The ethical considerations of using social media in educational environments

Students in an undergraduate pre-service teacher education course were asked to utilise Twitter to access the professional educational community. Their tweets were to be used to promote the sharing of educational resources and establish a local supportive community of practice, to keep others informed of their teaching experiences and provide a vehicle for support and advice, both inside and outside the university. The ethical issues in relation to the use of social media in educational environments were widereaching and complex. This paper reports on a pilot study that begins an investigation on the practices of university students using social media in their studies. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop workable guidelines on the ethical use and practice of social media use in university education.