Advancing ethics frameworks and scenario-based learning to support educational research into mobile learning

Abstract

The ubiquity of mobile devices and their use for collecting and sharing data require a reconsideration of approaches taken to managing ethical concerns in the educational research context. In the mobile age, the concept of educational research extends beyond traditional understandings and contexts due to: the wide range of mobile learning research settings, the immediacy with which mobile devices connect to social media, heightened privacy concerns and uncertainty about informed consent. This paper explores some of the ethical challenges and proposes that ethics frameworks and scenario-based learning can be powerful tools to assist educational researchers to better understand the ethical complexities of research using mobile devices and social media. An ethics framework for mobile learning research and several exemplar scenarios created during two workshops are presented. The authors make a case for this approach to be used for professional development for mobile learning researchers which may include teachers researching their own mobile learning practice.