When using new technologies in the classroom, schools need to have a clear set of goals and policies in regards to their uses. Also, ethics, policy development and responsibility need to math the overall goals of the educational system (Friel, 2001). Our students must follow acceptable use policies set forth by the school system to ensure both online safety and responsible use (Friel, 2001). As teachers, we need to model appropriate uses of technologies and teach our students how to evaluate information, especially information found on the internet (Friel, 2001).
Students need to be information literate, meaning that they need to learn the skills to distinguish valid information from that which is invalid (Friel, 2001). As a Civics teacher, I deal with various forms of primary and secondary sources and I am always trying to get my students to ask questions about where the information came from. All too often, we see students pulling information off the internet and taking it at face value. I am always pushing my students to be critical of what they read, see or hear. To be truly effective in this goal, a school needs the collaboration of all staff members, especially media specialists and librarians (Friel, 2001).
Acceptable use is always a controversial topic since the first amendment is blurred when it comes to expression online and in other forms of media (Friel, 2001). In my county, we do have policies set in place in every school dictating exactly how computers should be used and we also have blocking software in place to keep our students away from less than savory websites. However, this brings up the question of knowing when and how to block access. Still, I agree with the article in that teaching responsible use is the best solution to avoiding uncomfortable online situations (Friel, 2001).
“Educators must teach students the importance of citing all of their sources, no matter what the format” (Friel, 2001, p. 128). See, it is that easy to avoid plagiarism. Even in my class, I encourage the students to cite even information found in the text. We practice writing and this helps reinforce responsibility. I know that there are websites that actually sell term papers and teachers of secondary and post secondary students often have to deal with these situations. Yet, as Friel stated, we need to teach proper use early in order for students to get the message (2001). Should a cheating or inappropriate use situation arise in my class, I just follow the school discipline procedures as appropriate for the situation. I have been teaching for four years and our use policies are solid enough that I have never had any complaints or questioning of my actions regarding proper use.
Our students have the tools to learn. We just need to teach them how to act responsibly.
Reference
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.
4 comments:
This reminds me of the new test by ETC on information literacy. What do you think…could we pass this test?
Here is an article to get you started in your quest
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=6725
Kevin, good job on having your students cite all of their sources, even out of the textbook. It may seem unnecessary to them, but it is great practice for them, especially those who are planning on going to college. I think it’s better to be too “strict,” than too lenient. I think that a lot of student have a hard time understanding that stealing someone’s words is the same as stealing someone’s personal property; you’re only allowed to borrow it with permission. I’m impressed that you’re pushing the issue of plagiarism and source reliability in Civics. Although plagiarism doesn’t become a huge factor until high school, it’s best to start teaching students the correct way as early as possible. I would bet that many teachers think that those topics are the responsibility of English teachers to cover. You are benefiting your students, I know, by helping them become accustomed to analyzing and documenting where their information comes from. I suppose that many young kids are so naïve that they wouldn’t understand why someone would publish information that wasn’t true. It doesn’t make any sense, right? If students need to research information they should be able to search the entire internet, without having to worry about misled, but they can’t.
I agree with you that teaching kids how to use the internet responsibly is the best approach to dealing with inappropriate computer use. I’m sure that it is tempting for kids to look up free term papers, pornography, drug paraphernalia, etc. With the internet, the whole world is at your fingertips; they can get information on things that they never knew existed. I understand how it is; I was innocent, once. I think the best way to deal with those situations is to tell them that under no circumstances are those searches allowed to be performed at school, and if they are then there will be consequences. Then, I would try to explain why they should avoid looking at those sites on their home computers. Not only do you get a ridiculous amount of pop-ups, but looking at the wrong sites can get you into legal trouble. Teachers should talk to students in a rationale way and take the time to explain the way that their actions lead to certain results, often negative ones. I always enjoy reading your blog, Kevin. Until next week….
I can relate to many of your comments. Two that struck chords were in regard to students lifting information at face value and failure to cite sources. My two inclusion English classes just completed a research project for me in which they created individual PowerPoints on a contributor to the Harlem Renaissance. What was troubling to me was that these kids are in 11th grade, yet they reacted as if they had never been asked to cite their sources and had never heard of a parenthetical citation! I'd ask a student where they found a piece of information and they would respond "Google" (a search engine, not a source) or "Wikipedia" (an online encyclopedia that ANYONE can add information to!). Granted many of these students do not aspire to go to 4-year colleges, however the ability to evaluate and sort through information is a critical life skill. The assignment shifted my focus from appreciating the Harlem Renaissance (with arefresher on citing sources) to instead learning how & why to use the library's database (there is more to life and research than Google), explaing how to differentiate between primary and secondary sources, and focusing on how to format/cite sources with an introduction to parenthetical citations. Just goes to show you teachers need to be flexible :) ...but back to my point, it was discouraging that these kids had little training in how to use the Internet and cite sources. You, Kevin, are doing you kids a great service. If these kids had not taken my class, there is a decent chance they would have made it through high school thinking "Google" equal "fact" and these is no need to document sources. Frightening.
To be able to use the internet is a great tool, especially to a Social Studies teacher. The internet allows teachers to bring students closer to history, government, geography, and economics. It makes sense to use it as much and whenever it is possible.
I understand why filters are placed on the school computers-we all know there is a VERY big difference between whitehouse. org and whitehouse.com(I'm sure I am not the only one who has made THAT mistake!!!) There will also be that one teacher who doesn't really interact with his/her students and sits on the computer while the students are doing "busy" work. Because of these reasons they are necessary, although I believe that the software to detect plagiarism-not only to detect cheating, but also as a tool where a teacher could point out necessary citations. In schools I have been in, it has been available-but few knew about it or how to use it-so I would not consider it accessible, but I do feel it would be a valuable tool to curb a major problem with today's students.
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