Chapter 10 opens with a discussion of information literacy, or the ability to find and use information (de Lyon Friel, 2001). I agree with the author when she states that information literacy it is "the keystone to lifelong learning" (de Lyon Friel, 2001, pg. 126) because to me, the ability to grow as an independent thinker is correlated to the ability to search for answers, understand and process new information, and then make intelligent, productive decisions based on the data. Whether you are a teacher, a construction worker, or a politician, your ability to succeed is tied to your ability to problem solve efficiently. You have to know where to look and how to interpret and apply the various sources of data.
Chapter 10 also deals with a lot of issues that educators face when using technology, especially in regard to safe and responsible use of the Internet. While some issues are no brainers (citing sources and anti-plagiarism), other areas are not so cut-and-dry. It is very difficult to find a middle ground on issues such as censorship and 1st Amendment/intellectual freedom. While I feel few would argue that some form of a filtering is in our children's best interest, there will always be those who feel that any form of censorship is wrong, and it should be the parent or teachers responsibility to monitor Internet use. The problem with this type of thinking is that it is unrealistic to think that a teacher can monitor 20+ kids, while simultaneously helping individuals that are struggling and assessing student progress. The filtering of content is to assist teachers in this manner, sort of act as a virtual assistant. I admit the filtering systems are not perfect. For example, I had a Humanities student preparing a presentation on the artist Marcel Duchamp. Because of the filtering software at our school, he was unable to view one of Duchamp's more famous works (Nude Descending a Staircase) because the word "nude" triggered the filter. But when you look at the image, it is far from obscene (see below - source: wikipedia, 2007)
The topic of acceptable use policies (AUP) closes out the chapter. In a nutshell AUPs are the list of what you should not do while using computers at school. The author states that a school system AUP should "set the conditions under which the computer network may be used" and "will leave no confusion about what the network rules are" (de Lyon Friel, 2001, pg. 133). Every school system has to have an AUP, especially in our current legal climate. The author notes that AUP's can be used to "generate productive communication among staff, students, parents, and the larger community" and "can be a starting point for collaborative teaching and discussion of personal responsibility" (de Lyon Friel, 2001, pg. 134). While this may be true, to me that is really just a smoke screen for the real intent of AUPs: to give the school system leverage in a legal sense. Nothing wrong with that, but I just think it's a little comical to try to call AUPs a teaching aid. An analogy to me would be to say fighting in school can be used as a means to bring students, parents, teachers, and administrators together in a collaborative setting (conference) to discuss personal responsibility issues. :) But any AUP is 99.9% common sense: use your work e-mail for work and professional matters only, use the school network and resources for teaching and education-related matters only, don't send obscene materials via the Internet or Intranet, etc. But it's not just that way in education. Virtually every business has acceptable use policies that dictate what you can or cannot do with computers at work. Companies (and schools systems) have to protect themselves in case employees act irresponsibly using work-related equipment. By signing an AUP, the individual takes responsibility for their actions. Some might consider it a little Orwellian, but if you don't pay for the ISP and don't own the equipment, you can't expect to have free reign. If you keep private and personal matters at home, AUPs are no big deal.
Resource:
de Lyon Friel, L. (2001). Using Technology Appropriately: Policy, Leadership and Ethics. In Collier, C. & LeBaron, J.F. (Eds.). Technology in its Place: Successful Technology Infusion in Schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc..
4 comments:
We had an extensive discussion in my Civics classes regarding art and the 1st amendment. What is art to one may be offensive to another was the conclusion reached by most of my students. This can be a problem especially with online research. A lot of times you do run into problems with blocking software. We do want to protect our kids from pornography and other related sites but sometimes honest things do get included in the "access denied" category. Hopefully, as you said we will refine the software to help eliminate the bad and keep the good. I did just read an article however about a substitute teacher facing charges over a classroom computer being misused during class. If I can find the link again I will post it on my blog.
K
I think that you are right we need to have filters even if sometimes they block material that is appropriate we have the responsibility to protect our studetnts from inappropriate material that they may ran into and as you said hopefully in the future the software will become better at filtering the good and bad. About the AUP,to me its just common since if it not mine treat that way. I only use my school laptop to access my school e-mail and educational websites sent to me by the librarian, principal and IT person.
Filtering becomes an issue for many schools. The two camps - protection and the other camp teaching. Should we protect our students or should we teach our students what quality information and appropriate information is?
Thanks for the image. Adds to your comment!
Personally, I do think there should be some filtering, especially in the elementary area. I agree that we do need to teach the students what is appropriate internet use and appropriate sites. But when you have a class of 20 or more students, you can't look over their shoulders all the time. There needs to be some kind of back up plan.
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