A keynote lecture at the 2014 NASDTEC Annual Conference on the need for pre- and post-certification training for educators on ethical frameworks for decision making. The need for ethical training is heightened by the rapid pace of technological innovation, which imposes new challenges and temptations for educators.

1. Educator Ethics
“Post Unto Others …”
Frederick S. Lane
NASDTEC
Kansas City, MO
10 June 2014

2. “In civilized life,
law floats
on a sea of ethics.”
-- Chief Justice Earl Warren

3. Lecture Overview
• A Hierarchy of Human Conduct
• Law, Morality & Ethics
• Digital Disruption
• Ethical Cybertraps
• Teaching Ethics, Pre- and Post-
Certification

4. Hierarchy of Human Conduct
Law
Ethics
Morality

5. Law, Morality, and Ethics
• Law: Objective Standards
• Statutes, Regulations, Codes of
Conduct, Policies, Procedures
• Admonitions or Prohibitions
• Generally Inflexible
• Slow to Adapt
• Laws May Be Immoral

6. Law, Morality, and Ethics
• Morality: Subjective Values
• Multiple Sources: Religion,
Society, Family, Peers, Media
• General Agreement but Highly
Individualized
• May Be Inconsistently Applied
(Moral Relativism)
• It May Be Moral to Break Laws

7. Law, Morality, and Ethics
• Ethics: Balancing Law and
Morality
• Frameworks for the Application
of Personal and Social Values
• Virtue (Aristotle)
• Duty (Kant)
• Utility/Consequence
(Bentham/Mill)
• More Flexible than Law, Less
Subjective than Morality

8. Digital Disruption
• Technology Outpaces Law
• Technology Overwhelms
Morality
• Socrates opposed the use of writing,
believing it to be immoral
• Pace of change increases risk we will
lose our moral bearings
• Ethics Assist Us in Acting Justly and
Rightly in New Situations

9. Warp Speed, Mr. Sulu
• 2400 BCE – Invention of abacus (Babylonia)
• 1977 – Apple II
• 1981 – IBM PC
• 1993 – Netscape
• 1998 – Google
• 2004 – Thefacebook / Razr / Sexting
• 2005 – YouTube
• 2007 – iPhone
• 2008 – iTunes App Store
• 2010 – iPad
• 2011 – Snapchat

10. The Ethics of Texting
• Student Texts Teacher at 10pm, Asking for
Homework
• Teacher Replies with Book and Page Numbers
• Illegal?: Probably Not
• Immoral?: No
• Unethical?:Yes
• 1-to-1 Unmoderated Interaction
• Late Night Interaction
• Probable Intrusion to Student’s Bedroom
• Potential Gateway to Inappropriate Chats
• Why Does Student Have Teacher’s Cell Number?

11. Christine Rubino
• “After today, I’m thinking the
beach sounds like a wonderful idea
for my 5th graders. I HATE THEIR
GUTS! They are all the devils
spawn!” – Christine Rubino,
Facebook, 6/23/2010
• Friend comment:“oh you would let
little Kwame float away!”
• Rubino reply:“Yes, I wld not throw a
life jacket in for a million!!”

12. Christine Rubino
• Exchange occurred one day after
12-year-old girl drowned on
school trip to beach
• Colleague and FB ‘friend’ printed
out exchange for administrators
• Rubino terminated but ultimately
reinstated with 2 year suspension
without pay

13. Christine Rubino
• Illegal?: No (in fact, protected speech)
• Immoral? Arguably:
• Unkind thoughts
• Public expression of unkind thoughts
• But no malicious action
• Unethical? Probably:
• Not virtuous
• Not professional or consistent with her duty as
an educator
• Not likely to lead to a beneficial outcome or
good consequence for herself or students

14. An Ethical Cybertrap
• Ting-Yi Oei, Assistant Principal at
Freedom HS in So. Riding,VA (Loudoun
County)
• Asked to investigate rumors of sexting at
Freedom HS
• “Inappropriate” image was forwarded to
Oei’s cellphone, then to computer
• Charged with “failure to report,” then
“contributing to delinquency of a minor”
• Charges ultimately dismissed

15. An Ethical Cybertrap
• Illegal?: Possibly
• Distribution of child pornography
• Possession of child pornography
• Immoral?: Depends – are you an absolutist
or relativist?
• Unethical?: No (with caveat)
• Demonstrated compassion for student
• Acted under instructions from superior
• Behavior consistent with norms at the
time
• Caveat: Should have informed parent?

16. Cyberethics for Educators
• Pre- and Post-Certification Training
• Frameworks for Cyberethical
Behavior
• Promotion of Sound Decision-
Making Online and Off
• Modeling Cyberethical Behavior
for Students
• Educating Cyber Citizens for 21st
Century

17. Contact Information
• E-Mail:
• FSLane3@gmail.com
• Telephone:
• 802-318-4604
• Twitter
• @Cybertraps, @FSL3
• LinkedIn:
• www.linkedin.com/in/fredericklane/
• SlideShare.net
• www.slideshare.net/FSL3
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com

18. Educator Ethics
“Post Unto Others …”
Frederick S. Lane
NASDTEC
Kansas City, MO
10 June 2014