Large corporations look toward the educational community to populate their companies with qualified employees. It is well worth the investment of corporate dollars to help teachers keep abreast of technology to better educate their potential employees.
Corporation often award grants to teachers who can show a project has merit and needs funding. Also a corporation’s help to a community it services shows itself to be neighborhood friendly. Corporation often sends funds to their alma maters. If a person has received an education that has help to make that person successful, they often send monies to that institution. Research is another way that corporations help educators. Often time’s college professors perform research in specific areas that require monies that a university cannot afford to keep funding. For example, research in turning corn into fuel. Many companies may look forward to funding any research in an attempt to be on the breaking edge of new technology. Although companies have research specialist, a new mind can always fresh idea to the table, that researchers may not have thought of.
Corporations have the resources and funding to invest in new technology that school districts and universities can not. Therefore, it is well worth their time and money to fund training for teachers/instructors and professors to learn what is new. This information can then be taught to upcoming employees and saves corporations from having to employee teachers on their payrolls. It is cheaper to fund a research project or educate a teacher to train students than to employ a group of teachers, and pay medical benefits, salaries and retirement benefits.
Not only does large corporation give to educational endeavors, some small companies do also. Often companies are looking for people to try out new products. What better way then to contribute to a local school. Students get the chance to use new products and companies get feedback that will make their product better. If a student starts out using a certain product research has proven they will stay with that product. There are many word processing products on the market; however, more popular by far is Microsoft WORD. Microsoft just about gives it software to educational institutions. This will prove profitable when students buy software for their own private use at home. Microsoft is not the only company practicing this kind of sales for the future. GPS monitoring systems does the same, and school calculators companies like “Texas Instruments” also have educator grants.
If a teacher can find the time to do research and write letters and grant applications, he/she can find monies to help their school district keep up with emerging technology.
Monday, November 19, 2007
IT645 Chapter 11 Q1 What are the legal, social, and ethical issues arising in the Digital Age? Summarize each.
Technology from an educational perspective carries with it both good applications and also areas of concern that could cause problems. The major areas of concern when implementing technology are legal issues, social issues, and ethical issues.
Legal issues covers the areas of copyright, privacy, acceptable use and piracy. In education there has always been an acceptable use policy for students and teachers (Fair Use doctrine). That use is an acceptable but limited number of pages of a document or second/minutes of sound or video. These policies are place so as not to cheat the owner of revenue generated from the product. Today’s technology allows for this information to be obtain easier than every before. As a professional, teachers are responsible for being gate keepers for checking whether a student document his/her work properly. This concern brought about the development of software packages like Turnitin, Plagiazed, and Copycatch that scan papers for illegal and improper use of student papers.
Privacy is another legal issue that has emerged o the technology scene. Every citizen (man, woman, or child) has privacy rights. As an educator, you must get permission to share information about information that you have gotten from a student which could be construed as private whether inadvertent or intentional that results in abuse. Also, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) passed in 1998 protects the information gathered by minors on the internet from misuse.
A few tips for teachers are: (1) keeping confidential information in a confidential and secured area as it refers to electronic equipment, (2) guard you login names and passwords, (3) secure storage devices (floppies, cd-rw, and USB devices), (4) also guard students photographs as well.
If a teacher’s his/herself abides by the Fair Use Doctrine, a Code of Professional Ethics and school guide lines then students should be fine. Most school districts also have purchased filtering software to keep students safe from questionable materials. This software keeps students away from sited by trying to access improper sites and also by using Keyword that would access questionable sites. Sometimes this poses a problem for students doing research. For instant “breast cancer”, however there are still libraries to access information. More than likely this would be a problem for high school students.
Software Piracy is another legal concern. Software piracy is the illegal use of software like making copies of music CDs or movies on video tapes or CD. A teacher should not engage in this practice nor allow students to use such stolen information. Any software that a teacher uses should be controlled by a network administrator.
Social issues in the digital age cover a number of issues such as equity and accessibility of software. Equity concerns the have’s and have not’s. The benefits of technology are often expenses. Every student does not have a computer at home, the internet, or the most advanced digital equipment that could help to keep the students abreast of what is going on in the world. A teacher has to be careful to assign projects within the limits of the class as a whole. The best scenario is to make sure that the class has an opportunity to go to the computer lab as a class to gain necessary information. We refer to this as the digital divide. The digital divide transcends not only socio-economic concerns but also gender differences, educational lines and even persons with disabilities often cannot get access to the latest or greatest technology. Sometimes students have computers but can not afford the monthly internet cost. Although we have come along way, teachers still have to keep in mind that everyone does not have the technology tools and access to complete assignments.
Although our country was built on the principle of “freedom of Speech”, there are still concerns that involve the internet that calls for searching for a definition that will include the new technologies. We have touched upon these issues earlier with inappropriate sites for children, academic honesty, and the right to have a view point does not necessarily give an internet site academic credibility. Although technology changes daily and we try to keep abreast of the information and tools such as wireless networking, WiFi technology and visual reality games, it is still important for an education to keep abreast of all this new information and make sure that “all” students have access to your knowledge. This often requires school districts to investigate the technology before investing in it.
Good Luck.
Legal issues covers the areas of copyright, privacy, acceptable use and piracy. In education there has always been an acceptable use policy for students and teachers (Fair Use doctrine). That use is an acceptable but limited number of pages of a document or second/minutes of sound or video. These policies are place so as not to cheat the owner of revenue generated from the product. Today’s technology allows for this information to be obtain easier than every before. As a professional, teachers are responsible for being gate keepers for checking whether a student document his/her work properly. This concern brought about the development of software packages like Turnitin, Plagiazed, and Copycatch that scan papers for illegal and improper use of student papers.
Privacy is another legal issue that has emerged o the technology scene. Every citizen (man, woman, or child) has privacy rights. As an educator, you must get permission to share information about information that you have gotten from a student which could be construed as private whether inadvertent or intentional that results in abuse. Also, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) passed in 1998 protects the information gathered by minors on the internet from misuse.
A few tips for teachers are: (1) keeping confidential information in a confidential and secured area as it refers to electronic equipment, (2) guard you login names and passwords, (3) secure storage devices (floppies, cd-rw, and USB devices), (4) also guard students photographs as well.
If a teacher’s his/herself abides by the Fair Use Doctrine, a Code of Professional Ethics and school guide lines then students should be fine. Most school districts also have purchased filtering software to keep students safe from questionable materials. This software keeps students away from sited by trying to access improper sites and also by using Keyword that would access questionable sites. Sometimes this poses a problem for students doing research. For instant “breast cancer”, however there are still libraries to access information. More than likely this would be a problem for high school students.
Software Piracy is another legal concern. Software piracy is the illegal use of software like making copies of music CDs or movies on video tapes or CD. A teacher should not engage in this practice nor allow students to use such stolen information. Any software that a teacher uses should be controlled by a network administrator.
Social issues in the digital age cover a number of issues such as equity and accessibility of software. Equity concerns the have’s and have not’s. The benefits of technology are often expenses. Every student does not have a computer at home, the internet, or the most advanced digital equipment that could help to keep the students abreast of what is going on in the world. A teacher has to be careful to assign projects within the limits of the class as a whole. The best scenario is to make sure that the class has an opportunity to go to the computer lab as a class to gain necessary information. We refer to this as the digital divide. The digital divide transcends not only socio-economic concerns but also gender differences, educational lines and even persons with disabilities often cannot get access to the latest or greatest technology. Sometimes students have computers but can not afford the monthly internet cost. Although we have come along way, teachers still have to keep in mind that everyone does not have the technology tools and access to complete assignments.
Although our country was built on the principle of “freedom of Speech”, there are still concerns that involve the internet that calls for searching for a definition that will include the new technologies. We have touched upon these issues earlier with inappropriate sites for children, academic honesty, and the right to have a view point does not necessarily give an internet site academic credibility. Although technology changes daily and we try to keep abreast of the information and tools such as wireless networking, WiFi technology and visual reality games, it is still important for an education to keep abreast of all this new information and make sure that “all” students have access to your knowledge. This often requires school districts to investigate the technology before investing in it.
Good Luck.
Monday, November 12, 2007
IT645 Chptr 10 Q2 What is Distance Leaning? What types of support are critical to the success of distance education? Why?
In the beginning Distance Learning was a term that was associated with affording students from rural community the same opportunity as large urban or suburban communities as it relates to receiving instruction for subjects that would otherwise not be available to students. A student wishing to take calculus or Latin could sign up for the class and receive the information via the mail, much like an independent study course. At first, “nontraditional instruction” was receiving subjects via mail. Students would do assignments and return the packages to a teacher to be graded. The postal system is slow at best and does not allow for communication between student and teachers. Individual instruction was lost without the exchanged between teacher and student.
The idea of Distance Learning would evolve to include more and better technology that helped to develop the ideas about learning in a more non-traditional way. New technology in the telephone arena has developed teleconferencing. Satellite technology has enabled video conferencing. Computers have added the ability to have chat rooms and email. The internet can have complete syllabus available to everyone without waiting days for the postal services to get a package from point A to point B.
The most importance component for success in this scenario of learning is timely and accurate exchange of communications between teacher and student. More and more school districts are allowing this way to teaching to become available to students. Students may be home bound due to illness, or like many child-stars not available during traditional hours as students without a work obligation. Student athletics who have rigorous practice schedules can now take an Distance Learning class and not loose any credits toward graduation.
Timely communication between student and teacher is critical. If a teacher can respond to a student via email, or chat room then learning is not put on the side while awaiting a response through the postal system. Satellite vide conferencing allows student to see a teacher interacting in present time with students. A student can see a teacher lecturing and posing scenarios on a white-board. Even the use of the telephone to call parents on the phone to discuss a student’s progress is a plus in communication.
These forms of feedback are crucial to a student understanding the subject information and also having an instructor to learn how to alter instruction for each individual student. The key to this success is built around planning and a great deal of problem solving before the situation occurs. A master flow chart need to be designed that has a solution for every possible problem that a student and/or teacher could experience. Therefore, Distance Learning is still a work in progress.
The idea of Distance Learning would evolve to include more and better technology that helped to develop the ideas about learning in a more non-traditional way. New technology in the telephone arena has developed teleconferencing. Satellite technology has enabled video conferencing. Computers have added the ability to have chat rooms and email. The internet can have complete syllabus available to everyone without waiting days for the postal services to get a package from point A to point B.
The most importance component for success in this scenario of learning is timely and accurate exchange of communications between teacher and student. More and more school districts are allowing this way to teaching to become available to students. Students may be home bound due to illness, or like many child-stars not available during traditional hours as students without a work obligation. Student athletics who have rigorous practice schedules can now take an Distance Learning class and not loose any credits toward graduation.
Timely communication between student and teacher is critical. If a teacher can respond to a student via email, or chat room then learning is not put on the side while awaiting a response through the postal system. Satellite vide conferencing allows student to see a teacher interacting in present time with students. A student can see a teacher lecturing and posing scenarios on a white-board. Even the use of the telephone to call parents on the phone to discuss a student’s progress is a plus in communication.
These forms of feedback are crucial to a student understanding the subject information and also having an instructor to learn how to alter instruction for each individual student. The key to this success is built around planning and a great deal of problem solving before the situation occurs. A master flow chart need to be designed that has a solution for every possible problem that a student and/or teacher could experience. Therefore, Distance Learning is still a work in progress.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
IT-645 Chptr 9 Q3 Why is it important to preview and evaluate videos? What tools should you use to be sure a video is communicating the intended mes
It is important to preview and evaluate videos for relevance to the subject being taught, to make sure the information is current and engaging, to make sure that the technical quality of the video is good quality and to be able to have time to create supportive materials for the students. This is seems like a long list of criteria needed to select a video for an educational goal, however it will save you in the long run. Videos that are to broad in scope will loose the viewer. It is important to show only information that is key to the lesson since in most classes time is of the essence. First, even before showing a video, parents should have signed any parental form necessary. In many school districts, the principal also has to give permission. This is a safety for the teacher, the school and the school district.
Before permission slips are sent out, it is understood that the following tasks have been performed. The instructor has viewed the video for elements that add clarity to the curriculum concepts for the lesson being taught. Often times a whole video is not required, you may only need to show a few minutes instead of a whole hour video. Previewing a video allows a teacher to select what is important and identify where it on the media, so it will start up instantly.
After identifying and deciding what you will show to your students, it is then important to create a worksheet or study guide that keeps the students engaged. This information can be written while watching the video or after it is complete. It helps students to stay focused on what is important.
Video technology allows to teachers to bring current information in the classroom. This is often more up-to-date than waiting on a book to be published. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the information is accurate and current. Student will rely on the information that you give them as fact.
Lastly, there is nothing that will loose the attention of students more quickly than a technically, poorly produced video. The information should have clear, crisp graphics and the sound should be clear. Students are more likely to remember information that plays smoothly and to be less disruptive if they are kept busy.
Creating a Video Evaluation Sheet that cover the eras of concern as discussed earlier, will save you time and assure you of a smooth visual experience. You are assuring yourself, parents, and students of a great learning experience that will stay with students for a long time.
Before permission slips are sent out, it is understood that the following tasks have been performed. The instructor has viewed the video for elements that add clarity to the curriculum concepts for the lesson being taught. Often times a whole video is not required, you may only need to show a few minutes instead of a whole hour video. Previewing a video allows a teacher to select what is important and identify where it on the media, so it will start up instantly.
After identifying and deciding what you will show to your students, it is then important to create a worksheet or study guide that keeps the students engaged. This information can be written while watching the video or after it is complete. It helps students to stay focused on what is important.
Video technology allows to teachers to bring current information in the classroom. This is often more up-to-date than waiting on a book to be published. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the information is accurate and current. Student will rely on the information that you give them as fact.
Lastly, there is nothing that will loose the attention of students more quickly than a technically, poorly produced video. The information should have clear, crisp graphics and the sound should be clear. Students are more likely to remember information that plays smoothly and to be less disruptive if they are kept busy.
Creating a Video Evaluation Sheet that cover the eras of concern as discussed earlier, will save you time and assure you of a smooth visual experience. You are assuring yourself, parents, and students of a great learning experience that will stay with students for a long time.
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