Blog #23: Reading Reflections for 11/16/2009

Articles referenced in this post: “Key Concepts for Digital Photography” by Barbara
“Digital Citizenship: Addressing Appropriate Technology
Behavior” by Miles S. Ribble & Gerald D. Bailey
“Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom, on the Internet, and
the World Wide Web” by University of Maryland University College
+ My own experiences using GIMP.

Using GIMP went fairly smoothly. The interface was different than what I expected as the software is now on a newer version than what was used in Atomic Learning. For some reason, I need to double-click on all of the tool bar features before they work. It also took me a few tries to realize that I must manually select an area before using the paint brush or pen tool. The scale feature in GIMP is particularly helpful in resizing images so that I don’t accidentally exaggerate the width without attending to the length.

The article for today’s reading which was most insightful to me was “Digital Citizenship.” In this writing, the authors categorize the abuses which have accompanied the increased use of technology by young people. One of the categories was titled Inappropriate Communication, and in it the authors mention that many poor writing styles and grammatical errors are encouraged through electronic forms of communication such as e-mail and IM. It’s obvious that the way many people write when they’re chatting online or when they need to send a brief e-mail is extremely informal and stylistically incorrect. These errors are easily translated into their school writing assignments. If students today will be using the keyboard as their main mode of written communication, I think it’s important that we teach them to type well. If a teacher sends an e-mail, he/she should use correct writing style to manifest this philosophy. The author also suggests that teachers only “use e-mails in situations where short responses are most appropriate” (p. 8). This is a great suggestion. Because sending an e-mail is such an easy form of communication, it’s not hard for students to “hide” behind them as opposed to discussing difficult matters in person. It’s important that students value personal communication and know that e-mails cannot be used in all situations.

Under Access, the authors mention that some students still do not have computers in their home. This will depend upon what type of school district a teacher is working in but this has been an issue on my mind throughout our course. I don’t think it’s appropriate for teacher’s to assume that everyone in a class owns a computer. The article notes that only 41% of Blacks and Hispanics are able to use computers in their home as of 2003 (p. 8). On the other hand, some students in certain affluent communities have almost too much access to technology. Under Education, the authors mention that students have been found using cell phones or “hand-helds” to receive answers to tests. This is extremely dangerous. Many schools outlaw the use of cell phones in their buildings during school hours. I believe this may be an effective policy because during the school day, a student’s focus should be on the material that’s provided to them by instructors and on personally interacting with their peers. I know that using technology in the classroom is important and that cell phones are another form of technology, but currently there seems to be too many ways in which these devices can become a distraction.

Another serious concern is discussed under Responsibility, at which point the authors explain how easy it is to download illegal music recordings or copyrighted material off of the internet without giving credit to the author. Such tendencies can turn into a terrible problems as most high schools and certainly universities have strict policies when it comes to plagiarism. Resources on the net are readily available, and it’s great that students have access to copious amounts of information; however, it is imperative that students give credit and that they do not put their own name on writing that is not theirs. With the internet now being in many American homes, I think that high schools need to start emphasizing the dangerous consequences that will accompany plagiarism. With that in mind, it was helpful to read the University of Maryland University College’s “Copyright and Fair Use” document. The most important information was towards the end when it explains fair use policies for educators who are preparing classroom instruction. It seems that as long as the material is not copied often or for more than one class, a teacher is legally allowed to download copyrighted information to share with students. I will definitely keep reviewing this website as I go into my first teaching job.