TF+Standard6

Technology opens many new issues for society. It is easier to do do many things that challenge our ethical and moral beliefs. Internet safety is just one aspect of that, but one that the entire society must face. media type="custom" key="6465281"


 * Technology Facilitator and Leadership Standard 6: Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues**

As a technology coach and technology leader in my district, I deal with this standard all the time. Technology brings such power that we haven't had before. Educators are used to using anything they want without actually considering whether they have the right to use it or not. In the past that involved copying worksheets and book pages. I remember hearing all the time that teachers were the worst thieves, which is a terribly sad statement about any group of professionals. Now technology allows us to steal any type of content from music to images as well as books and worksheets. Those legal infractions used to be limited to the classroom or the building, but with more and more districts creating web sites and expecting teachers to maintain website, those violations are literally broadcast around the world. That doesn't make it any worse, it just makes it easier to be caught. I teach copyright issues as part of my job. That wasn't part of my internship documented time, but it is a very important part of my job. As a leader, I also have to provide an example. In the courses I teach, some of them were documented in my internship log, I make sure to cite sources and tell who owns the content that is used. Fair Use provisions of the copyright laws allow teachers to use copyrighted content more freely for educational purposes and they allow students to use content even more than teachers as long as they are working on something that is used in the pursuit of an academic objective. Many teachers do require students to cite sources, but that is very important when teaching students that they can't just take content. I work with teachers to make sure they are teaching kids that we cite sources because the information doesn't belong to them.

The course that I designed for all teachers to complete in their second year included a section on Internet safety. We have to make sure we are teaching students to protect themselves on the Internet. This includes searching for information and staying away from inappropriate content, as well as determining whether information is accurate and credible. It also means teaching kids what information they can share and who they should believe. I also designed a module in my course to teach teachers about cyberbullying. We have to teach kids how to collaborate and interact online without intimidating and insulting others. Then we have to teach them how to deal with criticism. There is a difference between criticism and harassment and we have to teach kids to understand that difference so they won't hurt others and so they can recognize the what others are doing.

Thinkuknow. (Producer). (2008). //Internet safety video//. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Z48UcTdQo Williamson, J, & Redish, T. (2009). //ISTE's technology facilitation and leadership standards//. Eugene, OR: International Society of Technology in Education.