Chapter 10 Using Technology Appropriately

As educators we must make sure that we teach our students appropriate ways to gather information from various sources. It is our job to teach students that any information they get from the internet must be evaluated for accuracy, reliability, and current. Students should be taught early on about plagiarism and the proper way to cite other people’s work. If students are taught to synthesize information and construct their own answers and meanings, that temptation to appropriate others’ ideas as their own is minimized (Friel, 2001). Teachers and media specialist need to collaborate with each other to integrate site evaluation in the curriculum. We can censor the internet sites the students can use or view but ultimately we need to teach our students how to evaluate a website, so that they learn how to do it themselves. Educators must teach students the importance of citing all of their sources, no matter what the format (Friel, 2001).

As a first grade teacher I ask our school IT person about software that I would like to use in my classroom for the students use. I always stick to the rules so I try to stay up to date with what is appropriate for my students. I know that at the beginning of the school year when the school gave me my laptop I signed a (AUP) form. When I use the internet in my first grade classroom I always make sure the material is appropriate.
This chapter really got me thinking about the software that we use in our classroom because I know that other teachers purchase software on their own to use in the school computers. I need to find out what the school policy is on buying and loading personal software in school computers. I think that sometimes there is so much going in the schools that these technology policies are not shared with the entire staff, or maybe a paper is handed out about the policy but not explained.

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. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.