Filtering in School Computers: My Opinion

Personally, I think that filters on school computers make sense, but they have to be done well. There are, of course, some sites that students shouldn't have access to during school hours or within the school building. Such sites would include sexually explicit sites, those with criminal activity, or even social media sites as they could distract from learning. On the one hand, it's important to keep the learning environment focused on learning. On the other hand, it's also important to keep in mind the limitations that broad strokes filters place on learning. For example, a broad stroke ban on the word “breast” in school computers may, in theory, seem like a good way to keep sexually explicit materials from students, but may in practice lead to frustrated students trying to find information about breast cancer.

The easiest method to filter a school's computer is to ban keywords, such as “breast” or “porn” but the word ban is very simplistic and it doesn't discern the difference between inappropriate sites and medical sites using the word “breast”, or between explicit sites and a news article mentioning “porn” which may still be appropriate for students, especially older students. A truly simplistic word ban may also block an entire news site based on a banned keyword in one article.  A high school student might write about a child pornography case for a civics or journalism class, whereas the same articles would be inappropriate in a setting with younger students.

Consequently, a more fine tuned approach is needed. While a blanket ban on words like “cocaine” would work well in an elementary school setting, it might prevent completely appropriate science or social studies related searches in middle or high school classrooms. A parental controls app, such as Blocksi, that uses a more complex vetting system would better fit the needs of a middle or high school. Even then, there are always exceptions that will come up in every school. The app may malfunction, or it might be overly strict for the school. A certain assignment may present a challenge to the block.

As far as social media sites, there are still exceptions. Mainly, the exception should be made for YouTube, which certainly has applications within the classroom. I could also imagine a project for a civics or citizenship type class about social media and the ways in which laws have to change to accommodate the technology and its uses, including the unfortunate side effect: cyber bullying. For the uses of that class, it would be a good idea to temporarily unblock the social media websites so that students could access these sites for observation.

There is also the issue of proxy servers that will allow students to get around their schools' blocks. These are usually only an issue in high schools and middle schools, as younger students usually don't know how to look for them. As such, the schools need something more than a url block on each type of site.

The filtering system also needs to be on more than one browser, otherwise a student could use or download a different browser to completely circumvent the school filtering systems.

Generally, schools need these blocks to maintain an education focused environment. Just as a teacher would not allow a student to read comic books or pass notes in class, the school needs to prevent as many distractions as they can. Given the technology that now exists, and how necessary it is to students and their education, these blocks need to be sophisticated. It would be worthwhile for each school district, if not the individual schools, to invest in at least one IT professional who can monitor student computer activities in the school buildings. If the budget allows it, each school should really have at least one IT manager. Not only would having an IT tech on hand help to prevent students from breaking through the schools' blocks, but they would be able to catch any virus attacks on the school more quickly, and they would be there to help students, teachers, and other staff with any technical problems arising from the technology we now use in education.   

Is Anonymous Really Anonymous?

I saw a post on Tumblr recently that had a Post Secret style image with words on it.  The words were "I told a stranger on the Internet about my rape, but not my mother."  Below that post was a link to an article about our strange senses of intimacy in this modern, interconnected world.  That really struck a chord with me, because it shows how anonymity tends to equal safety in our minds, even though it doesn't.

This assignment really didn't surprise me much, except that you could find a house's value even when it wasn't on the market.  I searched for the house I grew up in that was sold when I was 13, and found that it had nearly doubled in value in the last 9 years.  That kind of information actually kind of scares me, because a smart scammer could see the house's worth, estimate how much a person's net worth is, and figure out a scam to sue them.  If a suit is strong enough, the defendant could be forced to sell their home to pay the plaintiff.  Of course, this would require a serious devotion to the scam, but I do have anxiety and jump to the worst conclusions.  It's great exercise, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I also actually found myself on Pipl, though not in Missouri.  Rather, the information I found about myself is two states ago, but it does link to many members of my family, even my deceased grandpa.  My friends and I were early adopters of the Googling yourself thing, though, as we started in middle school newspaper class.  Sometimes it's scary to think about your information, but I usually Google myself every six months or so to ensure the information is good information.

When I typed my phone number in, the area where I originally bought the phone came up, but the address the website (Number Panda) had was clearly wrong, even though they only showed "xxxxx xxx Blvd" because I have never lived on any street called a boulevard.  That doesn't worry me, but the amount of sites offering information about phone numbers does make me a little uncomfortable.

The fact that this information is available from searchable sites is scary enough, but when I think about what could be found with better than average hacking skills and worse than average morals, I get overwhelmed with the desire to go full on Hermann Hesse and move to a tiny mountain village.

But what I find really interesting is our concept of anonymity with technology.  My favorite website, Tumblr, has an anonymous message option.  People often use it to ask their favorite blogs for emotional support without having to associate their name with their question or request.  Of course, some people also use it to harass people, but I like to see the good in people.  Internet message boards provide relative anonymity for people to seek help, and that can be a great thing for those experiencing mental illness symptoms or dealing with an abusive relationship.  On the other hand, people reuse usernames, and a quick Google search could bring up more identifiable information from the same username on a different site.

Still, I see the good in the Internet.  While yes, there are horrible things happening, the Internet also allows protesters to get out their message without media censorship, it creates a space for survivors of horrible violations to comfort each other, it allows us to learn from people we have no chance to meet.

We all need to be careful, but don't we anyway?

Technology In The Classroom: Learning From My Classmates

My classmates, most of whom are already in the classroom, are an incredible source of information.  Just reading their posts on the forums I see so many ways technology gets used that I didn't expect or think up.

A lot of them talked about using surveys as quizzes in classrooms, or to receive anonymous feedback from students so they could tweak lesson plans.  I would have never thought to use an electronic quiz through google surveys.  I've seen surveys directly through a college's website, but never through google before.  Using google surveys would be good for middle or high schools because they don't usually have the same IT infrastructure that a university or college does.

As for the feedback, that's something that has always bothered me.  Giving feedback to a teacher is intimidating, even when they say it's anonymous, because they see your handwriting every day, and for many students handwriting is very distinctive.  Students are often scared to give teachers feedback (I know I was) because they fear that teacher will become angry and lower the student's grade out of anger.  Doing this feedback online assures anonymity, and allows for teachers to see what their students aren't understanding, and where they can improve.  Are you talking too fast?  Do you try to fit too many things in one lecture?  Do you get so excited about the metaphorical resonance of water and rivers in Crime & Punishment that you start spouting off half-sentences and alienate your students?  (Just me?  Okay.)  An anonymous online survey would allow students to share their thoughts so that the teacher can work on the potential problems in their teaching.

One classmate, Emily, shared an idea to use google's office suite to share information about students among teachers, whether they are concerned about a student's wellbeing or just want to nominate them for an Honors Society.

As an undergrad I used google docs to collaborate with groupmates for projects so we could all work on the same paper or slideshow, and I'm excited to share this method with my future students.  Although, let's face it, they'll probably already know and be way more tech savvy than me.

Google's office suite is also exciting to me because it gives an alternative to paying for Microsoft Office, while still allowing students to use their home computers for projects.  Google accounts are free after all.

The Future of Technology in the Classroom

I don't think technology will ever replace teachers.  It's certainly a scary thought.  We spend all kinds of time learning to teach, only to be out on our butts because the school set up a robot in the front of the classroom instead.  They could even have students stay home and learn from robots through the internet.  But I don't think it will ever happen.

There's more to a teacher than just a lecture.  Teachers are resources with stores of knowledge, and a human understanding of their students.  Teachers can tailor their lessons as they're going when they notice students aren't understanding.  Teachers grade papers and tests, and communicate with parents about why a student is or isn't succeeding.  Teachers go out of their way to help students succeed.  A robot or a computer can't do all that.  So, I don't think technology will replace teachers.

But I do think that teachers who can use technology, will replace those who can't.  Students have shorter attention spans now, and teachers who know how to adapt will be able to keep their attention.  Teachers who can use a YouTube video to quickly sum up what they'll be learning about that day will keep students' attention.  Teachers who are able to create dynamic, interactive lessons will replace teachers who can't move forward.

With such an incredible array of options for technology ready to be used in the classroom, there is nothing stopping a teacher from incorporating them, except perhaps a lack of technology in the schools.  Schools without the funding for projectors or laptops are at a disadvantage, and the students in them are at a disadvantage.  But, there is another way to incorporate technology and online video into class: a flipped classroom.

Flipped classrooms are those where the students watch a video, usually created by their teacher but sometimes from platforms such as Khan Academy, at home, and then in class do work that is traditionally homework.  Instead of struggling through a problem set at home with limited available help, students work in groups to share their understanding of the rules for those problem sets and get more individualized attention from their teachers.  As for the lectures, they're condensed a lot into shorter videos, and students can rewatch and rewind as much as they need to.  For a class without problem sets, such as social studies or English, discussions happen in class, while lectures and readings happen outside of class.  There are only a few schools using this method, but the results are incredible.  One Michigan school had a graduation rate around 68% before they became a flipped school, and now their rate is over 90% (Rosenthal).

There is no one single way to use technology in the classroom now, and I don't think there will ever just be one way.  I think technology will continue to grow, and with it our use of it.  Teachers can communicate better with parents through emails, they can have Skype conferences if the parents can't come to the school.

Technology will allow students in group projects to collaborate on a paper even if they can't be in the same room.  I actually did this with several groups in college, we worked on the same paper while in different states over a school break.  Technology allows for greater access to research materials, which will allow students to gain a deeper understanding of any subject.

I think students' assignments will become more creative over time with more technology.  Instead of just writing a paper or taking an exam, a student can prepare an interactive presentation that shows the depth of their understanding of a subject.  When studying an area of the world, students can take tours of the area through Google Earth, or see art of the time and place from a museum on another continent.

Technology in the classroom is exciting, and it's going to bring amazing things in the future.

For further reading about Flipped Classrooms:
Turning Education Upside Down by Tina Rosenthal
Bill Nye The Science Guy Talks Flipped Classrooms by Kanoe Namahoe
The Flipped Classroom by Bill Tucker

Wordle In The Classroom

I'd like to teach social studies, including civics.

Until this assignment I had thought of wordle as something more geared toward English classrooms.  My high school English teachers sometimes used it to gather themes from a book we were reading.  But, I think it could be useful for social studies as well.

For history, we could analyze speeches and documents, by pulling out keywords from the work as highlighted by wordle.  For civics, wordle would be useful for analyzing laws and statutes, because the most frequently used words indicate the most important parts of the documents.

I also think wordle could be useful for research, and teaching students how to do good research.  If they're having trouble finding sources, then through a wordle graphic we could pick out keywords from a source they already have and use those keywords to search for more.  After all, when researching vikings, you don't just use vikings!

Student papers could also benefit from wordle, as the highlighted words would show students where they have been repetitive.

Welcome!

This blog is for my SEMO Secondary Education class, Internet in Education.  I'm super excited to share my thoughts in a way that isn't just forum posts for this class.  I consider myself a digital native, and this is not my first experience blogging.  I first stepped my toe into this world in about 2005.  Needless to say, that blog didn't last long as I didn't have much to say at that age.

I have a degree in history, and intend to teach social studies, including the often overlooked civics area.  We send 18-year-olds out into the world without a thorough understanding of what they need to know in order to function.  How do I balance a checkbook?  What's a bear market?  How does an election work?  How does a government function?  What's the difference between the Senate and the House of Representatives?  Too often, these are questions left unanswered by new high school grads.
Museums are, in my opinion, an under-utilized resource in secondary education.  Elementary kids go on a lot of field trips, but the field trips dwindle in middle school, and become rare in high school.  Though I understand why, kids can't miss a whole day of school every month for a field trip for one class, it still saddens me.  I'd like to see more field trips, or maybe presentations by professionals from outside the school.  I'd also like to see more educational media for non-science classes.  I've noticed that a lot of educational media focuses on science, and I think it's useful in all areas.

That about wraps up my interests.  I can't wait to share more!