations should ensure that
cyber ethic is s significant part of their educational curriculum.
The following are some of the ethical challenges appeared due to the use of technology in
education found in the research conducted by Cheung and Slavin (2013).
How to address technology related ethical issues
As put forward by Mayes, Natividad and Spector (2015), “Teachers Education and
Mentoring Program” suggest faculties to employ their beset professional judgment when
managing the technology related ethics. This mentoring program proves to be useful or relevant
for the teachers to identify these sorts of situations as well as to describe them with other
educators to enhance dearness of emerging ethical issues (Wright 2011). Besides, this
identification of ethic related situations; it is also significant for the faculties to follow basic
ethical grounds. Conlon, and Zandvoort (2011) mentioned that faculties of thee educational
system should enhance or expand students’ learning as well as help them see how technology
could connect and develop their real-life learning and activities. The institutions adopting
technology in education should create a clear boundaries of students can do or cannot do when
using a computer in the classrooms. Stahl,., Eden and Jirotka (2013) developed ten different
commandments that and some of them include not harming others, not snooping others and not
using others; intellectual output without any authorization and insight of social consequence.

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Critical Review of applicable Research Methodologies
This section of the research determines what can be the possible result of the proposed
because research methodology determines how the research will be conducted. This section
describes the research methods, approaches design in detail and particularly highlighting those
used throughout the study. Hence, each of the choices of research methodologies has been
justified with advantages and disadvantages.
Research Philosophy
It is identified that the research philosophy manages the sources, nature and development
of knowledge. In other words, it can be mentioned that research philosophy remains as the belief
regarding the ways in which data about a specific phenomenon need to be collected, used and
analyzed (Meyers and van Woerkom 2014). There are three different types of research
philosophies such as positivism, pragmatism and interpretivism. According to Duberley,
Johnson and Cassell (2012) positivism research philosophy observe the world as independent,
real –where the parties or organizations exist as discrete entities. It is also identified that
positivism research philosophy may support the integrated methods across the nature and society
that can be studied in the same scientific way. On the other side, interpretivism observes the
social world as different from the natural world and socially constructed. Hence, the
organizations are considered as the product or entity of negotiation. On the contrary, the
pragmatism promotes a philosophy of meaning and observes the accounts of reality as socially
negotiated but valid because they generate practical outcome. Nonetheless, for the proposed
study, the positivism research philosophy will be considered.
Justifying positivism research philosophy

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Positivism research philosophy has been selected for the proposed study because it
provides primary numbers and statistical modeling to deliver quantifiable as well as
generalisable implications, which further helps to build the scientific laws. In addition, the
positivism research philosophy is appropriate for the proposed study because the research
findings can be judged based on the criteria of reliability, validity and generalisability. On the
other side, interpretvisim will not be used in the proposed study because the research findings are
generally judged based on the criteria of meaning, normal adequacy and contextual sensitivity.
Research Approach
Research approaches are usually categorized into two different kinds- deductive and
inductive. Deductive approach mainly helps to develop the hypotheses, which is based on the
existing theory and then it helps to develop and design the strategy to test the hypothesis. In this
context, Terrell (2012) commented that deductive approach helps to go from a particular event to
a general one. Deductive approach is usually explained by the means of hypotheses, which can
be obtained from the propositions of the theory. On the other side, Case and Light (2011)
mentioned that deductive approach helps to derive conclusions from the propositions. When it
comes to inductive approach, O'Brien and Saldanha (2014 ) mentioned that inductive reasoning
usually starts with observations ad theories that are usually proposed towards the end of the
research techniques and the outcome of the observations. However, for the proposed study, the
inductive research approach will be selected.
Justifying inductive research approach for the proposed study
For the proposed study, the inductive research approach will be selected because this
research approach helps to build a detailed observation of how ethics are necessary in

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technological adoption and how ethics appear as the challenge. The approach helps to move
towards a more abstract ideas and generalization. Firstly, when conducting this approach, first an
empirical generalization of ethics associated with technology in education will be formed. The
approach helps the researcher to develop an abstraction to explain the image of phenomenon
related to ethics in the use of technology in education
Data collection techniques
Data collection is known as a suitable process of collecting information from all useful
sources to find the response to identify the problems and then analyze the theories and evaluate
the outcome. Techniques of data collection can be of two different kinds such as primary and
secondary. As the questions of proposed is about finding out the factors that influence the use of
technology in education, the research requires both primary and secondary data collection.
Primary data collection: It is a known fact that primary data collection techniques can be
divided into two different types such as primary “quantitative data collection” and “qualitative
data collection”. Hence, the quantitative data collection is usually will be done involving some
mathematical calculation in different formats. For example, the techniques of quantitative data
collection will include a questionnaire with close-ended questions about the importance of ethics
when using technology in education techniques of calculating mean, mode, median and others.
Hence, 5 five educational institutes will be considered for collecting the primary data about the
same. However, a particular set of criteria will be selected to choose the secondary data in the
proposed study, which plays a great role with respect to enhancing the levels of research
reliability and validity.

14RESEARCH, ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM IN COMPUTING
Secondary Data collection technique- Secondary data is a sort of data that is already
been disclosed or published in newspaper, books, magazines and in the wide reading sources.
Thus, for the analysis in the proposed research, the sources data will be collected from books,
journal, newspaper, blogs and some other wide reading sources. In addition, some real world
evidence about how ethics of technology in education has created any sort of consequence will b
used in the proposed research.
Data analysis:
Collecting the relevant data is not the only task required to be implemented to gain the
desired outcome. The collected data will be analyzed with different data analysis techniques. For
example, the secondary data will be analyzed by comparing and contrasting the findings of the
data of chosen journals and the findings will be presented with figures and graphs. However, the
primary data will be analyzed by presenting the data in tables and graphs and then based on the
figures, mean, media and mode will be calculated in a separate journals. Now, from this
proposed calculation, the areas that required to be discussed will be presented in different
paragraph. However, interviewed and surveyed data will be analyzed considering the aims and
objectives of the research. The data analysis will also include a critical analysis and
interpretation of figures and numbers to identify the rationale behind the main findings.
Sampling:
Sampling is usually used as the particular principle used to choose members of
population to be involved in the study. There are two different types of sampling methods such
as non-probably and probably sampling methods. In probability sampling, the simple random
sampling method will be used as it the most simple and straightforward probably sampling
strategy and this sampling approach for selecting a particular sample population for a large set of

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purpose. The total population size for the selected sample technique will be 100, which means
overall number of students and teachers of the educational institutes. However, for conducting
the interview method among the teachers of the educational institutes, convenient sampling
method, which falls under non-probability sampling method, will be applied to the study for the
analysis.
Detail Project Plan (Gantt chart)
Main activities/ stages 1st-2nd
Week
3rd- 4th
Week
5th- 6th
Week
7th-8th
Week
9th- 10th
Week
11th- 12th
Week
Topic Selection
Data collection from
secondary sources
Framing layout of the research
Literature review
Formation of the research
Plan
Selection of the Appropriate
Research Techniques
Primary data collection
Analysis & Interpretation of
Data Collection
Conclusion of the Study
Formation of Rough Draft
Submission of Final Work

16RESEARCH, ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM IN COMPUTING

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Appendix
Ethical Consideration
Ethical consideration can b categorized as the most specified element of the research. In order to
avoid the ethical challenges in research, it is ensured that research respondents should not be
subjected to harm in any ways whenever. It is ensured that full consent of the respondents will be
taken before engaging the respondents to interview and survey. By collecting the “Student Form”
from the Faculty of Technology HRE website, the respondents will be approached for the
interview and survey. The “Student Form” will be shown to the respondents to receive approval
for survey and interview. In addition, the researcher makes sure that no respondent will be forced
to take part in the data collection.