Maryland Teacher Technology Standards 1,2,3 Performance Task

Standard I: Technology Information Access, Evaluation, Processing and Application Access, evaluate, and process information efficiently and effectively. INDICATORS Identify, locate, retrieve, and differentiate among a variety of electronic sources of information using technology Evaluate information critically and competently for a specific purpose. Organize, categorize, and store information for efficient retrieval.

Standard II: Communication Use technology effectively and appropriately to interact electronically. Use technology to communicate information in a variety of formats. INDICATORS Use telecommunications to collaborate with peers, parents, colleagues, administrators or experts in the field. Select appropriate technologies for a particular communication goal. Use productivity tools to publish information. Use Multiple digital sources to communicate information on-line.

Standard III: Legal, Social and Ethical Issues Demonstrate an understanding of the legal, social, and ethical issues related to technology use. INDICATORS Identify ethical and legal issues using technology. Analyze issues related to the uses of technology in educational settings. Establish classroom policies and procedures that ensure compliance with copyright law, Fair Use guidelines, security, privacy, and student on-line protection. Use classroom procedures to manage an equitable, safe, and healthy environment for students.

To demonstrate proficiency on this technology standard, you will perform the following tasks: Familiarize yourself with the Scoring Tool for Technology Standard III: Legal, Social and Ethical Issues. Use this tool to guide you when completing this assessment task. Conduct a review of the literature on the legal, social, and ethical issues to become familiar with the primary concerns/policies associated with each.  While there are multiple issues associated with education technology, this assessment will focus on the following issues:

Ethical Issues for Safety and Security Social networking Acceptable Use Policies Netiquette Cyber bullying Student data Internet privacy

Digital Divide Gender Socio economic Race Resource equity Teacher bias

Legal Use of Digital Media Copyright Fair Use Creative Commons

Use MS publishing tools to create a fact sheet of the primary elements of each concern/policy.  Include the basic points of the issue, law, or policy and explain what types of things teachers can do to combat the issue and/or be good role models for students.

Using the information in the Fact Sheet for each issue and create a multimedia product to convey this information to an audience of your peers.  Your product should demonstrate advanced use of multimedia to effectively communicate and assess understanding of these issues utilizing at least three media (audio, video, digital graphics, interactive features) to maximize learning.

Upon completion of the activity submit: Issue(s) summary     Multimedia product

Example: Social Networking Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook have been rising in popularity. Sites that were once used mostly by young adults are now being used by younger and younger students. Students can interact with students from other schools in different cities, states, or countries. These sites can be problematic as well. It is easy to be anonymous on the internet, so students must be careful of what information they are sharing with “strangers”. These sites are also an outlet for cyber bullying. Teachers need to be aware of how these social networking sites are used. They need to be able to educate their students on how to be safe when using these sites, such as not posting their full names, addresses, or phone numbers.

Acceptable Use Policies Acceptable Use Policies, or AUPs, are guidelines of internet usage designed by school districts. They should be clear in explaining what is acceptable to be used online and what is not. They also describe what is appropriate when using school computers, from those in the computer lab to laptops given to students. It is the responsibility of the teacher to know the guidelines of their school’s AUP, as they must be able to explain it to both their students and parents. Students must know what is appropriate while they are using technology at school and parents should know that their children are using computers in a safe matter while in school.

Student Data With new technology, student data is kept on the hard drives of computers. This can include student records, grades, addresses, and phone numbers. While this gives schools easy access to the information they need, it also needs to be protected to keep student data private. Teachers contribute to the collection of student data, specifically in the collection of grades. They may also have access to students’ email addresses, phone number, and street addresses. Teachers need to know how to keep their students’ information safe on their computers.

Digital Divide Gender It has been believed that boys are pre-disposed to succeeding in the subjects of math and science while girls are “better at” language and art. This stereotype is still common today. Teachers should create environments where all students want to approach and use technology. Creating and assigning projects that are technology based can garner interest from both genders, shortening the divide.

Socio-economic Socio-economic is a status in society comprised of a person’s education, occupation, and income. Socio-economic status affects technology as it influences who has up to date technology in their homes and who has access to it. As a teacher, it is important to make sure that each student is able explore the technology offered at school fairly. This helps to avoid teacher bias. There should be ample opportunities for students to explore technology they would not have access to at home.

Race Race in the digital divide is often linked to socio-economic status, as race can affect income, education, and occupations. Research states that there is a definite divide between the races in who uses the Internet at home and who has access to technology. Teachers should take into account the technological access that each of their students have. This will allow them to know if technological assignments can be completed at home and how to avoid singling out students who do not have Internet access.

Teacher Bias Teacher bias occurs when teachers either do not know how to use technology or do not want to use it in their classrooms. Teachers may have one or more computer in their classroom, but their feelings and attitude towards the technology can affect the digital divide. Technology is rapidly advancing and students are becoming more tech savvy. Teachers should embrace this new way of reaching their students during lessons and try to incorporate technology when possible.

Legal Use of Digital Media Copyright Copyright Law protects the original works of creators by law. Music, movies, computer software, poetry, and other forms of original work are protected by copyright law. The advancement of technology and current use of peer-to-peer networks influences the different interpretations of copyright law. The Digital Millennium Act was developed in 1998 to update the guidelines of use of digital media in fair use of copyright. Teacher must be careful when using media and original works in the classroom in order to avoid copyright infringement.

Fair Use Fair use is outlined in section 107 of the Copyright Act. A generalization of fair use is “that a copyrighted work can be used or copied for educational purposes as long as the use is not solely a substitute for purchasing the work.” Thompson, Kate. (2005). Copyright 101. Learning and Leading With Technology, volume 32 number 7. Retrieved May 8, 2010 from http://www.iste.org/ll Teachers should be well versed in what is considered fair use in order to protect themselves from Copyright infringement.

Creative Commons The Creative Commons is a non-profit organization established by Lawrence Lessig. This organization helps educators, institutions, and businesses gain rights to some Copyrighted material. Creative Commons is an effective legal tool that teachers should have at their disposal. There is a thin line to cross regarding Copyright law and many teachers are not aware when they are in compliance and when they are not. Working with Copyright, Creative Commons makes is possible for the user to gain access of material on their own terms: from “all rights reserved to no rights reserved”

WORK CITED  Fact Sheet: Racial Divide Continues to Grow Retrieved April, 2011 from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/factsheets/racial-divide.htm  Johnson, Doug, and Simpson, Carol. (2005). Are You the Copy Cop? Learning and Leading With Technology, volume 32 number 7. McGrath, Diane. (2004). Closing the Gender Gap. Learning and Leading With Technology, volume 31 number 6.

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