GO! NOW! GET TO THE CHOPPER! AKA, how can we keep them safe?
Funding an entire building with technology is an expensive task that requires many resources. We investigated a few local, regional, and worldwide grant opportunities today. Each grant was focused on a certain goal. To apply for a grant the need must be clearly demonstrated with evidence and directly correlate with the specific grant that is chosen. Some grants request that schools match funds provided by a grant, while others offer technology at a discount. These grants will help schools to maintain some technology, but with Moore’s law holding true that the number of transistors on a chip will double about every two years, schools are going to have financial trouble keeping up.
I had the opportunity to travel to the Duluth School District main office building to meet Keith Anderson with my class. He is the media and technology coordinator there and was a great person to talk with about what really goes into setting up school technology. Duluth has a massive amount of data that is stored on servers, and is a fairly large district that is internet equipped. Keith oversees that both are provided without error to all the schools in the district. He also supports different grants and installations of hardware in the different schools. During our visit he mentioned a SMART board program where teachers could take the opportunity to be trained and in return have one placed into their classroom. The long term goal was to have one in every classroom, but to start with early adopters to get the technology out there in front of the schools.
Dan asked Keith what makes him lose sleep at night. I was thinking the same question because of Keith’s position making him a very popular guy. His answer wasn’t technical like I would have guessed, it was about the safety and concern he has for the students he works to protect. Keith implements internet filters to attempt to limit student browsing to a safe environment. If he doesn’t do his job well students will get into things they shouldn’t be in, including “porn-o�. His biggest issue however wasn’t just the filtering of adult content and “bad sites�, but to keep students from engaging in social networks with strangers. Keith worries about there being a student getting abducted because his own lack of accomplishment. That would be something he would hold himself partially accountable for.
This brings a new aspect of technology to the table that we don’t always consider. Our previous learning about technology integration thus far is about content focus and implementing it when appropriate. I arrive with the question, “Is this enough?� In my opinion it is not. Students as Keith already told us have become even more intelligent in the ways of technology to find ways around his filter at school. This means we could counter with trying to filter the methods they use to get around our filters, but I see an endless cycle there. I am reminded of radar detectors for example. Initially they are released to detect radar, then cops implement a detector-detector, and finally detectors have detector-detector protection. I see students as brilliant individuals that when they want something, they will find a way to achieve it. However many times we want to block or filter their ways around filters, it isn’t addressing the core problem of proper internet use.
I recommend that anytime a new technology is introduced to us that we do some research about what potential risks are. It is important to find the appropriate use and even how the device can be used improperly. As teachers it is our responsibility to learn these things before we throw them at students. If a teacher doesn’t know about a gadget, or explain the importance of proper use and inappropriate uses, how are they supposed to be a role model for the student? Secondly, I recommend teachers explain the proper and improper things to do with technology to students. Students’ most important role models may be their teachers. It is vitally important that teachers talk about technology because students may not have anyone else to show them what is appropriate, or their rules at home might be different then what is expected at school.