There is 100 topics to choose from Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

There is 100 topics to choose from - Essay Example E-Learning is a type of education which helps the students to learn with the help of internet and computer. Individuals can access internet and enrol into courses through which they can gain knowledge. The ease of access to educational resources has improved the overall learning environment, while at the same time, there are a number of ethical, social and professional issues that have emerged in parallel with the emerging e-learning facilities as we shall discuss in the following lines. A question arises after reviewing the current situation in the world as to if ‘in the future will people still put pen to paper’ ? (Alan 2007; Rosenberg 2001). Discussion The widespread use of computers in our daily tasks like shopping, education and communication has created a ‘digital divide’ between those who use the modern technologies and those who for some reason or merely lack of interest do not use it. The effects of this ‘digital divide’ are so profound that the life patterns of the two classes show vast differences. Whether used in schools, universities or for professional training at work place, well planned and designed e-learning facilities greatly enhance the learning experience. ... However, while developing an e-leraning application for a college/university, one must consider the associated ethical, professional and social issues (Bruckman 2002; Adelsberger 2008; Rosenberg 2001). Stamatellos (2007) explains some of the ethical issues which are associated with the use of computers and internet in the fields of education, health and business. However, the focus of our study will be limited to the educational field. The ethical issues revolving around e-learning include: computer crime and security, Privacy and Anonymity, intellectual Property, Computer Reliability (Stamatellos, 2007). These ethical issues involve the security threats that exist while working on online databases. Some of these common threats include viruses, hacking software and programs, misuse of information and invasion of private material and illegal use of individual’s information. The laws related to intellectual property are also violated in the e-learning environment, mostly by the students. The plagiarism issue is one of the examples of those law violating activities. Students, teachers and other people are equally at a risk of violating such rights and laws. Computer reliability is another major factor which needs to be considered while designing, or implementing an e-learning application. Since, the data, information and important records are all stored in the computer memory and are uploaded on the websites; there are threats to those records and information. Computer memory is delicate and may be formatted easily. A virus, electricity problem or other issues may erase or end up in erasing the important information stored in computers. However, the information carried on the websites have external threats from hackers and law violators (Cross 2005; Welsh et al