Ethical considerations emerging in the study of mobile learning Corresponding Author: Jocelyn Wishart (j.m.wishart@bristol.ac.uk) Wednesday 1 May 2013, 2pm

1. Ethical considerations emerging in
the study of mobile learning
Jocelyn Wishart
Why did I start thinking about ethics?
Study of Handhelds in
Teacher Education

2. Handhelds were used effectively to
• evidence trainees’ progress against nationally set standards
• record one-off events such as a pupil role play for later
review
• capture data and images in the field bridging the classroom
and the real world
• record one-off demonstrations
It was found that personal use was important to teachers’
success at using the tool to support learning but looking at their
data, especially images, felt invasive.

3. Issues in identifying appropriate mobile
learning research methods
• Learning will be mobile
– Tracking activity across locations
• Learning may be distributed
– Multiple participants in different locations
• Learning may be informal
– How can we distinguish learning from other activities?
• Learning may be extended
– How can we evaluate long-term learning?
• Learning may involve a variety of personal and institutional
technologies
– Mobile and fixed phones, desktop machines, laptops, pdas
• There may be specific ethical problems
– How can and should we monitor everyday activity?
(Sharples, 2007)

4. Why are ethical issues in researching
mobile learning a concern?
• handheld devices provide multiple opportunities for access
to personal information including images
• their portability creates a lack of boundaries
• they link to both real and virtual contexts
• their capabilities are often poorly understood
What are your thoughts on these case studies?
The classic approach of adhering to a fixed code of conduct
or having your proposed methods first evaluated by an ethics
committee does not deal well with the changing contexts
arising in mobile learning research.
Back to first principles?

5. Ways of thinking about ethics
• Duty ethics arise from an absolute set of values that apply
in all circumstances (10 commandments, BERA code of
conduct)
• Consequentialist ethics arise from the belief that there are
no absolutes, and that the likely outcomes in any situation
should be calculated (cost-benefit and risk-benefit
analyses)
• Virtue ethics focuses upon cultivating the qualities and
habits that contribute to a good or ‘flourishing’ life

6. Four accepted ethical principles:
• Do good
• Avoid harm
• Autonomy (respecting choice)
• Justice (equal access to resource)
Also where workplace involves those less able to look out for
themselves - Duty of Care
These can be used to frame the key concerns in mobile
learning (Wishart, 2009) of:
• Personal information
• Images
• Informed consent
• Ownership (of device, image, identity and data)
• Data storage and protection
• User generated content

7. Do good Avoid harm Autonomy Justice /
Equal access
Personal
information
Images
Informed consent
Ownership
Data storage and
protection
Ethics Framework for Mobile Learning Projects