Reflective Entry 5: Critically analyse issues of ethics, society, culture and/or professional environments that have been relevant to the digital and collaborative learning innovation you applied in your practice

As I implemented my digital and collaborative learning innovation in my practice, I was confronted with a number of issues pertaining to ethics, society, and culture. To a varying degree, these issues were influenced by the different professional environments within the school.

According to Regan (2012), ethical conduct is fundamentally about respect, respecting others as well as ourselves. The Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession (Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, 2017) sets out the high standards for ethical behaviour that are expected of every teacher. Having an awareness and understanding of the ethical behaviours expected of teachers is the first step in understanding how to better address ethical issues that may arise. I have identified the use of digital tools (iPads and Explain Everything) within my innovation as an opportunity to question, challenge and address digital ethics issues.   

As technology continues to advance at an exponential rate, the opportunities and power associated with it appear endless; however, Leonhard (2018), reminds us that “with great power comes great responsibility”. Highlighting the requirement to use technology for good, or in other words, “do the right thing with technology because in theory, very soon, with technology we can do anything” (Leonhard, 2018). 

While the use of digital technology continues to increase, Mark & Nguyen (2017), argue that what remains unclear is if students actually know how to use these tools safely, responsibly and ethically, and students should be better prepared and protected when engaging online (UNICEF, 2017). Explicitly teaching cyber safety surrounding the growing existence of internet dangers is deemed important by Mark & Nguyen (2017), and throughout my innovation, the deliberate and explicit teaching of CyberSmart was critical. This focused on empowering our young people to engage in online behaviour and thinking that elevates positive actions (Manaiakalani, n.d.), compared to cyber safety, which often involves locking down networks/sites and restricting device use. It is school policy that students and whānau sign a Kawa of Care document, which sets the platform for effective use of digital tools within our kura. A strong focus on CyberSmart and the Kawa of Care throughout my innovation ensured the ethics surrounding safe digital technology use were appropriately dealt with. Through this process, important ethics discussions took place with ākonga, which Mark & Nguyen (2017) highlight as important.

The culture of collaboration and innovation is encouraged through the professional environments that exist at my school.  According to the Ministry of Education (2016), school culture consists of the "customs, rituals, and stories that are evident and valued throughout the whole school”. This culture of collaboration and innovation positively influenced my innovation throughout the trial and implementation. This culture also allowed for inclusive education practices, which the Ministry of Education (2016), define as ensuring students and their families do not feel alienated either from their own culture or from the culture of the school. The collaborative aspects of my innovation create opportunities for cultural issues to arise. This initiative made connections with the Rangahau, (n.d.) principles of Whānau (The Principle of Growing Respectful Relationships) and Ata (The Principle of Growing Respectful Relationships) by allowing students and whānau to collaborate with each other by using collaborative digital tools built on respectful relationships. Students were empowered to work collaboratively as a result of the strong cultural and social skillset and relationships that had been encouraged throughout the year. Vail (2018), has researched the importance of culturally inclusive pedagogical approaches and found that it is appropriate to consider and implement learning that is culturally diverse when delivering digital learning. I believe that this has been well catered for throughout my innovation. 

A socio-cultural issue that developed during the implementation of this innovation was the participation levels of whānau as active supporters and participants in the innovation process. Whilst the parental and whānau support is generally high at our kura, through this innovation it has become clear that the willingness of whānau to be involved in extra-curricular school commitments and short interactions with teachers and students regarding the curriculum, is preferred rather than daily or recurring involvement regarding learning. Grappling with this issue of whānau participation throughout the innovation resulting in me significantly adapting the approach taken towards engaging whānau. My aspiration was for them to be active participants from the onset of the innovation. This morphed into active supporters as the innovation continued. Ka Hikitia (2017), explains and highlights the importance of involving whānau in learning conversations. While this innovation did not result in the high levels of whānau participation that I desired, it needs to be looked at within a 2020 context, off the back of significant lockdowns and distribution and changes to daily life. Whilst this issue presented a challenge to my innovation, it did not prevent the innovation for achieving some of the desired outcomes. Moving forward, I will continue to reflect upon how best to engage whānau in learning focussed discussions and innovations. 

References

Leonhard, G. (2014) Digital ethics and the future of humans in a connected world. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/bZn0IfOb61U

Manaiakalani. (n.d.). Manaiakalani CyberSmart - Smart Learners. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/manaiakalani.org/manaiakalani-cybersmart/being-cybersmart/smart-learners

Mark, L. K., & Nguyen, T. T. T. (2017). An Invitation to Internet Safety and Ethics: School and Family Collaboration. Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, 23, 62-75. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1184559.pdf

Ministry of Education. (2016). Areas of Practice. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Key-leadership-documents/Kiwi-leadership-for-principals/Areas-of-practice#eztoc7808_0_1

Ministry of Education. (2017). Ka Hikitia. Retrieved from: https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/overall-strategies-and-policies/ka-hikitia-accelerating-success-20132017/the-maori-education-strategy-ka-hikitia-accelerating-success-2013-2017/

Rangahau (n.d). Principles of Kaupapa Māori. Retrieved from http://www.rangahau.co.nz/research-idea/27/

Regan, M. (2012). Modelling Ethical Conduct in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/ethical-conduct-classroom-margaret-regan

Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. (2017). The Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession. Retrieved from https://teachingcouncilnz.cwp.govt.nz/assets/Files/Code-and-Standards/Our-Code-Our-Standards.pdf

UNICEF. (2017). Children in a digital world. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2017_ENG_WEB.pdf

Vail, H. (2018). Examining the need for culturally responsive digital learning. Waikato Journal of Education (2382-0373), 23(2), 17–23. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331650100_Examining_the_need_for_culturally_responsive_digital_learning