A Proposed Ethics Code for Online Learning During Crisis

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis affected the world globally in 2020 and caused school closure around the world, which promptly embraced online learning and raised ethical awareness for teachers and students. Online learning that is based on continuously gaining relevance in educational institutions, is challenged by lack of documented ethics that maintain rights and encourage applying online learning. Unfortunately, online learning ethics are still obscure at this moment. This study aims to propose online code of ethics for Palestinian schools. Applying the mixed methods approach: A focus group with teachers and a questionnaire that was built to explore the teachers’ degree of agreement on the proposed online learning ethics. The code was finally being evaluated by online learning experts who have extensive expertise in the field. Results revealed principles of online learning ethics that were highly accepted by school teachers. The researchers recommended conducting future research on the impact of this code on learning and teaching.