Social, ethical and technical issues in informatics—An integrated approach

This paper outlines a didactic approach for computer science courses based on the concept of socio-technical Informatics Systems, demonstrating the linkage between computational issues and their manifold social contexts as well as their close relation to social and ethical issues. The analysis of the product–process relationship of software development as a major element of the construction of Informatics Systems leads to the identification of important criteria for designing computer science courses. The selection of application areas as context types, of educational lenses, of methods and of media enables an integrated teaching approach. This kind of integrated approach offers an holistic approach to technical and societal aspects of an Informatics System in computer science education.