Harmful Consequences
Depending on the age and maturity of students, some technological applications may not be appropriate. Planning for and helping students to manage risks is essential. Teachers should also consider student privacy. While authentic audiences may help to motivate students (Bransford, 2000), ethical teaching requires that we consider the implications of requiring students to share work publicly.
On a larger scale, Halverson and Shapiro (2012) argue "the standardized tests adopted by states for NCLB were not designed for accountability measures" (p. 9). The consequences of misusing these high-stakes assessments can be severe for students, schools and communities. Sharing similar concerns, Slomp, Corrigan, and Sugimoto (2014) urge careful consideration at all stages of assessment design, implementation, and review for both the intended and unintended consequences of the assessment technologies. Those unintended consequences may include "narrowing curricula," in the form of remedial classes for students and state intervention in schools deemed failing by the standardized tests (Ito et al., 2013, p. 30). While educational technology can be appealing in its creation of data, that data must be used ethically and effectively to avoid harmful consequences.