Modules

Each of our embedded ethics modules is created around a natural pairing of technical computing concepts and ethical concepts, informed by four key pedagogical goals:

  1. to strongly connect ethics instruction to course content
  2. to create an environment in which students feel safe sharing their opinions
  3. to make ethics modules an enjoyable and positive experience
  4. to generate enthusiasm for learning more about ethics in tech

The modules below have been used in computer science classes at the University of Toronto. All of our materials in the links below are licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and we would be pleased for you to adapt them (with attribution) to your own courses.

Addiction and Computer Game Design

Level:

Fourth-Year Video Game Design

Class Time:

One 2-hour class

Last Modified:

Tue 19 March 2024

Addiction
Manipulation

Anthropomorphization in Natural Language Processing

Level:

Fourth-Year Natural Language Processing

Class Time:

Two 1-hour classes

Last Modified:

Tue 19 March 2024

Anthropomorphization
Deception

Bias in Image Understanding Algorithms

Level:

Fourth-Year Image Understanding

Class Time:

One 2-hour class

Last Modified:

Fri 03 March 2023

Algorithms
Bias
Discrimination

Contact Tracing

Data Collection and Privacy

Level:

Introductory Computer Science

Class Time:

Two 1-hour classes

Last Modified:

Fri 10 December 2021

Graphs
Software Development and Design
Requirements and Specifications
Data Collection
Privacy

Disability and Software Accessibility

Level:

Second-Year Software Design

Class Time:

Two 1-hour classes

Last Modified:

Sun 17 March 2024

Software Accessibility
Disability Theory
Principles of Universal Design

Ethics of Algorithms for Resource Allocation

Level:

Third-Year Algorithms

Class Time:

One 2-hour class

Last Modified:

Mon 18 March 2024

Algorithms
Distributive Justice

Recommender System Objectives

Level:

Third-Year Machine Learning

Class Time:

One 2-hour class

Last Modified:

Wed 06 April 2022

Recommender Systems
Machine Learning
Manipulation

The Ethics of Data Visualization

Level:

Second-Year Data Science

Class Time:

One 2-hour class

Last Modified:

Fri 03 March 2023

Data Visualization
Manipulation