{"id":72,"date":"2021-09-16T12:50:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T16:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/?page_id=72"},"modified":"2021-09-30T11:15:08","modified_gmt":"2021-09-30T15:15:08","slug":"ethical-considerations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/ethical-considerations\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethical Considerations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When students enter the public sphere, ethical concerns arise regarding their exposure.\u00a0 This module provides concepts for consideration as well as resources to assist students and faculty when putting material into the world.\u00a0 Much work is not contentious, but occasionally writing goes viral.\u00a0 Many students have published their work without repercussions.\u00a0 The more public, however, the more instructors have to help students negotiate the public sphere.<\/span><\/p>\n

One way to alleviate such concerns is to keep blogs or public discourse assignments private to the class or to Smith College.\u00a0 ITS can assist you in setting up a blog that is only accessible to class members, or that requires a Smith username and password to view.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ethical concerns may be more pronounced when work is placed online via social media or informal blogs.\u00a0 Formal acceptance for a professional publication, including many professional blogs, involves professional editing and a level of protection under the auspices of the publication.<\/span><\/p>\n

When talking to students about handling online behavior, this handout<\/a> from the Union for Concerned Scientists may be helpful (\u201cScience in an Age of Scrutiny\u201d).\u00a0 Even students who are not currently placing work online may benefit from training in handling hostility on social media and digital platforms.\u00a0 The handout, while nominally geared toward science, contains helpful tips for all public writing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another resource is Going Public : A Guide for Social Scientists<\/a> by Arlene Stein and Jessie Daniels.\u00a0 Chapter 6, “The Perils of Going Public,” covers the ground about privacy and ethical concerns very effectively. The book is directed at social scientists but has relevance for all scholarly disciplines.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Questions for Consideration<\/b><\/p>\n

Privacy concerns<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Privacy considerations: if a class blog is public, the student\u2019s information may be discoverable.\u00a0 We need to respect students who are concerned about privacy, and to protect that rare student who is trying to keep out of the eyes of an abuser or stalker.\u00a0 Aliases are a good idea, but what if they\u2019re really just too scared to be on a public blog?\u00a0 This may be a FERPA issue, too.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Privacy considerations: social media grabs their information.\u00a0 Are we ok with making them do that, under the auspices of education?\u00a0 In the example of Sara Eddy\u2019s course\u00a0<\/span>ENG 119: Consumer Culture: if students post on FB, their information will be sold to marketers, which is exactly what the course tries to get them to be critical of.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Online behavior concerns<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Students\u2019 work may see public comment that is aggressive, mean, trollish, doxxing, etc.\u00a0 Our students are often social justice warriors, and that may mean attracting dissent with provocative language.\u00a0 They may not be ready for the blowback, and we are responsible for making sure they are, or that they\u2019re not put in the position to get it.<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Students know internet language well, and fall easily into colloquial shorthand, and may not represent themselves as well as they could\/may get in fights.<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. They don\u2019t know who they are yet; they are trying on opinions and ideas.\u00a0 They may say things in a public forum that they won\u2019t believe in 10 or 20 years, and these things could come back to haunt them.\u00a0 Do we bear responsibility for putting them in that position?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Writing concerns<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Their writing may not be ready for prime time: we have to make sure it is, before sending them out into a public arena.<\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Grading for assignments like Instagram posts, Tweetstorms, FB threads, Blogs: the expectations for these kinds of writing aren\u2019t as clear as the academic essay.\u00a0 The Jacobson Center is currently in progress on creating rubrics for public discourse assignments.\u00a0 We welcome input and examples from faculty who have developed similar rubrics.<\/span><\/li>\n
      3. Ethically, is it right for us to devote time in a writing class to learning how to tweet?\u00a0 Or do we have a higher duty to paragraph structure and thesis statements?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Class issues<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Our students do not come to this equally prepared, and many may not have had access to the technology in their high schools that they\u2019ll be using: how do we account for the varied levels of comfort and the sharp learning curve?\u00a0 How do we prevent some of them looking like novices, because they\u2019re just starting out?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        2. How do we adjust grades given the unequal levels of preparedness coming out of their high school experiences?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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