With most if not all interactive technologies there are ethical 
and practical issues that require serious discussion and debate. These 
issues are perhaps the result of the 'openness' of the Internet.
This 'openness' and the ease to which we can communicate with others 
carries with it a need for personal and professional responsibility.

Our University College is moving towards a 'hybrid' approach to 
education whereby we will be offering students and instructors 
new ways of facilitating learning and research --whether it be 
reaching out to 'place-bound' students via narrow casting and on-line 
conferencing or by offering individuals the ability to access 
various electronic resources. This new area raise many question
and I would be interested to hear your thoughts/experiences in regards
to a few of them. 

1) What sort of quality assurances can e-journals establish? 
For example, since it is possible to put out electronic collections 
relevant to a particular LIST, is it appropriate to refer to these 
collections as 'journals' (as some do) or is a 'newsletter' 
a more apt term? 
2) What prevents individuals or rather what would discourage 
individuals from a) plagiarizing another's electronic works 
or even b) inserting one's own words into another person's work 
--as can be done when replying to an e-mail?

3) How can authors be reimbursed for the use of their materials if an 
instructor downloads the article or forwards the article to his or her 
students? Indeed, SHOULD authors be reimbursed at all?

4) With budget cut-backs, should we encourage university libraries 
to spend money on on-line article retrieval systems rather than 
physical books (e.g., so-called 'virtual libraries')?
5) Regarding video taped lectures which are then sent out to students 
(or are broadcasted on public televisions) I wonder who should retain 
copyright. Have these video-lectures resulted in a reduction 
in staff and/or a reduction in 'quality education' or is the opposite 
the case due to increased demands? It may be far-fetched, but 
would students want their lectures to be presented by a decease
individual? (Just think of all those old classic movies you've watched 
that star your favourite dead actor).

6) How will the use of interactive instructional technology affec
the dynamics of the professor/student relationship? Some have referred 
to the new role of the professor as an 'icon' that students 'click on' 
to access information. Does this belittle and misrepresent our role 
or does it capture one of the 'new realities'?

7) Would it be attractive from both an ethical and practical point 
of view to establish 'hard rules' which are meant to govern an individual'
behaviour on the 'Net, concerning such things as e-mail harrassment,
flaming, spamming, cyber-stalking, personal misrepresentation,
etc.? Could such rules be enforced? Do we need any rules? Shoul
it be left up to the discretion of university sys-admins to revoke 
accounts, restrict access, restrict sites etc.? Or does 'Netiquett
provide sufficient safeguards and remedies?

Cheers,
Jeff McLaughlin