Doug Johnson

Scenario 7 (Privacy)

All the students at Peter’s and Paul’s school have been given PDAs (personal digital assistants – small, handheld computers). The boys have been using the wireless transmission features to exchange notes and test answers in class.

Questions:

• What is the inappropriate action?
• Who committed it?
• What danger or discomfort might the unethical action cause?
• Is there a parallel in the physical world to this scenario?
• How does a school prevent nearly undetectable forms of cheating?
• Can you think of other incidents that would fall into this category?

Comments:
While much effort has gone into preventing plagiarism in schools, other forms of cheating are also made possible by technology. If a product can be used, it can be abused.

Cheating needs to be defined by the school and school-wide uniform policies developed and enforced to prevent it.

See Cheating and How to Avoid It