Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the field of education by providing new opportunities for online learning. However, as with any technology, there are ethical considerations that must be considered to ensure that AI-powered online learning applications are safe and improve student outcomes. This chapter explored the ethical implications of AI in online learning and proposed best practices for the development of ethical AI-powered online learning applications. Specifically, it looked at how to leverage ethical values in the Namibian education and training sector while focusing on various instructional technologies. Ethical aspects related to instructional technologies, learning management systems, interactive whiteboards, digital games, augmented and virtual realities, gamification, mobile technologies, and virtual learning environments were discussed. As AI and instructional technologies become more prevalent in the online education landscape, students and teachers must understand how responsible technology works and how ethical decisions are made.
TopIntroduction
Instructional technologies used to be optional and supplemental pedagogical tools until the global COVID-19 pandemic transformed educational processes across different educational levels (Reguera & López, 2021). Higher education institutions (HEIs) and faculty members worldwide were compelled to rely on digital devices and services to deliver their courses online due to mobility restrictions and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic (Fung et al., 2022; Lamsal, 2022), as well as focus their efforts on guaranteeing academic continuity. Suddenly, the contemporary principles and practices utilized in delivering education curricula were insufficient and ineffective. Acknowledging the vital role of technology in shaping the future of education, there is now a greater demand to foster innovative interventions and continuous improvement in strategies, methodologies, and systems to empower e-learners, teachers, and managers in the digital age (Garcia, 2023; Goosen & Van der Merwe, 2015). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuity of education across the world is being supported through e-learning and related educational systems (Bihu, 2022; Olivares et al., 2021), many African countries have experienced difficulties when integrating such technologies; not only in classroom teaching but also having been slow in using technologies to leverage education and provide for opportunities of equity (Mustafa et al., 2022).
South Africa is one of the few countries on the continent, which have shifted their scope and experimented with AI in education initiatives, such as Daptio, TopDog, and Siyavula. However, Namibia is in the infancy stages of AI and is considering becoming a part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). It is therefore crucial that the Namibian people discuss and reach a consensus on what their ethical values are as they embrace artificial intelligence because past experiences with technology had shown how a borrowed technology in education policy can lead to poor and failed implementation, due to not considering the local cultural context (e.g., Ansu-Kyeremeh & Goosen, 2022; Nghuulondo & Goosen, 2023). Hence, this research aims to establish the current and future-projected baselines about the policy implications of leveraging ethics in artificial intelligence towards improved and safe e-learning applications in the Namibian education and training sector, focusing on instructional technologies and widely used Learning Management Systems (LMS), as well as associated ‘plug-in’ applications and potential autonomous data syntheses, processing and sharing capabilities (e.g., Miranda & Tolentino, 2023; Rao & Mokhtar, 2023; Silva et al., 2023).
Recommended Topics
From the many academic areas covered in this publication, the chapter aims to include, but is not limited to:
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Artificial Intelligence
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Augmented and/or Virtual Reality and Robots
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Digital Games
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Educational Technologies
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Gamification
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Health Education and Training
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Interactive Whiteboards
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Learning Management Systems
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Massive Open Online Courses
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Mobile Technologies
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Virtual Learning Environments.
Target Audience
Like this book, the chapter could be beneficial for stakeholders in education, including, but not limited to, students, teachers, researchers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, educational leaders, and policymakers defining practice and pedagogy in health education and allied disciplines.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Ethics: It refers to the principles and values that guide the behavior of individuals or organizations.
Augmented Reality: A technology that enhances the real-world environment by overlaying digital information, such as images, videos, and text, onto the user's view.
Ethical Technology: It refers to the use of technology that is designed and implemented in accordance with ethical principles and values.
Artificial Intelligence: It refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes (e.g., learning and reasoning) by machines, particularly computer systems.
Virtual Reality: A technology that creates a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment that can be experienced through a VR headset or other devices.
Digital Games: Also known as video games, these are interactive multimedia games that are played on electronic devices such as computers, consoles, and mobile devices.