Ethics In And Through Technology: Smart Phones

Ethics In and Through Technology Student Name: Professor: Course title: Date: Ethics In and Through Technology PART 1 The single biggest aha moment with regard to character education that I have experienced is that there is actually a positive association between character education and excellent academic performance of students. In schools in which character education is emphasized, students tend to perform well in their academics. They may even perform better than students in schools where there is no character education (Seider, 2012). A course resource that has influenced me the most as far as character education is concerned is the Thomas Lickona’s text about character education. Through this text, I learned how schools and educators can make an observable difference in their students’ character. According to Lickona (2001), character education is comprehensive, proactive, and intentional, and it fosters core ethical values. Educators share the responsibility of promoting and modelling good character (Lickona, 2013). Thanks to the character education course, I will make several changes in my classroom to address character education by always practicing the three complementary roles of a moral model, ethical mentor, and effective caregiver, treating the students with respect and love, correcting wrongful actions, and encouraging right behaviour. Serving as a moral model, I will make sure that I am an ethical person who demonstrates a high level of responsibility and respect. As an ethical mentor, I will strive to provide direct moral instruction and guidance by means of encouragement of positive behaviour, classroom discussion, storytelling, explanation, as well as corrective moral feedback. By serving as an effective caregiver, I will love and respect my students, treating them as having dignity and worth in order to build their self esteem, and assisting them to succeed at their schoolwork (Lickona, 2001). PART 2 The selected digital technology is smart phone. Technology has transformed virtually everything. With mobile devices and the Internet, everybody is now connected. These days, mobile phones have become a necessity and not mere luxury. There is a time-honoured debate with regard to the use of mobile technology such as smart phones in the classroom. While a lot of parents in the United States permit free reign of the Internet at their homes, there is a debate in education circles about if and how smart phones should be allowed in the classroom (Remon et al., 2017). Those who support the use of this digital technology in school claim that using smart phones helps in keeping learners engaged. Technology is what the students know. These days, the vast majority of learners do not even recall a time with no Internet (Marston, Blankenship & Atkinson, 2014). Negative Behaviours associated with the use of Smart Phones in the Classroom There are a number of negative ethical, moral, and social implications of the application of smart phones in the classroom setting. These include the fact that using smart phones may cause distraction from school work, and could result in bad habits like sexting, cheating in school and texting while driving (Marston, Blankenship & Atkinson, 2014). There are also equity concerns because when schools allow students to use smart phones and adopt bring your own device (BYOD) policies, the digital technology is more likely to be owned by youngsters from richer families. Besides, the smart phones of richer students might be more powerful compared to those of poorer children (Gose, 2017). In addition, the use of smart phones may increase incidences of cyber-bullying in schools. The digital world, as Remon (2017) pointed out, could really be dangerous. Not only are there predators, but the young people could at times be persuaded to share compromising images. In addition, the students might find themselves targets of cyber-bullying. The use of smart phones in school inadvertently exposes the youngsters to these dangers, which are actually contrary to the goals of teachers who are usually committed to the safety of their students. A High School Youth Risk Behaviour survey revealed that in excess of 13,500 learners who were surveyed across the United States have experienced electronic bullying (Ang, 2015). This is actually a privacy concern because some youngsters could use their smart phones to send inappropriate or harassing messages. Recommendations for the Ethical Use of Smart Phones in the Classroom To build character in the students who use smart phones in order to make sure that this digital technology is utilized in an ethical manner while at the same time supporting educational initiatives or aims of schooling, it is recommended that the t...