Session Description: With support from the National Science Foundation, a team of professional ethicists and academic geographers is developing a model curriculum for graduate seminars in "ethics for future geospatial technology professionals." Project deliverables will include open educational resources to advance formal ethics education in geographic information science and technology (GIS&T), including recommended readings; instruments that allow students to self-assess their moral reasoning abilities; protocols for graduate student interviews of GIS&T professionals; case studies that illuminate ethical challenges confronting practitioners; and digital video recordings of invited guest presenters. Following a brief project description, panelists and audience members will be invited to contribute to the project by addressing the following questions:
- Should formal ethics education be a required element of graduate education in GIS&T?
- How does ethics education currently manifest in panelists' and audience members' GIS&T graduate programs?
- What educational objectives should a seminar in GIS&T ethics seek to achieve?
- What educational resources would be most effective in advancing formal ethics education in GIS&T graduate programs?
- What case studies exist that effectively illustrate ethical problems in GIS&T?
- What are the potential advantages and risks of student interviews of GIS&T practitioners to identify ethical case studies?
