Ethics in Sight

A. The professional educator uses technology in a responsible manner by:

1. Using social media responsibly, transparently, and primarily for purposes of teaching and learning per school and district policy. The professional educator considers the ramifications of using social media and direct communication via technology on one’s interactions with students, colleagues, and the general public;

2. Staying abreast of current trends and uses of school technology;

3. Promoting the benefits of and clarifying the limitations of various appropriate technological applications with colleagues, appropriate school personnel, parents, and community members;

4. Knowing how to access, document and use proprietary materials and understanding how to recognize and prevent plagiarism by students and educators;

5. Understanding and abiding by the district’s policy on the use of technology and communication;

6. Recognizing that some electronic communications are records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state public access laws and should consider the implications of sharing sensitive information electronically either via professional or personal devices/accounts; and

7. Exercising prudence in maintaining separate and professional virtual profiles, keeping personal and professional lives distinct.

B. The professional educator ensures students' safety and well-being when using technology by: 

1. Being vigilant in identifying, addressing and reporting (when appropriate and in accordance with local district, state, and federal policy) inappropriate and illegal materials/images in electronic or other forms;

2. Respecting the privacy of students’ presence on social media unless given consent to view such information or if there is a possibility of evidence of a risk of harm to the student or others; and

3. Monitoring to the extent practical and appropriately reporting information concerning possible cyberbullying incidents and their potential impact on the student learning environment.

C.  The professional educator maintains confidentiality in the use of technology by:

1. Taking appropriate and reasonable measures to maintain confidentiality of student information and educational records stored or transmitted through the use of electronic or computer technology;

2. Understanding the intent of Federal Educational Rights to Privacy Act (FERPA) and how it applies to sharing electronic student records; and

3. Ensuring that the rights of third parties, including the right of privacy, are not violated via the use of technologies.

D. The professional educator promotes the appropriate use of technology in educational settings by:

1. Advocating for equal access to technology for all students, especially those historically underserved;

2. Promoting the benefits of and clarifying the limitations of various appropriate technological applications with colleagues, appropriate school personnel, parents, and community members; and

3. Promoting technological applications (a) that are appropriate for students’ individual needs, (b) that students understand how to use and (c) that assist and enhance the teaching and learning process.

Professional Competencies - Teaching competencies include proficiency in planning, teaching, and assessing, but there are other duties and responsibilities that transcend a learning segment. Professional competencies include self-presentation, self-representation, professional collegiality and demeanor, and also taking responsibility for those tasks entrusted to you.

Professional Attitudes- Toward Teaching Methods - Content and assessment change alongside changes in the broader society and a teacher must understand and address those changes through effective planning, instruction, and assessment. Lesson plans and methods should not be understood as guidelines written in stone but a reflection on possibilities that can be adapted to new and diverse situations.

Professional Attitudes - Toward Students- Diversity exists across students and teachers and within students and teachers. Effective teaching values diversity and includes it in all areas of planning, instruction, and assessment.

Professional Attitudes - Toward Schools - While a teacher may be isolated to a single classroom, no classroom exists divorced from other classrooms or from its social context. A teacher must value the input and experience of others in the development of effective planning, instruction, and assessment.

Professional Dispositions - Open-mindedness Dispositions - The classroom is the first time many students are placed in close proximity to those from other backgrounds and cultures. In this space, a teacher must provide safety and challenge to all students, which requires a stance of open-mindedness to the ways and knowledges of diverse people.

Professional Dispositions - Self-Reflection Dispositions - The most important posture in a teacher’s tool kit is self-reflection that drives changes and development in knowledge and action. Teaching is an art and a teacher must determine what a classroom needs, year after year, class after class. A teacher must use self-reflection as the foundation for effective planning, instruction, and assessment for all students.

Professional Dispositions - Curiosity Dispositions - a good teacher is a lifelong learner. To this end, we look for a disposition toward curiosity, both toward understanding how things work but also toward imagining how things might be made better.

Professional Dispositions - Educational Equity Dispositions - It is difficult to imagine that one teacher can change the world, but we look for teachers who are willing to try. While much can be accomplished within a single classroom, a strong educational equity and advocacy disposition also means forming alliances across classrooms and communities.

Learning Environments

3(g) The teacher promotes responsible learner use of interactive technologies to extend the possibilities for learning locally and globally.

3(m) The teacher knows how to use technologies and how to guide learners to apply them in appropriate, safe, and effective ways.

Content Knowledge

4(g) The teacher uses supplementary resources and technologies effectively to ensure accessibility and relevance for all learners.

Application of Content

5(e) The teacher develops learners’ communication skills in disciplinary and interdisciplinary contexts by creating meaningful opportunities

to employ a variety of forms of communication that address varied audiences and purposes.  

5(k) The teacher understands the demands of accessing and managing information as well as how to evaluate issues of ethics and quality related to information and its use.

5(l) The teacher understands how to use digital and interactive technologies for efficiently and effectively achieving specific learning goals.

5(n) The teacher understands communication modes and skills as vehicles for learning (e.g., information gathering and processing) across disciplines as well as vehicles for expressing learning.

Assessment

6(i) The teacher continually seeks appropriate ways to employ technology to support assessment practice both to engage learners more fully and to assess and address learner needs.

Planning for Instruction

7(k) The teacher knows a range of evidence-based instructional strategies, resources, and technological tools and how to use them effectively to plan instruction that meets diverse learning needs.

Instructional Strategies

8(g) The teacher engages learners in using a range of learning skills and technology tools to access, interpret, evaluate, and apply information.

8(h) The teacher uses a variety of instructional strategies to support and expand learners’ communication through speaking, listening, reading, writing, and other modes.

8(m) The teacher understands how multiple forms of communication (oral, written, nonverbal, digital, visual) convey ideas, foster self expression, and build relationships.

8(n) The teacher knows how to use a wide variety of resources, including human and technological, to engage students in learning.

8(o) The teacher understands how content and skill development can be supported by media and technology and knows how to evaluate these resources for quality, accuracy, and effectiveness.

8(q) The teacher values the variety of ways people communicate and encourages learners to develop and use multiple forms of communication.

8(r) The teacher is committed to exploring how the use of new and emerging technologies can support and promote student learning.

Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

9(d) The teacher actively seeks professional, community, and technological resources, within and outside the school, as supports for analysis, reflection, and problem-solving.

9(f) The teacher advocates, models, and teaches safe, legal, and ethical use of information and technology including appropriate documentation of sources and respect for others in the use of social media.

Leadership and Collaboration

10(g) The teacher uses technological tools and a variety of communication strategies to build local and global learning communities that engage learners, families, and colleagues.

10(n) The teacher knows how to work with other adults and has developed skills in collaborative interaction appropriate for both face-to- face and virtual contexts.

49-5-1003-(b) In fulfillment of this obligation to the student, an educator shall:

     49-5-1003-b-(7) Make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to learning or to health and safety;

     49-5-1003-b-(14) Ensure interactions with the student take place in transparent and appropriate settings;

     49-5-1003-b-(15) Not engage in any sexually related behavior with the student, whether verbal, written, physical, or electronic, with or without the student's consent. Sexually related behavior includes, but is not limited to, behaviors such as making sexual jokes or sexual remarks; engaging in sexual kidding, sexual teasing, or sexual innuendo; pressuring the student for dates or sexual favors; engaging in inappropriate physical touching, groping, or grabbing; kissing; rape; threatening physical harm; and committing sexual assault;

     49-5-1003-b-(19) Maintain a professional approach with the student at all times.

49-5-1004-(a) The education profession is vested by the public with a trust and responsibility requiring the highest ideals of professional service. In the belief that the quality of the services of the education profession directly influences the nation and its citizens, the educator shall exert every effort to raise professional standards, to promote a climate that encourages the exercise of professional judgment, to achieve conditions which attract persons worthy of the trust to careers in education, and to assist in preventing the practice of the profession by unqualified persons.