Ethical use in the teaching of ICT and initial teacher training: a preliminary study on the descriptors of the observational tools

The use of technology within the field of education by those who are responsible for the training of teachers has not always been an undisputed subject of discussion. The ethical issues are often linked to the use of new media within the field of education, and the procedural and logistic difficulties are identified as the main sources of concern in the professionalization of teachers; difficulties which sometimes lead to unjustified hypotheses on the social and educational nature of training. The relationship among quality, ethics and technology requires the development of new literacy prospects and innovative training methods to operate through information and communication networks that are able to widen the repertoire of teachers and of cultural and professional educators. Similarly, the quality of their teaching activity strictly relies on the political support shown towards their professional development. The study reports on the development of tools that try to understand the point of view of initial training teachers on the ethical use of technology within the field of education, by making use of the competence indicators available in the literature, and investigates their level of ethical awareness with regard to the multimodal and multicultural nature of ICT. The study focuses on the validation of the tools described above, and especially on the “ethical dilemmas†of future teachers in the use of ICT and on their degree of “ethical awareness,†by referring to the results of previous international studies.