AAEEBL Digital Ethics Principles: version 1

Strategies for Applying Principle 4: Respect Author Rights and Re-use Permissions

Strategies for applying this principle include…

  • Advocating for student ownership of ePortfolios and ePortfolio portability post-graduation.
  • Ensuring ePortfolio creators are aware of how the ePortfolio will be used by an institution or employer (e.g., for institutional assessment), and obtaining consent from students for this re-use.
  • Distinguishing among concepts related to plagiarism, attribution, citation, copyright, fair use, and licensing.
  • Demonstrating how to attribute sources according to disciplinary, professional, institutional, and cultural standards, as well as genre conventions, to avoid accusations of plagiarism.
  • Identifying situations in which ePortfolio creators can argue fair use within their institution/culture.
  • Becoming familiar with various licensing agreements regarding re-use of resources, and knowing how to apply an appropriate Creative Commons license to an ePortfolio to guide its re-use.
  • Being thoughtful in how to represent others’ identities and ideas, including the use of photos, collaborative projects, and work authored and owned by others. This includes sharing artifacts that disclose others’ personal information only when you have the legal right and personal permission to do so.
  • Considering how representing others in an ePortfolio can be shaped by social and cultural biases, and being rhetorically thoughtful in selecting and contextualizing artifacts. 
  • Asking professional organizations about using work completed in internships, employment, and work-for-hire before featuring these artifacts in a ePortfolio in case information is proprietary or protected. When negotiating these professional relationships, you should ask about featuring the work you are doing in your professional ePortfolio.
  • Providing specific information for students and educators who work with protected and/or vulnerable groups, such as children, patients, clients, etc., and who may include information about this work in their ePortfolios.

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