Ethical issues in online education

Abstract

Ethical issues in online education are present in course content, methods of engaging students, and evaluation strategies. Ethical issues are also present in determining the role of online education in access or barriers to information, the role of the instructor in the online education process, and determining student competencies through granting degrees or formal completions such as certifications. Students also show preferences with regard to online content delivery especially when the classroom environment itself negatively impacts learning such for students with autism or other social anxiety issues. This paper aims at giving an overview of ethical issues that concern MOOCs, as well as the smaller typical online class in a degree program, and motivates this view with results from a study about the connection between Autism and Online Education.