Distance learning and computer ethics

A virtual second life sounds a little scary to me - I'm more into the here and now than some made up fantasy world. I don't know, I think folks that spend too much time on that should be psychology evaluated. More wireless - I'd like to see that at my schools, but with budget cuts and mandates to spend more money on shiny new textbooks - I don't see that happening any time soon. Hey, what can I say, I'm a realist. Revolutionizing high school - I'm all for combining solid teaching with technology. I don't think they are exclusive of one another.

Distance learning - well, as indicated in the article it was Master's and Graduate students (a very self-directed group) who were evaluated, this is a very small proportion of the population. Elementary, middle, and high school students (even some under graduate students) probably would not fare as well. I struggle with it - I enjoy having the teacher on site. During Dr. Crocker's class, SLO dominates the discussion because A. there are seven of us and B. he is in the room to discuss with us. We all know how it is to have the professor at a different site - we're not paying attention, checking email, browsing the Internet, etc (everyone is guilty of it and we all know it). I cannot honestly say that I feel it would be in the best interest of students - convenient, most definitely. The instructors we have had on site have not particularly cared for the technology or the distance learning (as reported to the class).

Computer ethics in the workplace and school - as technology continues to broaden, I think this becomes even more difficult. I've known teacher, administrators, board members that have been dismissed for viewing inappropriate materials (access in too easy and apparently too tempting for these folks). As for students - wow exposed to too much at a very young age. Whether we like to acknowledge it or not - they are viewing some really inappropriate things. Keeping up with the "banned" cites and filtering materials at districts and county offices is increasingly difficult. Educating students and young folks on who has access to what they put out there is critical. What they may think is harmless information for their friends, can end up in the hands of a criminal.

Email ethics seem like they should be common sense. I feel someone is either an ethical person, or they're not - email is just another area in life that pertains to this. It's not very often that I receive something inappropriate or offensive - maybe people just know me and what I respond to.

School choice and the state of education

I have to comment on the old adage - "you don't throw the baby out with the bath water". I agree with most of what is discussed in class - we are missing the target in education and we are not preparing students for their educational futures, or careers for that matter. There are some basic fundamentals that I can see would be missed in an educational setting such as proposed in the Phoenix Odyssey. We're presuming that somehow students interested in attending the Phoenix Odyssey would be able to read the brochure to contact someone for services - that they would have that basic fundamental skill. Not only that, the idea of a voucher system in American education, is not appealing to me. There are disparities in education as it is right now - just wait until folks get a voucher and then the providers will take their vouchers and then some more money for a truly "quality" education. An individualized education plan for every student? Are these people providing it qualified to do so - we're talking millions of students here. The sheer amount of time this would take is mind boggling. We think high school teacher-to-student ratios are bad as it is with an average teacher seeing over 200 kids a day. Where would we get all of these folks for the one on one attention? If they were a dime a dozen, I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult. The "how" in education still hasn't changed (as proposed in Dewey's writings over 100 years ago and the "Tap into Learning" constructivist article), it's the "what" and although I propose some radical changes to education - vouchers are not one of them.

Another interesting article titled "How We Don't Learn" published in ACSA's November/December 2008 Leadership publication by Laurel Schmidt supports social construction of knowledge. The author cites Dewey, Friere, Gardner, and Vygotsky to make the point that students have never learned by sitting quietly in straight rows and "maintaining a church like silence". The author simply purports that teachers can work their students like "rented mules", but if "their working against the brain, using strategies that ignore the natural learning cycle in children" - ultimately the goals of learning will not be reached.

I also enjoyed looking at the "i" software from Mac - although both of my districts are PC's and all the computers I have at home are PC's. I don't know that I'd have time to learn how to use an entirely new software to produce a multimedia presentation by the end of this quarter - that would take some training, time, and assistance.