Unit 7

This was an interesting collection of research and, for me, important because it provided a volume of evidence supporting the educational investment into technology.  While trying to condense the research into a short review is a challenge, what I found striking was how the different articles seemed to suggest technology’s powerful impact on such a wide variety of academic settings including students with special needs, high school achievement scores, and probably most significantly, the long-term effects that technology has due to such a stark increase in motivation and interest.   I would say that the recommendations given in the report on the US DOE website was probably as concise as any could be in regards to summarizing the direction and commitment we must continue to make in order to continue the successful impact that technology has in our educational system.  The recommendations from the website suggested the following:

1. Improve access, connectivity, and requisite infrastructure;

2. Create more, high-quality content and software;

3. Provide more, sustained, high-quality professional development and overall support for

teachers seeking to innovate and grow in this domain;

4. Increase funding from multiple sources for a range of relevant activities;

5. Define and promote the roles of multiple stakeholders, including the public and private

sectors;

6. Increase and diversify research, evaluation, and assessment; and

7. Review, revise and update regulations and policy that affect in-school use of technology,

particularly regarding privacy, and security.

Some of the results mentioned above may be even tougher sells than say the purchase of laptops for high school students because things such as improved connectivity and additional professional development are truly necessary, but lack the tangible tool that a purchase of hardware provides.

As mentioned above, my reactions to this research is very positive for a variety of reasons, but mostly because it shows a wide variety of research that gives solid evidence of technology’s ability to impact achievement.  Often times detractors of technology, and I think specifically of the debate that often raged surrounding the 1-to-1 initiative, would point out that this investment would not increase test scores.  While virtually all of the research would suggest that the improvement is always going to be felt in a long-term way, there were several studies (most powerfully for me, the 3 year study in Michigan) that demonstrated more immediate results as well.

There is no question that having these studies is certainly one more powerful tool that educators and technology advocates can use to promote the continued investment in 21^st Century tools.  Instead of relying so heavily on anecdotal evidence such as positive comments from teachers and students as the main crux of the debate, we can point to specific cases of research where technology impacted the achievement of students from across the spectrum of grades, abilities, and interests.

Unit 6

1. Does your school have an Internet Acceptable Use Policy?
Yes.  It is outlined according to the Child Internet Protection Act and is seemingly very up to date and meets the needs of both our district and the current technologies available to our students.

2. Does your school have an Internet Publishing Policy?
Yes we do.

3. Does your school have a Distance Education Policy?
Yes.  Coming from an elementary background, I had never really considered a Distance Education Policy and upon first reading this week's question, didn't know for sure if we did have that policy.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that we do have a Distance Education Policy and it seems very thorough. 

4. What does your district do to keep these policies up to date?
Our Technology Committee meets yearly to update and approve the Technology Play which includes all of the aforementioned policies.  Our Technology Committee consists of our Technology Director, the Superintendent, the Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Tech Support Employee, three principals (one from each level; elementary, middle, high), and four teachers that represent the three different levels (plus two from the elementary). 

Unit 5 Copyright

1. Does your school district have a Copyright Policy? 
What we have is pretty limited.  There is mention of copyright in the student handbook and then it was also briefly covered in the internet use policy that all staff had to sign off on.  With that said, there is very little in regards to specifics about copyright and it certainly didn't go into great detail.

2. Does the Copyright Policy need to be updated to reflect technology issues?
The fact that it was mentioned in the internet use form certainly signals an understanding by the district that technology is one of the areas where copyright infringment is probably the most likely (and hardest to police I would suspect).  With that said, there is nothing in regards to specifics that address technology or the potential copyright violations that could occur.

3. Does your school district follow copyright laws?
I would certainly like to think we do!  With that said, policing and supervising the office copier is definitely one of my very low priorities throughout the course of the work day.  I do feel that our staff understands copyright restrictions and that our administration does a decent job of supporting those laws and doesn't promote breaking them.

4. What are your feelings about copyright laws?
Well obviously I understand the importance of the laws and certainly realize that, just like any other property, intellectual property should be valued and protected.  It does, at times, get to be a little gray though.  For example, two of our schools were a part of the Reading First grant and, with money through the grant, we bought copies of lesson maps for teachers to use when implementing their reading lessons.  The lesson maps are very structured tools that assist teachers in using the core textbook to plan high quality lessons that meet all of the Big 5 areas of reading instruction.  Many teachers took the high frequency words listed in the template and turned them into a smart board lesson which they created.  According to the copyright laws, those smartboard lessons could not be shared with teachers from the buildings that did not have the lesson maps, even though they were created by the teacher.  That seems a little extreme to me as I'm not sure a list of words (especially if they are put into a different order) qualify as intellectual property.  With that said, I'm not a lawyer and kind of like my job (and freedom) so we purchased the lesson maps for the other two schools.  :-)

Quiz 1 - October 2nd, 2010 EDU 615

1. Why should a school district have a website?  What should be on the website?

The two primary functions of a website, in my opinion, are as a vehicle for promoting your school and as a tool to share pertinant information with the community.  As has been discussed in our class, the responsibility to promote the local school district is paramount.  Be it to build public support for a project, attract possible families and students to the school, or even as a recruitment device for future employees, the school's website will often serve as that critical first impression for a school.  Secondly, a good website should serve as a provider of information for the public.  From the school lunch menu to upcoming events to the dissemination of test data, the website can serve as a great tool for people to stay connected to their local district.

As to the contents of the website, there are many things that I feel are essential; most notable among them is that it be kept current!  A website with outdated information appears shoddy, unprofessional, and reflects poorly on the district.  Obviously upcoming events, handbooks, links to teacher websites, and pictures of students and their activities are all components of an effective website.  Also, a teacher's page which provides links to the electronic copies of important school documents is important.

2. How do administrators and school boards keep a current vision of technology and the future?

Obviously each school must have a vision for the future, and any vision that is not integrally related to technology is doomed from the onset.  Probably the biggest key in meeting this vision is also the answer most often stated as weaknesses by various districts; and that is professional development.  There is no way that anyone, much less a busy school administrator or school board member, can be expected to just know about the changes in technology.  As has so often been mentioned, our world and the pace of technology is growing exponentially, so the need to stay up to date and be educated is of the utmost importance.  Whether it is through the investment of money or time, school leaders must commit the resources to professional development both with themselves and their staffs.

3. What information from the CEO Forum website is most useful?  How can that information be used?

For me personally, the STaR Chart was the most beneficial part of the CEO Forum.  The STaR chart served as an excellent tool to identify a district's strengths and weaknesses in the broad field of technology.  I see that information being useful in a variety of capacities.  Everything from educating the public on school needs to identifying the critical ways in which the school needs to focus their technology investment in order to improve learning.  But most significantly, the STaR Chart could serve as a baseline for the district's technology committee (and then for the administration and school board) as it develops a vision for how to best invest it's precious resources to meet future needs.  As one might guess, the investment in many schools, as indicated by completion of the STaR chart, should probably shift from heavy financial commitments in hardware to providing on-going professional development for staff so that they can use the already existing hardware more effectively for the students.

4. What are Web 2.0 tools?  How can these tools be used by schools to enhance classroom instruction?

Web 2.0 tools include things like Wiki Pages, blogs, and podcasts.  The distinguishing characteristic of the Web 2.0 tools is the ability it gives users to be interactive with others.  While earlier 1.0 versions were great ways for individuals to access data and ride the "information superhighway", the 2.0 tool truly gives people from all over the globe the ability to connect with one another.  This level of universal interaction moves the way that information is shared, and the speed of that collaboration, into an entirely new realm.  Blogs and Wikis allow like-minded individuals to connect in ways that even a decade ago would not have been thought of and has "personalized" the internet in ways previously not even imagined.

The possibilities that this brings to the classroom are endless.  While the 1.0 tools brought an unheard amount of information to the students' fingertips, the 2.0 version brings the information to life!  The interactive component of 2.0 increases student engagement and motivation in classroom activities tremendously.  What was once "just another report" now becomes an on-line chat and debate.  Instead of listening to only the assertive and outgoing students share ideas and thoughts, now the more reflective and introverted student has an opportunity to show classmates and teachers their knowledge base and values.  While information/education is power, the ability to use that information to exert influence is what leads to real power and success in today's world.  The 2.0 tools expands the ability for all learners to express themselves in a group setting.

5. What is CyberBullying?  What can schools do to help prevent CyberBullying?

Throw away all computers and destroy all cell phones, pagers, I-pods, etc!  Obviously that is not a serious answer.  Sadly, CyberBullying is just an electronic extension of what bullying has always been, and that is a form of harrassment that demeans and threatens our children.  The difference between CyberBullying and what we may consider traditional bullying is frightening because there is no escape from CyberBullying in today's world.  As connected as we all are, students are subjected to the harassment even in what should be the safety of their own homes.  Also, CyberBullying is more dangerous in that the sheer volume of harassers can be expanded because of the nature of electronic communications and the ability to spread gossip, compromising pictures, etc. so rapidly. 

As far as preventing it, there is no cure.  However, like all bullying, the best recipe involves a combination of empathy building and education.  It is critical that we try to build empathy between the bully and the victim by making them understand the pain and hurt that they are causing.  Also, we must educate young people on not only ways to avoid being targets, but also about the technology itself so that they understand the "permanent" nature of all electronic messaging and how those words or pictures almost never disappear.