Justin Foster

1/27/12

Educational Technology:5500:230:003

Digital Citizenship

Case Study 3 Focus Questions:

1. I would only imagine one entity not mentioned in the article that could have some responsibility, they mentioned that the teachers, students, and administrators all had the ability to make the websites. The parents also play a part in this when raising a child in a technological savvy community. Children need to be taught what is appropriate and inappropriate at a young age so that the protective behavior is like nature. They need to understand the consequences and it falls upon a parent to teach a child to use a computer and what is permitted to do while on the internet.

2. The superintendent should be held accountable. It may have been a problem where a teacher made a website and didn’t give credit to sources that he used but it also falls on the superintendent to make sure that his staff and students are ready for that kind of responsibility. It was a generous idea to allow internet use for staff and students but there are rules online just like there are in real life and the superintendent needed to be sure that everyone knew the rules and expectations before anyone broke any rules. He should have held computer ethics seminars with all the teachers and students before he let them all loose to do whatever they wanted to do with their websites.

3. It is hard to rectify being sued for millions of dollars but I think Mr. Fuller did what needed to be done in the first place. By holding some seminars people would understand the crimes they are committing and would work on avoiding those crimes and protecting the school and these skills can also be used outside of school to protect everyone from copyright laws.

4. When planning to start an education course there are a few key components that need to be present before anyone can appreciate what you have to say. In a school setting there needs to be an ultimatum. In my school we were not allowed on most websites. There was a list of educational websites that we were allowed to use. When starting to teach students about internet ethics there needs to be the idea that this is for the good of everyone or we will all lose the privilege. Then the important parts are having a properly trained instructor teach the students and the teachers. It can’t be permitted for the teachers to just pass on their information because they are not experts and can misinterpret what a tech expert explains. There needs to be guidelines of the do’s and do not’s for the students to follow. Copyright laws need to be explained because students don’t have a grasp on copyrights because they never had to do it.

5. The Acceptable use policy in school is far different than that at one’s home. Schools need to protect themselves from charges like the one listed in this article. All it takes is one person accidentally breaking the law to get into a lot of trouble the law. The role of the policy is to let students use the internet to learn from and understand how to properly use internet material while holding the individual accountable for the actions done on the computer. So this issue in the article is no longer a problem because the policy suggests that if something would happen it would fall upon the user of the computer and not the district themselves.

Case 5 Cyber bullying Focus Questions

1. If I was in Sarah’s position I would have told my parents or at least some sort of authority figure at school to get help instead of letting people insult me online. I understand she doesn’t want to share the idea that she is not like amongst the other students but it is bigger than her at that point and needs to get help before it really controls her life. If I was one of the parents I would have put the computer in the living room so this secret problem never happened in the first place. The first time I saw the insults on my daughter computer I would call the school and work out a deal so that my daughter would stop being harassed at school.

2. Sarah’s began by not telling anyone about her activities on the computer an avoiding getting any help. She also starts to do poorly in school because of the anxiety the harassment causes her. These are the two she exhibited but other students can show lack of interest in the computer and even consider suicide as a possible course of action.

3. There are a few steps that can be used to deal with cyber bullying. First most websites have user agreements and if there is a problem then the bully account can be removed to stop further harassment. If there are continuous attacks then the law enforcement may get involved and press charges if the case is severe enough. In smaller instances it is up to the school to deal with these problems. Some schools say that since the problem happens outside of school than it is not there problem. While others will give in school punishment for those who participate in cyber bullying like detentions and suspensions.

4. I think that the students need to be punished inside and outside of school. They need to have their accounts deleted and ip address banned. They also need to deal with some detention and suspension time and also maybe even some criminal charges. In some cases students kill themselves over cyber bullying so this is something that needs to be stopped in its tracks and not a simple slap on the wrist.

Case 6 Social Networks Focus Questions

1. I do not think that the blue team should be banned from using a social network to raise money. They are using it for a good reason and the technology exists. It is not the job

of the school to kill any ideas of innovation. The school needs to be evolving with the world and it should even promote their behavior. They are a smart team that is using an innovative strategy to win their competition.

2. Social networks help students learn social skills. We can talk to many people on here and learn that different people need to be dealt with in different ways. They can learn to talk to a larger pool of people and learning more about more different people instead of the small population if a local high school. To say that it is slowing communication skills is a silly ploy that educators put forth as an excuse to why they are not changing with the world.

3. There is no issue that the teacher should be worried about. He should remind the students of internet safety and to be up front with their social network plan but no he should not worry about the money they bring in because it is a charity. He just needs to let their competition play out and whoever wins, wins. It is a fair competition because they all had access to the same materials.

4. I think that the blue team would lose a lot of donations without the use of social networks. The teacher would be shooting down there creativity and then they wouldn’t be interested in the assignment anymore. They would think that they had a good idea and for some reason the teacher shot it down for no reason. They would be angry and not try to raise any more money. When students show some ingenuity it is important to promote it and not decline the idea because we do not know how to handle it.

Case 7 Cell Phones in the Classroom Focus Questions

1. I would set rules about cell phones in a classroom, I am personally partly accepting to cell phones in a classroom. I would allow them to be out and I would allow for the students to check messages and not allow them to text back. And during tests all phones need to be away and I will walk around the classroom and make sure everyone’s hands are where I can see them. If I suspect that they are cheating I will take all of the tests and make a new test for them all to take the next day.

2. As a teacher I wouldn’t ban cell phones at all. I would allow them all to be out in the open. I would allow them to check messages just no texting back. Then I can keep a watch on all cell phones. If they are all out then I have a better idea of who has a phone and will be suspicious if I do not see a student with one.

3. The 2 girls who were caught cheating should get there detention or whatever the schools policy on cheating is and then they should have to retake the test that is harder than the previous. This is the only fair way to deal with students who have been cheating.

4. Again, I do not feel the cell phones should be banned, they are part of society and school is not always safe. They are needed and should be accepted in the school. There needs to be some rules and regulations to make them go with the flow of education but eliminating them altogether is not the answer.