Journal #9

In the article Are Schools Inhibiting 21st Century Learning? by Dave Nagel he discusses students, teachers, parents and administrators' points of view in limiting students use of technology in the classroom. This topic seems to be a double edged sword because on one hand students do feel limited and do not feel that they have the access and use of technology and are being limited to the use of it in school but on the other hand security and control of technology is vital and important in an educational setting. Tools such as social networking are so valuable to people in the real world sharing knowledge with others and increasing your own in so essential in education. There are students that will abuse the privilidge and use this tool inappropriately and schools are liable and responsible so they are not willing to risk any type of exposure to this. I think that this problem could be limited with the focus on technology in schools but educating and bringing teachers up to speed on how to monitor kids use of technology in the classroom and setting the ground rules with their students. Establishing rules and setting expectations within the classroom is the first step. Teachers also need to get updated on the resources and technology that is being used because students knowledge far exceeds many teachers knowledge when it comes to technology. Another important part of using technology successfully in the classroom and benefiting both students and the teacher is to monitor students use and to be sure that all students are using the technology appropriately. An example of this is to have a class blog and monitor students comments and use of blog consistently. If a student abuses their privlidges then they lose them.

How would I handle establishing rules for using technology in my future classroom?

I would have all students sign a contract that establishes a commitment from each student in how they will use the technology that is available to them and that they are responsible for their comments and use of the resources. This will give them a sense of responsibility and they will develop a reputation online.

Do I feel that I am comfortable in using technology in my future classroom?

I feel really confident in using the technology that I have learned and the technology that I really benefit from in my life in my classroom. I really enjoy blogging and reading blogs so I think I will definately use this tool in my classroom for a variety of subjects.