Robert Ives
Guiding
Question:
How have
you applied your understanding of the social, ethical, legal, and human issues
surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools in your practice as a
teacher?
While
the use of technology within the school setting is a positive enhancement of
curriculum, there are many social, ethical, legal, and human issues that must
be considered when using this technology.
These issues include those of privacy, security, equality, etiquette,
ethical conduct, and the respect of intellectual property. For Internet use to be not only effective,
but also safe and ethical, students and teachers alike must be aware of
appropriate use practices. Policies
should be in place, students should know of them, and lessons should be
developed for the purpose of teaching students the importance of responsible
computer use.
In
an article titled Rights, Risks, and Responsibilities: Students and the
Internet, Jennifer Burke (2000) discusses many of these issues. She feels that all school districts should
develop a plan that addresses appropriate Internet use. She believes this plan should include
instructional strategies, a statement of advantages, a list of
responsibilities, a code of behavior, a description of consequences, and should
be signed by students and parents. I
also feel this is critical in any district committed to safely and responsibly
using the Internet in school. My
current educational setting has developed such a plan. I also included details regarding these
issues in the school technology plan I developed in EDU 577 (see Appendix U).
It is not enough, however, for a district to develop a plan. This plan will not be effective if teachers
do not instruct students on its meaning and implementation. I developed a five-lesson unit that teaches
students the importance of safe and important Internet use (see Appendix W).
Students research several topics, including privacy, plagiarism, and
general safety. This unit aligns with the
district’s technology use policy, and covers many state technology
standards. Also, this unit does not
involve teacher lectures. Students use
technology to search for information and use PowerPoint to present the
information to other members of the class.
It’s a collaborative unit that is student-centered, technology
integrated, and focuses on self-discovery.
I’ve found that students enjoy this project, and gain a better
understanding of safe and fair Internet use because they discover the information
on their own rather than having it told to them.
Based
on information students learned during the project, we develop classroom rules
that students must agree to follow.
Students must make a personal commitment to follow Internet safety and
responsibility rules, or they may not take them seriously. I accomplish this by having each student
complete a contract agreeing to follow rules established by the class. This contract is included as Appendix X. We
read through the contract together, discuss the importance of each rule, and
students sign the contract. They also
bring the contract home and have parents sign them as well. This keeps the community involved and
knowledgeable about school guidelines.
Any student failing to follow a rule must conference with me to
determine consequences. I’m able to
bring their contract to our conference to keep the focus on the student’s
actions and failure to follow through with agreements. This holds students individually accountable
for their actions. I find the
combination of the collaborative unit and the contract very effective in
instructing students of appropriate Internet use and keeping students
responsible for their actions in regards to technology.
A
very important issue in regards to technology use involves diversity and
equitable technology access. We
discussed issues in regards to this in EDU 553. This issue exists on two levels.
There are equity issues from one district to another, and equity issues
within individual classrooms.
Nationally, according to the National Center for Education Statistics,
school computer use and Internet access has dramatically increased over time
(Kleiner and Farris 2002). In 1994, 35%
of schools had Internet access. That
number rose to 99% in 2001. In that
same 6 year period classroom access has risen 84%. Connection speeds in schools have gotten faster and faster, and
there are more computers per student than ever before. This trend indicates the strong desire for
school districts to incorporate more technology into their curriculum (Kleiner
and Farris 2002). The issue, however,
is that while most schools have access to technology, the use varies greatly
from district to district. Some
districts do not have the funds to implement technology integration to the same
extent as some others. This can be
remedied by increasing the number of technology grants awarded to schools with
less funding. There will be a gap in
technology knowledge from one district to another if these inequity issues are
not addressed. Within my school
district, I’ve researched the merits of grants in cooperation with the
technology coordinator to try to secure technology that will limit many issues
involved with technology funding.
Technology
equity issues also occur within the classroom setting. We discussed many of these equity issues in
EDU 580 when we explored the effects of family income on student learning. In my classroom, I have some students that
do not have access to computer technology in their homes. This makes it difficult to assign projects
that involve computer use. It is not
fair to those that lack access. I
account for this a few different ways.
First, I do not currently assign homework that requires computer
use. I will often times, however,
assign extra-credit activities at home that utilize technology. I then allow time during school hours for
students without home access to use computers within my classroom. Students without home access can then
complete extra credit activities as well within the classroom. For example, students in my class receive
extra credit as they complete math standards using programs at the Study Island
web site. Two students in my class
cannot access this at home, so they use the classroom computers twice a week
for twenty minutes.
While there are many obstacles involving technology use that cannot be completely done away with, they can be partially alleviated with responsible technology plans and instructional practices. Issues regarding privacy, security, etiquette, ethical conduct, and the respect of intellectual property, can be shown to students through modeling. They can be taught to students by using student-centered, technology rich units that address these issues. Issues involving equity and student access need to be dealt with at national, state, and district levels of educational funding and practice. Equity issues within the classroom can be somewhat alleviated by teacher’s knowledge of the issues and compassion for addressing them.
Front Page Narrative
Section References Appendices