Educational Technology Along with the Uncritical Mass Versus Ethics

Abstract

This paper considers the ethics of educational technology in terms of whether or not selected media and methods are beneficial to the teacher and student, or whether other motives and criteria determine the selection. Communications media have proven themselves to be powerful and efficient tools, used like ‘dynamite’ for getting the most out of a ‘quarry’, but the vast scope of their applicability and flexibility may notoriously neglect the unprecedented risks to the user of current online methods – as one of the areas in which ethical issues arise. Having mentioned en passant any potential benefits of all communications media, their harmful potential is also noted, and, based on this introductory notification, ethical responsibilities of all parties involved in educational media have been examined. The authors’ main objective is to centralise the concept of the ‘uncritical mass’ representing the educationally uninformed general public whose selections of communication technologies can lead to their adoption as educational tools regardless of their educational value.

Keywords:

• educational technology
• uncritical mass
• ethics
• distance education
• plagiarism