Blog Journal 2 (Due 9/18/17)

Of all the different kinds of technology I have used as a student thus far, I would say that MS Word is the one I have used most often. Therefore, it is the one I am most comfortable with. I rely on it for the vast majority of my papers and essays, along with other things such as charts and tables. I know that there are many other places to make charts and tables that are more efficient, but because MS Word is within my comfort zone, I usually fall back on it. However, while I am sure MS Word proves useful for teachers in some ways, it is rare that I see teachers use it while teaching. Generally speaking, I judge teachers who present something on word as less professional than the ones who have a powerpoint presentation ready. I can think of several ways MS Word could be useful for teachers on a  regular basis however, such as for creating newsletters for parents or typing out syllabuses for students. 

Copyrighting and fair use of materials is a topic that the public school system I grew up in touched on thoroughly time and time again. I remember I was introduced to the concept of what copyrighting was and why it was wrong starting in elementary school, and since then it has been a subject matter than has been brought up in my classes nearly every year. For this reason, I feel as though I have a strong understanding of what copyrighting is, why there are consequences for it and how it is handled in a school setting. As a teacher, it will not be hard to have a zero tolerance policy on copyrighting. It is fairly straight-forward and not difficult to avoid, so once my students are clear on how to site sources and avoid copyrighting, I will expect that it never happens. I have found that as a student, many teachers have presented me with boring, confusing materials on siting sources and fair use of materials. Developing more interesting, easy to follow guidelines on copyrighting would make it easier for me as a teacher and my students as well. 

Along with the implementation of technology in the education system, there arise many possible social, legal and ethical issues. A major one that we already see happening today is cyberbullying. This is an issue that I would have a zero tolerance policy for. There is no reason for teachers to be anything but strict when it comes to cyberbullying. As a teacher I will be clear and straight-forward with parents on my policy as well, and what I expect of their child so that they can enforce this from home. I believe that while there is a lot that a teacher can do, much of the responsibility lies on the parents in terms of what children are allowed to do on technology and what guidelines are in place at home. In my opinion parents are the first and in some ways, most important teachers and what they do has a huge impact on their children. Academic honesty is a second issue that could arise with the implementation of technology. Along with another zero tolerance policy, I would make sure to first develop and present an effective lesson for my students to make sure they understand what is and is not academic honesty. Afterward, I can enforce it in a strict way. A final issue that could arise is the invasion of people's right to privacy. For this issue, I would include parents again and inform them of what I expect of their children. I am a big believer in parent involvement and education because of the huge influence parents have on their kids. If I can get parents on board with enforcing respect to people's right to privacy, it will be easier for me to educate my students on what it means to respect someones privacy, why we should do it, how to do it, and the serious consequences if they don't do it.