Week 11: Ethics and Technology

Week 11 Reading: Choose one 'dilemma' from either reading and briefly explain what you think needs to be done to address it.

One significant ethical dilemma highlighted in the readings is the issue of cyberbullying among students and the role of teachers in responding to it, as discussed by Redmond & Smart (2018). The dilemma arises because cyberbullying often occurs outside school hours and off school grounds, yet it has a direct and ongoing impact on students’ wellbeing, learning, and engagement at school. Teachers are placed in a challenging position, balancing their duty of care with uncertainty about professional boundaries and responsibility.

To address this dilemma, schools and educators must adopt a proactive and educative approach rather than a reactive one. Redmond & Smart (2018) emphasises the importance of preparing teachers to recognise signs of cyberbullying and respond confidently through clear policies and consistent practices. This includes explicit teaching of digital citizenship, respectful online behaviour, and ethical technology use as part of the curriculum, rather than treating cyberbullying as a separate issue.

Additionally, clear school-wide protocols are needed to support teachers when incidents occur. These protocols should outline reporting processes, documentation expectations, and collaborative responses involving leadership, wellbeing teams and families. As Warnick et al. (2016) argue, ethical use of digital technologies requires shared responsibility across school communities, not individual teacher judgment alone.

Ultimately, addressing cyberbullying requires ongoing professional learning, strong policy frameworks, and curriculum integration that empowers both teachers and students. By embedding ethical technology use into everyday teaching and learning, schools can better protect students while supporting teachers to act ethically and confidently in complex digital environments (Redmond & Smart, 2018; Warnick et al. 2016).

Reference:

Redmond, P., & Smart, V. (2018). Pre-service teachers’ perspectives of cyberbullying. Computers & Education, 119, 1–13. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.12.004

Warnick, B., Bitters, T. A., Falk, T. M., & Kim, S. H. (2016). Social Media Use and Teacher Ethics. Educational Policy, 30(5), 771–795. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904814552895