Michael C. Warren

Technology and Education

EDLD 5370 Reading Reflection for Technology Facilitator Standard VI

without comments

Technology is easy to implement, but the choosing why and how to implement is harder.  I have learned this over the past year helping to implement a district website that provides teacher interactivity and individual posting of data.  Originally we had a site that I managed, but the district wanted a way for teachers to update their own pages.  This was easy to implement, but we had to go through the process of training the teachers to use the software, as well as explain the ethical and legal issues of what they would choose to place on their pages.  All of these issues came under TF/TL standard VI in which technologists are to consider the social, ethical, legal, and human issues of technology.

Throughout the entire masters program we continued to improve and make changes to the technology of our website. Moving from a static site, to a site managed by select contributors, to a site that is operated by eChalk and where we have teachers, students, and parents interacting online. Some of our biggest questions came in the form of deciding what students and parents should have access to. In the end, students may only email staff and not other students.

What I find interesting is that this is the first time I really see how much Standard VI has related to my work. For most of the time I have been focusing on Standard V, specifically TF-V.D.4 which states “Design, develop, and maintain Web pages and sites that support communication between school and community” (Redish and Williamson, 2009).  In reality Standard VI in which “Educational technology facilitators understand the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools and assist teachers in applying that understanding in their practice” (Redish and Williamson, 2009).  This is essential when dealing with what is to be published to the web and who has access to it.

I have also seen this occur at other schools in which it was requested that copyrighted information be put up on the website by the administration. In this case technologists should step in and say that the information was copyrighted and not allowed to be placed on the web.  Many teachers use the concept by Harry Wong in which he says “They are able to steal the work, change it to fit their own situation, and use it in their classroom.  Effective teachers don’t need articles specific to their grade level or subject.  They adapt” (Wong and Wong, 2008). Teachers and administrators have to be careful with this concept, as it becomes an easy practice for a teacher to take a quick lesson from a book or a website and make some copies and assign it to their class, in turn they break ethics and copyright violations.  Many teachers do not know where to turn for media sources that have a creative commons copyright, or a copyright that allows for educational use.  I even see where schools create commemorative videos for students that include music that is copyrighted.

As a technologist we must set an example of what we can and cannot use, explain how we can use it and how we should get permission and cite what we are using on websites and in classwork.  It is important that we teach these ethics and legal practices to students as well because students are easily persuaded to use illegally obtained software and media, and if they see teachers and schools doing the same, then we are only encouraging illegal use.

For me, as a technologist it is important that all parts of standard VI are covered along with other standards.  This is one area that I will begin focusing on in the future with students and staff at our school.

References

Redish, T., & Williamson, J. (2009). Chapter Six. ISTE’s Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards: What Every K-12 Leader Should Know and Be Able to Do (p. 113). Eugene,OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Wong, H., & Wong, R. (2008). Harry & Rosemary Wong: Effective Teaching – Teachers.Net Gazette. Teachers.Net. Retrieved from http://teachers.net/wong/JUN08/

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