”Barn, IKT og etikk: en studie i digital etisk dannelse, med norske barnehager som case”.

The study examines the contribution of ethics in technology to learning digital ethics in the context of a Norwegian preschool. Ethics in technology is about the ethical aspects in children’s use of information and communications technology. The objective is to contribute to ethics in technology by investigating how ethics in technology can contribute to learning digital ethics at preschool. This is described through the following research questions: What specific use of ICT at preschools is relevant to discuss with regard to a contribution from ethics in technology to learning ethics at preschool? How can discussion of technology in ethics linked to the above use areas be applied as discursive input for children learning digital ethics? How can discussion of technology in ethics based on virtue ethics and Løgstrup’s metaphysics contribute to a pedagogical program for learning digital ethics at preschools?

The empirical analysis of the study shows how different ICT tools are used at preschool. More specifically, the study elucidates photography, computer games and the internet. On the basis of the empirical study, the author develops five general theses on what learning digital ethics is. Learning digital ethics is about learning to understand:

1) caution when using digital tools, and being cautious in practice when required by the situation. The thesis is that caution is a characteristic that is relevant in every aspect of life, in which everything is a balance of too much or too little.

2) that there is a balance between too little and too much when

using digital tools. In this context, balance can be between risk and possibility, between control and freedom, between cowardice and rashness.

3) how to assess the power of a photograph, and treating it accordingly. Herein lies an assessment as to whether the photograph can harm or benefit others.

4) the difference between the computer game's internal ethics and one's own external everyday ethics, i.e. understanding that there is a difference between the ethics of the actual game and the real-life ethics.

5) that using practical skills on the internet, where a filter against unwanted influence has been developed and can shield against harmful material. The internet should be a useful tool; the user should not be enslaved by it.

These five theses apply in generally to people of all ages, not just children, but they do describe the goal of the learning. Therefore, the study results in a number of instructions in how preschools can encourage children to learn digital ethics.

The study builds on three different types of study: an empirical study and two theoretical studies. The empirical part examines the digital activities that are ethically interesting to discuss, and is divided into a preliminary study and a main study. The preliminary study is based on a quantitative web-based questionnaire survey carried out at 44 Norwegian preschools (preschools which have an agreement with the Queen Maud University College to receive students for work experiment placements). The aim of the questionnaires is to document the children's approach to information and communication technologies (ICT) at preschool as well as the employees' use of, and approach to, ICT at the preschool. On the basis of the preliminary study, the main study conducted 15 observations and 11 interviews at eight preschools that use several different digital tools. Observations were based on situations in which children used ICT, and the staff were interviewed about their experiences with using ICT together with the children. The theoretical study in the second part of the dissertation examines three themes; photography, computer games and the internet. The themes were partly elucidated in an information and communication ethical perspective, partly as artefacts, i.e. in the light of the history and development of the tools, and partly in a theoretical perspective. The third part of the dissertation examines ICT and children's digital skills in a theory of virtue ethics perspective which focuses on the desired characteristics and on how to act when using photography, computer games and the internet.

Sando, E.S. (2014). ”Barn, IKT og etikk: en studie i digital etisk dannelse, med norske barnehager som case”. Avhandling for graden Ph.D. Oslo: Det teologiske menighetsfakultet.