Educational project: 5 steps to set up a code of ethics for digital use, from school to home

By Stéphanie Dionne, certified NLP professional coach specializing in issues in the digital age, member of theÉcole branchée on the family.

The development of ethical citizenship in the digital age is one of the central dimensions of digital competence. In this period of updating educational projects, this is an excellent opportunity to initiate a process of reflection in order to adopt a code of life in the digital age.

A code of ethics is the result of a process of reflection which, to be effective, must be contextualized. It must also involve all stakeholders: students, parents and the school team. Supporting young people in the digital age is a shared responsibility. Here are 5 steps to help you think about setting up a code of ethics.

5 steps to a successful reflection process

These 5 steps were presented at the 2020 Digital Education Day by Marjorie Paradis and Annie Turbide, resource persons at the RÉCIT National Service, Human Development Domain (RÉCIT PD). Each step presented is accompanied by questions that you can ask yourself in a reflection meeting including all the stakeholders, students and parents. 

Tip: You can contact your local RÉCIT school service center's educational consultant to guide you through this process. 

1- Define the situation that is the subject of a rule

• What is the target context (cell phone use during classprogram launch AVAN or 1:1, or other)?
• What other situation does this bring to mind?
• What happens when this situation occurs?
• What is the main objective?
• How long and how often does this situation occur?
• Are there any rules that already apply?

2- Take into account everyone's point of view

• Who is affected by the situation (individuals, groups)?
• Who has a view on this issue?
• What is important to each person involved?
• What are everyone's responsibilities?

3- Justify the existence of a rule

• What is the origin of an existing rule?
• What is it for?
• What are the gains or losses associated with a rule that already exists?
• What are the possible impacts or effects of applying a rule?
• Does this rule serve the collective or individual well-being?
• What remedies or actions are available to change an existing rule?

4- Target the most important values

• What are the most important values for the group?
• What value do we want to collectively advocate?
• What value is the basis of an existing rule?
• Which rule would be most consistent with which value?

5- Write rules in a positive way

• How should the rule be formulated so that it is consistent with the established guidelines?
• What change could be made to this rule to make it better worded?
• How can this rule be changed to represent desired behavior, not a prohibition?
• In the proposed rules, are there any that could be consolidated?

The importance of including youth

The objective of this approach is to develop the autonomy and responsibility of young people in the digital age. Their participation in the deliberations allows them to exercise their ethical reflection in an authentic context, which involves them directly. They will have the opportunity to reflect on the optimal conditions for learning and act in ways that contribute to it.

You will find all the resources proposed by the RÉCIT DP on the website Co-construct. In an article published at École branchée, you will also find the 5 tips for defining your code of ethics in the digital age.

In a future article, we will present a concrete example of a school that has experienced the process and all the resources that have resulted.