Intellectual Property, Privacy, and Ethics.

Hi Classmates,

In this blog, I wanted to talk about the topic for this week, which is intellectual property, privacy, and ethics. When I reflect on this topic, what immediately comes to mind is how important it is to respect the rights and ownership of creative work, especially in today’s digital age. In the reading "Ownership of Digital Course Artifacts: Who Can Access and Use Your Words, Images and Clicks??," what stuck out to me the most was the concern faculty have around ownership of the course materials they create. Faculty may assume their syllabi, lecture slides, or assignments are their own intellectual property, but institutions may claim ownership especially when they invest resources into course development. This creates tension, especially in online learning environments where course content can be easily reused or redistributed without the faculty member’s involvement. 

In all honesty, you would think that educators would automatically retain ownership of the materials they thoughtfully create, especially since those resources often reflect their personal teaching style and academic expertise. 

-India Woods


Comments

  1. GatsbyJune 10, 2025 at 5:15 PM

    Hi India,
    Thank you for your insightful post!

    I completely agree with your reflection on how complex and often overlooked the issue of intellectual property can be in online education. I also found it surprising (and a bit unsettling) that faculty do not always retain clear ownership of the course materials they create. Like you said, those materials are often the product of years of expertise and personal pedagogical style, so it feels only fair that instructors should have control over how they are used.

    This week’s reading challenged me to think about how we balance institutional needs with individual rights, not just for faculty but also for students who contribute intellectual content through discussions, projects, or even their digital behavior. From my perspective, it is a reminder that transparency and mutual respect are essential in creating ethical online learning environments.

    Thanks again for raising these points!

    ReplyDelete

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