Intermediate
40 mins
Teacher/Student led
+105 XP

Ethics in Computing

In this lesson you explore ethical questions in computing by considering privacy, fairness and access. You take a stand on real cases about apps, listen to opposing views, build a permission card with working ON and OFF states, and decide if your position changes.

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    1 - Start ~4 mins

    Illustration for StartLast time you looked at computers in transport, health and entertainment around Ireland. Today the question is different: just because a computer can do something, should it?

    You will take a stand on real cases about apps you already use, hear the strongest argument from the other side, and decide whether to move.

    2 - Three Kinds of Ethical Question ~3 mins

    Illustration for Three kinds of ethical questionAn ethical question is a question about what is right or fair to do, not just what is possible or legal. Computing raises many of them. Three that come up again and again are:

    • Privacy: who gets to see information about you, and who decides?
    • Fairness: does the system treat different people equally, or does it favour some over others?
    • Access: who can use the technology, and who is left out?

    3 - Think About an App You Already Use ~2 mins

    Think about an app on your phone right now. It might track where you go, which posts you open, or how long you look at a screen. That data can make the app better, and it can also be sold, shared, or kept for years. The hard part is that reasonable people disagree about where the line should be.

    Before we go on, decide privately: is collecting that data mostly fine, mostly not OK, or does it depend?

    4 - Hands-on: Take a Stand on the Line ~15 mins

    For each statement, take a position on the class line from Not OK through It depends to Perfectly fine. Your teacher will say whether the class is walking to a line marked on the floor or showing the line on the board. The markers on the board show where groups in the room are standing, not one each.

    Read the think-about prompt and note one reason someone at the other end might give. Listen to the strongest argument from that end. You may move if it changes your mind. Be ready to say which kind of question it is: privacy, fairness, or access.

    Interactive activity

    5 - Case a, Together ~3 mins

    1. Case A together

    A free mobile game asks for your location "to show local leaderboards," then keeps tracking you after you close the game.

    Watch the board: your teacher names the ethical question, the label, and one model permission card. Talk only. Do not write a full Case A answer.

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