A reflective design case of practical micro-ethics in learning analytics

Abstract

A burgeoning literature, policy landscape, and set of practice resources and guidelines have emerged around ethical educational technology development and implementation, particularly in the context of data or artificial intelligence informed tools. However, while these resources provide valuable tools to support navigation of the ethical landscape, they suffer from some limitations. These include a focus on coarse-grained, clear cut cases; a lack of attention to dilemmas and tensions; and a potential focus on procedural aspects of ethics, rather than our moment-to-moment ethics-in-action. This paper provides a case study description, using a reflective design case to provide a more textured micro-ethics. The case approach, its exemplification as a tool for micro-ethics, and the features of interest in our particular case each provide valuable tools for the educational technology community. Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic Ethical concerns are central to the design, development and implementation of educational technologies (edtech). A range of guidelines, policies and law exist, providing principles that guide edtech research and use. However existing resources tend to reflect coarse procedural aspects of ethics, providing a navigation aid, but not a defined path, in ethical edtech practice. What this paper adds This paper provides a novel method—a reflective design case—for describing and exploring micro-ethics in edtech. Through applying this method, we demonstrate that micro-ethical analyses of ‘ethics-in-action’ help to uncover the nuanced decisions we make in ethical conduct. This exemplification provides insight into a specific body of work on writing analytics, of relevance to the field. Implications for practice and/or policy Policy and guidance for ethical conduct should make use of cases that demonstrate how such ethical materials are drawn on in ethical conduct, and as demonstrations of micro-ethics in action. Practitioners—those who design, develop, and implement edtech—may use the method developed to explore and share their own cases to support their work. Practitioners—those who design, develop, and implement edtech—may draw on shared reflective design cases in learning regarding navigating application of procedural ethics and developing ethics-in-action.