Activity 9 -

Scenario 1 - 

Miss Starbuck decided to have her reading students use Blogger to create blog posts. The students were really excited about the idea. Many started to log in from home and create posts and comment on each other's work, but their posts quickly go out of hand. One student figured out how to post photos and included dangerous details like names and locations. Other students posted mean comments about classmates. An angry parent complained to the principal. who was unaware that Miss Starbuck was using Blogger in the first place.

I love the idea of using blogs in the classroom. It is a great way to engage studetns, plus it is an interesting way for them to demonstrate their learning. However, one of our jobs as educators is to create a safe learning environment. Miss Starbuck sacrificed students safety and well-being in her classroom by using Blogger without creating or addressing classroom expectations while using technology. I believe she gave her students too much freedom too soon. She needed more pre-teaching of online etiquette before giving her students free reign to use blogger in any way they see fit. She also needs to inform parents that Blogger will be used in class and the expectations their students will need to follow at school as well as at home. Lastly, she should have started all of this by discussing with her principal her plans of how she is going to use Blogger in her room.

If I were in this situation, I would begin the year by teaching students my school districts policy's, as well as use lesson plans from google that address how students should interact responsibly online. I would also review the school bullying policy and teach my students that bullying policies apply to face to face interactions, as well as online interactions. I would spend the first month or two on classroom policies and guidelines before sending homework that requires the use of our classroom technology, and using the technology to demonstrate learning.

I plan on starting this school year by teaching my students how to be responsible online citizens. I will implement consequences within my classroom that are seperate from school policy. If I become aware of students who are breaking classroom and district educational policies, not only will they be sacrificing their own use of technology in the classroom that they will need to earn back, but I will have alternate assignments and mediums to use for those students to use in technologies place. My hope is that making these expectations and consequences clear to students and showing them that I will uphold them, will keep them honest about their technology use.  I am excited to educate my students on the use of technology and how to utilize it to enhance their own learning, but not at the cost of students safety and well-being.


Scenario 2 - 

Mr. Kirk is excited to use Google Apps for Education with his third grade students. He jumps in with both feet and his classes are off and running. Because he started so quickly, he never thought about putting policies and procedures in place. After a few weeks, students are spending more time off task than on. They are creating and sharing Docs as a way to bully each other, adding inappropriate comments in Google Classroom, and deleting or changing other students' work. Mr. Kirk doesn't know what to do, so he suspends all technology use in his class, abandoning it completely and any of its benefits.

Google Apps for Education are going to be powerful in the classroom, but as I said in an earlier post, expectations and education are needed before allowing students to use at their own will. I think this scenario is similar to the first one, in that the teacher did not do enough preteaching before jumping in. He sacrificed student well-being because he was so excited to use specific tools. He did not set clear expectations for the students. He assumed that they knew how to behave with technology when they did not. I think that if he started with technology education and expectations, he would have saved himself time and stress. 

The second major mistake Mr. Kirk made was to abandon the use of technology after it failed the first time. It reminded me of a teacher who has completely lost control of a situation and they start creating consequences that are almost impossible to hold up. I think it shows that Mr. Kirk himself might need a little more technology education. HE may understand how to use this technology, but he needs to be educated on how to teach students to use it. He has to learn new practices to implement instead just jumping ship. He needs to start over from square one and be more direct and focused on what he teaches while remembering not to assume students understand what he wants them to. I would begin my year by educating my students on the district technology policies, making sure they understand to respect others, themselves, and the organization who is allowing them to use their resources. Students need to understand that they will be held accountable for their actions online. This structure needs to be in place and understood before they are allowed freedom with online resources. I would also keep coming back to these policies and practices throughout the year so it stays fresh in their minds. I would revisit if we had any problems using these tools as well, instead of giving up. 

I think that apps and technology are like anything else being taught. You as a teacher can not assume that students know something. They need to be taught, need practice and need to be assessed. It needs to be revisited and retaught when it isn't mastered. Most importantly students need to be held accountable for their actions.