In 2021, the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills (the Ministry) initiated the Digital Learning Advisory Committee (DLAC) to engage the post-secondary system to better understand and support the use of digital learning models in post-secondary education in British Columbia. The collaborative efforts of DLAC and associated working groups resulted in the Digital Learning Strategy (DLS).

The DLS aims to advance the post-secondary system’s ability to navigate the digital landscape of post-secondary education in B.C. Based on a recommendation within the DLS to produce guidelines for ethical use of educational technology, the Ministry established a working group comprising representatives and experts from B.C.’s post-secondary system and beyond. This Ethical Educational Technology Working Group has since produced a draft Ethical Educational Technology Toolkit (the Toolkit) designed to provide practical resources and guidance for post-secondary educators, administrators, and institutions. The Toolkit addresses the ethical considerations involved in adopting educational technology, tools, and software to support the growing use of digital technologies in post-secondary education.

This presentation will outline the history of the project, its context within the Digital Learning Strategy, the collaborative process the working group used to develop the Toolkit, and the goals and high-level themes of the draft content. The content of the Toolkit covers topics in the areas of regulatory frameworks and responsibilities related to educational technologies, and ensuring ethical practices in educational technology.