digitalimmigrant

I am waiting to review six thesis students' final projects for the completion of their Education Specialist degree program.  The students have completed all requirements for their degree--with the exception of the final thesis--through the online delivery of coursework. 

The group is diverse and interesting and has been together for approximately two years.  This "family of researchers" has done wonderfully--with two of the six already published authors (Tennessee Educational Leadership).

Considering the enormous task of completing an online degree with thesis requirement, I started to think about the ethics involved in conducting research and the ethical behavior that must be displayed by graduate researchers.

The process is daunting as well as confusing to some with regard to exactly what to reference in a literature review, how to collect data, procedures for analysis, and accurately presenting findings.  I liken this state of confusion that occurs the first time a "non elementary education" person reads the Cat in the Hat...they rhymes, the nonsense words, etc.!


After searching a bit, I found that this is indeed an interesting area due to the data mining, search-selection, and general vast amount of information readily available via the web.  I also remembered one of my dissertation committee members describing the ethics involved in researching and telling me, "Whatever you do, you still have to face yourself in the mirror in the morning!"  Wise advice!

For example, try conducting a search using the key words, "online research," and you literally get hundreds of hits for sites where there are "papers for purchase!"  It is truly sickening!

Here are a few web resources that may assist the process and which may also provide insight into the ethics and ethical behavior that is required of all successful researchers. 

I hope this helps!

Great web resources:

• Ethics Course / University of Montana
  
• What is ethics in research?
  
• Ethical and Legal Aspects of Human Subjects Research
  
• Code of Ethics

I was thinking back to the first online course I designed.  The process of design--although the same essentially--has changed over the years.  I think this is due to experience as well as the nature of students.  The curriculum development aspect of the design is still sound and applicable.  The content and level of the course also drives the design.  One book I have found to be helpful is the Palloff and Pratt text.

The book is good for those beginning the journey of online instruction.  However, I will caution that students -- in general -- will do anything not to have to purchase the textbook.

Which brings me to a common concern and that is one that is related to copyright laws and the availability of material.  Serving as an online mentor, I frequently evaluate courses that other professors design.  We use an extensive rubric that covers key aspects of course design, interaction, materials, development, and related information.  I find that more and more, professors are using textbook publisher web sites that include key elements of the textbook along with tests, handouts, slide shows, and lecture notes.

We receive a development fee for each course developed and faculty are required to sign a contract that states, "the university owns the rights to the course and related materials."  My biggest concerns:

• Who owns the textbook materials that are linked directly to the course site?
• It seems that if a professor develops a course and all materials from nothing, the degree of design is much more in depth than those who set up the course shell and then link each module to a pre-packaged textbook ancillary.
• Should the creatively-maxed professor receive the full development fee while the cookie cutter prof receives the same?  It seems highly unlikely that the degree of effort is the same in these two situations.
• Do textbook companies waive the copyright once a university steps in?  Again, highly unlikely.

There are typically very strict guidelines regarding copyright and plagiarism for students, however, many professors do not feel that they are infringing on copyrights when they follow the practice described above.

It seems that with the increasing number of online degrees and programs available, this is one area that has not yet been fully explored by many universities--leaving them wide open for lawsuits and legal action!

Here are several web sites that I find helpful in terms of using materials for educational purposes:

http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/copyright-internet.htm
http://www.umuc.edu/library/copy.shtml
http://www.ehow.com/how_10212_internet-material-without.html
http://www.copyright.org.au/information/cit005/cit073/wp0262


http://www.copyright.gov/
http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/Copyright
http://www.benedict.com/

• There was a general lack of disrespect for learning, course content, the professor (...me), the degree program, graduate school, and the university.
• The view of "I deserve an A no matter what" was a constant theme.
• The aura that "I have the worse situation in the world, so...cut me some slack..." seemed to surround 90% of the students.
• The lack or absence of civility emerged in emails, online forums, and within discussion groups with little to no concern for the use of words, insults, and general snarkiness.
• The outright refusal to purchase any texts for any classes (my own book included) combined with the demand that I provide all of the textbook information (without the purchase) for their sole convenience.

These are just a few of the challenges...

In speaking with a close colleague, I found quickly that she was also experiencing similar incivilities in her online classes.  This left me wondering things like:

• Has online learning--which was once a very cool, innovative concept for those who were in an exclusive "learning club"--become the arena for venting, snarking, and throwing around disrespect?
• Has the online learning classroom become the "closet" where students feel they can engage in incivility without others putting a "face with the comment?"
• Is it the course design or content?

Considering that many of my students are practicing teachers, it also leaves me wondering if the same actions displayed in our collaborative online classroom would be tolerated by these students/teachers if displayed by their own students.  ... I feel sure that the answer is a resounding, NO!

Which leads to another thought...  what is really going on in public school classrooms today that would prompt such action in graduate classes?

I think back of my own graduate school experiences.  I did not have the opportunity to attend graduate school without having a full time teaching job.  I would teach all day and then make a mad dash to the car and drive to campus almost every Monday night for almost 8 years while completing my MAEd, EdS and EdD.  I looked forward to my classes and to the interaction and dialog that took place among other professional educators. 

I continue to ponder the differences between my experiences and my current students' experiences in the online classroom...