Module Description

This is the fourth module in the Digital Fluency course for academics. In this module learners will be introduced to issues related to academic integrity, which has become a matter of increasing concern in the digital age. Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has been widely embraced and much information and many resources are readily accessible through the internet. However, these available resources may be licensed or copyrighted in a variety of ways, and adhering to this may cause challenges in ensuring academic integrity in higher education. Although the promotion and use of licensed Open Educational Resources (OER) goes some way towards mitigating this challenge, attention needs to be paid to the user’s behaviour when dealing with any resource, data, or information, whatever its licensing. Teachers and learners should be supported in employing newly acquired digital skills in an efficient, effective and appropriate manner within an academic environment. This module is therefore intended to stimulate ethical thinking and behaviour, and promote good practice in evaluating and using available resources to create quality scholarly reports and academic resources. In order to promote academic integrity this module has been designed to provide learners with the opportunity to obtain hands-on experience via a series of practical activities.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this module learners are expected to have developed skills and knowledge related to:

• Exploring the concept of ‘academic integrity’
• Examining issues related to intellectual property rights in academic settings.
• Identifying and creating strategies to promote academic integrity
• Exploring data and information privacy