Ethics for the Information Age, Chp. 6

I thought that the most interesting part of this chapter was the discussion on online voting. I can see where this could be a convenient option for many people. However, I'm concerned with the safety and reliability of this idea. After all we have learned in this course about hackers and the ways that technology can be misused, I do not think I would be comfortable with online voting. The risks just seem to outweigh the benefits in this case.

Ethics for the Information Age, Chp. 5

In this chapter of the reading, I was most interested in the topic of identity theft. It's such a scary thought, but one that everyone definitely needs to be aware of. The closest I've ever come to this issue was when I had a roommate whose credit card company notified her because they noticed suspicious activity on her account. What a lucky break for her! Unfortunately, we can't always count on being that lucky. In the text, the author discusses the REAL ID Act, which would essentially be a national ID card for citizens of the US. I can agree with points made for both sides of this issue. I definitely think that we need to have stricter guidelines for getting a driver's license (multiple forms of ID for example). Also, I have known so many people over the years (especially in college!) who were able to get their hands on a reliable fake ID. It seems there should be some way to make the IDs harder to counterfeit. So in these ways, I think the REAL ID Act would be a good thing. However, on the flip side, there are concerns that too much information would be available in one file. This is a disturbing thought, but I can't really think of any viable alternatives. So basically, this part of the chapter really made me think about things that my family and I need to do to try and safeguard ourselves against identity theft. I think our best defense in this case is keeping ourselves informed.

Article Review #6 "Filtering Software: The Educators Speak Out"

In the article "Filtering Software: The Educators Speak Out," Linda Starr compiled a sequence of responses on school filtering software from educators around the country. Filtering technology came into play in schools as a result of the Children's Internet Protection Act of 1999. Many different viewpoints were presented in the article but the majority of the educators believed that filtering software was necessary to protect students from obscene and potentially harmful material on the Internet. In addition, filtering provides some protection for educators when dealing with parental expectations for students. On the other hand, some educators view the software as a hassle and in one instance a form of censorship. My opinion on filtering software is in line with the majority of educators responding in the article. I do not want the responsibility of trying to make sure that none of my students are visiting inappropriate sites. In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to worry about students doing this because they know it would be wrong. But as educators, we need to be realistic. I like the idea presented in the article of giving our students their own sense of filtering by discussing appropriate Internet etiquette with them. However, knowing that the filtering software is in place is reassuring for me personally.

Article Review #5 "Virtual High Schools: The High Schools of the Future?"

In the article "Virtual High Schools: The High Schools of the Future?" Glori Chaika discusses the many benefits of current online high schools. According to Chaika, virtual schools can even the playing field for students living anywhere by allowing them to take courses they might not have access to otherwise. Also, virtual schools are a huge benefit for students who have problems or difficulties with traditional high schools (i.e. illness, phobias, drop-outs, etc.). I think that Chaika makes some excellent points and I can definitely see how virtual schools could be a good thing in many ways. However, I see problems with virtual schools as well, and Chaika did not address this side of the issue at all. The biggest problem that I would foresee for students in virtual school would be the lack of socialization. I know that I feel much less connected to classmates in this on-line class than I do when I see them regularly face-to-face. As an adult, I don't see this as a huge problem, but I believe that teenagers need to engage in face-to-face socialization with teachers and peers on a regular basis. However, I do believe that virtual schools definitely have a place in our current educational system, and all of the benefits that Chaika discusses indicate why that is true.

Article Review #4 "In Classroom, Computers Often Yield More Glitz Than Guts"

Brenda Dyck, in her article "In Classroom, Computers Often Yield More Glitz Than Guts," discusses how the important learning enhancing aspects of technology are often overshadowed by all of the cool tricks and imagery that are made possible. I agree with Dyck on this point. She discusses how when she first started requiring students to use technology on projects, the content of the information was not up to par with the presentations themselves. I have seen similar projects in my own classroom and also agree with Dyck on the ease with which something like this can occur and be allowed. The "bells and whistles" accompanying projects can be extremely impressive, but as educators, we need to remember to keep the focus on the learning and the information. Dyck suggests coming up with projects that involve more than just collecting and sharing information. The more in-depth the project is, the more involved the students become. A couple of the collaborative projects that she mentions in the article gave me some good ideas that I could use in my own Biology classes.

"The Blue Nowhere" Blog #2

I'm now over halfway through the novel "The Blue Nowhere." I still don't know who Phate or Shawn are. It's really frightening to me to think that some of the terrible things Phate does could actually be possible. For instance, when he changed a medication order for a hospital patient just by breaking into the hospital's computer. Imagine if someone actually did something like that. And the way that he can cause power outages just by programming something into the right computer, wow! Another thing that I found myself thinking about was the technology knowledge that the children in the novel are equipped with. Jamie Turner and Bishop's son both know far more about computers than I will probably ever know. In relation to my real life, it can be intimidating as a teacher to know that your students are so beyond you in certain capacities. This is probably one area where many students outshine their teachers. One problem that I have with the novel is trying to wrap my mind around all of the technological talk. I'm afraid that I might be missing something because of my ignorance in this area.

Article Review #3 "Put an End to Plagiarism in Your Classroom"

The article "Put an End to Plagiarism in Your Classroom" by Linda Starr, discusses how to do just that. Plagiarism is a huge problem in schools. Coming from the high school teacher point of view, I deal with the same issues every year when it comes to plagiarism. Starr notes in her article many of the reasons why students plagiarize. Some of the reasons include laziness, lack of confidence in their own work, poor time management skills, unintentional ignorance about plagiarism, and numerous other reasons. I think Starr's information in this article is spot on and every teacher should read this. Included in the article is a link to an awesome "Student Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism" put together by Education World. I will definitely be handing this out to my students when I give the first research assignment in the coming school year. Additionally, I agree with Starr that teachers must discuss all avenues of plagiarism with students so that they know exactly what they can and can't do. I also believe that teachers should be understanding and helpful with students as they are going through the research process. We should check on their progress regularly and redirect when necessary.