Technology Facilitator Standard VI

"Education, unlike other industries of our world, has often failed to find a role for computer technology" (Page, 2002, p. 389). This quote at first may seem very harsh, however schools have for years been playing "catch up" with the rest of society in its use. I have learned that the "digital divide" we speak of doesn't always refer to those with and without access outside of the schools, but the accessibilty of technology inside of the schools can create just as much of a divide. Through studying campus and district STAR Charts, I have learned that great strides have been made in my district to make technology accessible to all students in most areas. We have gotten new and additional computers in the classrooms, and provided opportunities for teachers to learn and implement technology in many other ways with different software programs as well as web 2.0 tools, like blogs. However, with an ever changing population, "it is difficult to predict how educators and students will use new technologies and what the consequences of those uses will be" (Williamson and Redish, 2009, p. 123).
This year, and increased awareness was brought to the front in protecting our students privacy and keeping students safe online. With the rise of social networking sites, there is a clear and present need to teach students how to avoid situations that "lead to misuse of the Internet through bulk e-mail distribution and negatively toned communications" (Adelman, 2004, p. 17). As part of my internship assignment, my principal and site mentor had me address this issue with the grade levels and provide them with information to present to their students about being safe online. The teachers were very receptive and the students thoroughly enjoyed the information. Another area that we are working on with the fourth and fifth graders is the basics in copyright and citing work from other sources. Learning about the copyright laws is exhausting, but a very worthwhile endeavor if we expect our students to reference other sources in their work as they grow and learn. Our district has provided a Moodle for information related to cyber safety and copyright that all of the teachers have access to, so they are not creating multiple activities to teach the same goal. My role at the campus level has been to pass this information on and monitor its use by others, to answer questions that arise and make sure that the information is used correctly.
I have learned quite a bit about the ethical nature of what we should be teaching with technology and want to have better ideas as to how to teach students to be ethical and honest in what they do both at school and home on the computer. With my class blog, I have trained my students to use a special screen name and I closely monitor their comments before posting them for everyone to see. I want them to transfer this to other areas beyond the classroom, but often find myself wondering how possible this is.

References:

Adelman, H. (2004, March). Teaching Online Safety. Voices from the Middle. p. 17-22.

Page, M. (2002). Technology-Enriched Classrooms: Effects on Students of Low Socioeconomic Status. Journal of Research on Technology in Education. p. 389-409.

Williamson, J. and Redish, T. (2009). ISTE's Technology Facilitator and Leadership Standards. Washington, D.C.: ISTE.