In my course, we have a series of readings contemplating ethics in design. I highlight the following paragraph for student reflection and discussion as it does a good job of framing what we’re doing this semester from Moore (2014, p. 192):
“In short, the application of design to ethics suggests that rather than identifying the elusive single morally correct course of action, another possible way to view ethics that emphasizes action rather than judgment is ethics as a process of devising possible solutions to social problems based on a complex set of considerations and the possible or desired results. The process is far more participatory and extended over a longer period of time than we may tend to think of for design; the considerations now include societal impact (e.g., safety), justice, and cultural or contextual factors as well as aesthetics, technical, or other constraints; and the desired results are a set of results rather than a singular objective that in the case of learning technologies would include learning outcomes but also considers other systemic or large-scale results, all the way from impact on the brain in individuals to increased access to education to shifts in an entire educational landscape that impact the larger social system it serves.”
Moore, S. (2014). Ethics and Design: Rethinking Professional Ethics as Part of the Design Domain. In Hokanson, B. & Gibbons, A. (Eds.), Design in Educational Technology: Design Thinking, Design Process, and the Design Studio (pp. 185–204). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00927-8_11 [Sorry, but it’s behind a walled garden/paywall]
In a reflection and discussion prompts, students consider:
- What does it mean to you to be an ethical designer/instructional technologist?
- What are the ethical implications of design, and how might we address these implications through design and practice (e.g., as part of the instructional design process, as well as the technology selection, integration, and implementation processes)?
- What are some examples of results, consequences, outcomes, and impacts of technology innovation/use in education that go beyond learning?
Historically, these prompts have elicited a lot of “a-ha” moments in the class. We’ve been trained as educators that “learning” is the premiere outcome of concern. Other measures, such as satisfaction, persistence, retention, etc., are common in research but often as proxies for (or conditions that support) learning. Therefore, we’re often surprised when other consequences/implications of our access arise (e.g., lack of access, invasions of privacy, eWaste, etc.)
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