Thursday, April 28, 2011

Legal and Ethical Use of Technology in the Classroom

The use of media in the classroom is something that can be legal or illegal. And you always have to remember that copying and pasting is something that is very illegal. Ethical use of technology is knowing where you get the information from and citing where you got the information to give credit where credit is due. I believe that is where the name ethical use comes from because it is ethical to give someone credit when you use their work. It is like saying, "Thank you" to someone who does something nice for you.

I did change my perceptions because when I think back to when I was in high school and middle school I always wondered about how teachers got to use so many sources without citing them. But when we, students, had to do a project or something we always had to cite every single source that we used. But now reading and seeing how fair use can be used in an educational setting makes perfect sense. Also when I read about the lady who took a product from a different company and made it her own for her company and then got caught and lost her job really explains how dangerous and careful you have to be when it comes to copyrighting and copying and pasting.

Ways I would teach Ethics:
  • One way I would teach ethics in my classroom is having the students do a skit. Have the students think of situations where someone could treat another person unethically. Like being rude, talking back to teachers or parents, and just being disrespectful. This would give the students a look into how someone could be treated bad and this could be used to show the kids how people feel when someone copy's the exact same work that they did and gets none of the credit.
  • Another way would be for them to create their very own pictures and it does not matter what it is. And I would take all of their pictures and copy them to where they look exactly alike. After that I would tell the students to find their exact picture. Since there are copies they are not going to be able to find the original. I would then tell them to write how they feel because they got something stolen from them without permission and this is exactly what happens to musicians, artists, and writers. So they need to know  how it feels when that happens so they will know not to do it to others.

My Idea of Legal and Ethical Use of Technology in the Classroom

What I know about the use of electronic text, images, and video in the classroom.

When I think of electronic text it makes me think of textbooks being able to be accessed online so that students would not have to take their textbooks home every day just to do their homework or some reading. Also it makes me think of disks that students could take home and have the whole textbook on that CD for them to be able to access if they do not have their book or if their book is not able to be accessed on the computer.

Images are just pictures that students can use to be able to see and visulize something instead of just hearing about whatever that certain object is. They are used to bring life into the classroom by the students being able to see what it is and have a good understanding of it so they can have a discussion about it or even be able to create something like it if it is an assignment.

Video in the classroom is just another way for students to be able to visualize what really is happening within a situation and be able to talk about it in a discussion setting. Video is something that students are more able to understand than just a lecture. It is something that students can really focus on without getting to bored.