Web-Based Contact Learning ABC (Part 6): Ethics in Online Contact Learning

Web-based Contact Learning ABC is a practical study material in conducting e-learning. This material helps teachers and trainers to organize webinars and e-learning efficiently and thoughtfully. The material is prepared by the lecturers of the Non-formal Education and Lifelong Learning study area of the School of Educational Sciences at Tallinn University in cooperation with the team of EDUSPACE research lab of teaching and learning.

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E-identity
  • You can identify a learner online by name, sound, and image. This is the personal data of the learner. If the learner has provided information about himself/herself on the basis of which he/she can be identified in the video recording, the learner's (oral) permission must be obtained to share the video recording or use it for research purposes.
  • If the learner has a good reason to be anonymous in the video being recorded, this must be allowed. Anonymity means using a pseudonym instead of your name. Using someone else's name instead of your own name is identity theft.
  • Sometimes it may be necessary to have video and audio turned on throughout the learning activity. Inform students in advance so that they can use the appropriate space and technique.
Attendance
  • Inform the learner if active co-creation is planned during the study: group work, etc. active learning. In most cases, group work is not recorded and therefore the learner loses this part of learning when watching a video recording.
  • When sending a link to a video meeting or recording to a learner, specify (if necessary) that this link is only for participants in a specific study group. If you notice students in your webinar who should not attend, ask them to leave or remove them from the room.
  • When conducting online contact studies, your quality presence as a lecturer must be ensured. Make sure your internet connection, camera, computer, and microphone are working and you have the opportunity to use a room where there are no distractions. Recommend the same to learners.
Record
  • The recording helps the teacher to analyze the learning process and gives the student known evidence of his / her presence. If you plan to review the content of the recording, it may be learners. Initiative recordings can come from students.
  • Make the recording process transparent: agree with the participants' Different environments allow you to record different parts of a video call: video, chat, good whiteboard content.
  • Agree on the extent to which recording will take place when it will start and end, and whether it will take place. Make sure that compliance with the storage obligation is essential.