Monday 6 July 2015

Ethical Dilemma [Activity 10]

An Ethical Dilemma I have encountered is through Google+ and Facebook.

I have had students and parents request to connect with me through my Google+ profile.  At first I was apprehensive because I wasn't sure if I wanted them to see my professional networks and communications via Google+ but I also didn't want to offend them by declining their requests.  I discussed this with other staff members and we decided it would best to ignore these requests.  This was justified by the fact that parents and students can maintain contact with me through my class blog, class site and email.  It also helps me keep my professional network separate from my networks with the community and safeguards my privacy too.

With Facebook I had a student send me a friend request.  Without question this request was rejected.  I think it is important to keep personal and work relationships separate.  I discussed this with senior staff members, who also agreed with me.

I do believe if I had a Facebook page based on myself as a teacher, with the goal of providing communication opportunities between myself, students and their families, it would be appropriate to accept friend requests.

My decisions have also been based on the purpose of me using the social media, which the New Zealand Teachers Council deems as important (New Zealand Teachers Council, 2012).

References
New Zealand Teachers Council.(2012). Establishing safeguards.[video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49216520

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