Carbo and Almagno (2005:1) point out that teaching information ethics to a very diverse group of graduate students working towards careers as information professionals raises a number of challenges. They mention that students may come from different disciplines and a wide range of diverse educational, economic, social, and cultural backgrounds, and/or from several different countries. Carbo explains the challenges she faces when teaching information ethics at the University of Pittsburg (USA). She notes that recognizing that students learn in different ways and come from different backgrounds means that a wide range of teaching and learning styles should be used, and if possible, customized approaches should be developed for different students. In her report, she notes that for example, students from cultures that do not permit or encourage questioning the instructor or challenging ideas, often have difficulty participating in an information ethics course. She attributes this to the fact that information ethics courses are based on case studies and discussions whereby students are encouraged to challenge certain views.
