Curriculum-Based Resources for Teaching Ethical and Social Issues of Computing

Saint Olaf College, Northfield MN

Investigators

Abstract

Computer Science (31) This educational materials development project is creating a set of teaching materials to help instructors in computer science integrate ethical and social issues into the computer science curriculum. Ethical and social issues in computing is an area of great importance to the field of computer science, and is included as a central topic area in Curricula 1991's recommended curriculum (ACM/IEEE Task Force, 1991). The materials consist of a set of extensive historical cases and a Social Impact Analysis (SIA) Resource Kit of methods and tools for doing social impact analysis. This project uses the curriculum guidelines suggested in the ACM/IEEE Computer Society Computing Curricula 1991 and developed more fully under the NSF-funded ImpactCS Project. It continues the work of a proof of concept project by the development of more cases, extension of a rudimentary faculty resource toolkit, more extensive classroom testing of the materials, and collaboration in faculty workshops with the project being directed by Keith Miller at the University of Illinois - Springfield (NSF DUE-9952841). The cases are detailed presentations of the social contexts and ethical issues associated with historical cases in computing. Their design and accompanying materials involve the student in an active role as a computing professional in identifying the issues, investigating them, analyzing ethical choices, and negotiating solutions. The SIA Resource Kit is a guide to instructors and students who wish to investigate the social and ethical issues surrounding an actual or projected implementation of a computing system in an organization. It includes methods for planning the investigation, tools and procedures for collecting data, suggestions for making the data useful for designers and decision makers, and samples of social impact analyses done by students. The cases and SIA Resource Kit are being reviewed by a panel of computer scientists, social scientists, and ethicists, and they are being classroom-tested at multiple sites with diverse student populations. The materials are being introduced to the computer science faculty through a series of summer workshops to be conducted by the collaborating CCLI project DUE 9952841. The materials from this project are being included with the materials from the other project to be disseminated via an interactive web site and as part of a commercially published textbook on computer ethics and social impact.