This post is part of an eight-part series introducing the The B.C. Post-Secondary Digital Literacy Framework. Each post will provide ideas and resources for implementing one of the eight thematic digital competencies outlined in the framework. You can read more about the framework on the Digital Literacy: Tools and Resources for VIU blog post. We are happy to be working in collaboration with VIU Libraries on this blog post series.
What does Ethical and Legal Considerations mean?
From ethical and legal perspectives, a digitally literate person will understand and abide by principles of privacy protection, inclusion, and accessibility in digital spaces, recognize when these principles are not being upheld, be aware that power inequalities can exist in digital spaces, and contribute to equitable and safer spaces.
How can I implement this?
Use the VIU Suite of Tools: VIULearn, VIUTube, VIUBlogs are all FIPPA compliant. This means that student data and your data is protected.
Review Protection of Privacy at VIU: If you would like to use a tech tool that is not part of the VIU suite of tools you can review privacy considerations via the Privacy Office.
Review Protection of Intellectual Property at VIU: If you would like to implement a tool for your class, consider faculty, student, and creator IP that may be uploaded, stored, and shared. You can review VIU’s IP Policy, Copyright Policy, and/or contact the Copyright Office should you have concerns or questions.
Use VIULearn
- VIULearn provides a secure place for sharing information with your students. This includes course content as well as feedback and other communication.
- Work with a member of the CIEL to design a VIULearn course that is easy to navigate and adheres to the principles of Universal Design for Learning.
Make Course Content Accessible
- Use an accessibility checker in your Office Documents (Resource: Using the Accessibility Checker in Microsoft Office)
- Refer to Designing for All: a toolkit for maximum digital impact for way so to make sure your VIULearn course shell is accessible
Co-create with your students. Many course elements can benefit from being co-created with your students. Rubrics, assignments, communication guidelines, due dates and appropriate technology use are some of them. The co-creation process allows students to gain a deeper understanding of course expectations and why they exist. It also provides the instructor with valuable information about student learning interests and priorities. In addition to the strategies provided on our Classroom Community page, the resources below can help you decide which element(s) of your courses can be co-created with students and how to get started with the process.
Use a Tech Survey in VIULearn that asks students to share information about their digital literacy, access to technology and comfort level in digital spaces. We have created a survey that you can import directly into VIULearn. You can download it from OneDrive and import it into your course. Our Import Course Materials page will guide you through this process. We have also created a Word version of the survey.
Provide alternatives for students for assignments that involve publishing information publicly (e.g. podcasts, blog posts). This could include adapting the assignment or allowing students to use a pseudonym for published works.
Request Library instruction workshops where a librarian can work with your students to critically examine bias in technologies and information sources, ethical questions surrounding inequitable access to information, and critical information literacy skills. These sessions can help students engage more thoughtfully with digital content and tools.
VIU Library prioritizes student and research privacy in its research tools and services. When accessing third-party databases and research tools, the Library releases only the information necessary to authenticate you as a member of the VIU community. Read more about privacy and use.
This page is part of a Digital Literacy Toolkit designed for faculty at VIU. All content in this toolkit is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY).