Copyright | AUPs | Ergonomics | Equity | Environment | Theft | Filtering | Future | Assignments
Copyright | AUPs | Ergonomics | Equity | Environment | Theft | Filtering | Future | Assignments
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This lesson attempts to deal with the many assorted "other
issues" that are important to be familiar with as a technology leader.
These are things that need to be considered when writing a technology plan,
training teachers and using the technology with kids. There may be issues
that are not covered here. Feel free to share on the Forum other things
that may be important.
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND COPYRIGHT
Who does work on the World Wide Web belong to? How can you be sure that someone will not use your webpage in a way that is offensive to you?
What about software? It is so expensive and schools have so little money, surely is it OK to make multiple copies of needed software?
It is so easy now to copy and paste pictures, sounds and text from the web or from other software. It is also easy to make copies of purchased software. There are laws governing copyright that spell out what is legal. These laws are to protect those people who make a living on their art, recording and designs. Unfortunately they are complicated and very difficult to read. As technology leaders we have a responsibility to teach students about intellectual property and to model legal copyright use. This can protect your school from a law suit. It may also protect a student one day who creates something and does not want it copied.
Fair Use
The Fair Use act was an attempt to soften the Copyright Law so that the educational community (researchers and educators) could share work and learn from each other. The guidelines are broad which makes them difficult to interpret. There are four guidelines:
Go to the following site for a readable explanation of Fair Use.
http://www-ninch.cni.org/ISSUES/COPYRIGHT/FAIR_USE_EDUCATION/FAIR_USE_EDUCATION.html
While some people feel strongly that what they put on the www is their own and should not be copied, other people put web pages up for the very reason that they want to be copied. There are groups trying to find some way to designate sites that are for teacher's use, so that will probably happen eventually.
Public Domain
An item that is "public domain" is one that anyone can use. Anything put out by the US government is Public Domain, because it was created with your tax money. It used to be that artwork, music, etc...was protected by copyright for 50 years after the death of the creator (in order for the creator and his progeny to benefit from it). That has been changed several times making it more complicated to figure out what is in public domain. But there are a lot of old songs, art, etc...which have endured passed their copyright protection.
Copyright is extremely complicated and it is not the purpose of this class to thoroughly discuss it. There are two things that are especially important for educators. First teachers need to be aware of copyright law and the efforts to apply it to the Internet. Realize that anything that exists is copyrighted. A person's work does not need to have a copyright notice on it. Students need to be aware of intellectual property and how that applies to others work and their own. Second, to be safe, teachers should always ask before copying something off of someone elses webpage unless it is clearly designated as free.
Acceptable Use Policies (AUP) are documents that clearly state expectations for use of technology in your school. Every school should have one because it clarifies to those in charge what the issues are.
An AUP will cover these issues:
There are many links on this site to templates and samples
http://www.nyx.net/~rbarry/aup.html
Many annotated links about AUPs
http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/acceptable.html
An interesting article about an actual law suit with recommendations for AUPs.
http://www.gsh.org/wce/archives/williams.htm
AUP's are not legal documents and if there was a legal issue they might not protect the school from a lawsuit. However, if they are carefully worded and clear they do make your intentions known to parents and students and less problems will occur.
Ergonomics is an issue that most of us have not given thought to. We rarely have a choice in school of what type of chair we sit in. Since many schools are adding computers it makes sense for them to take ergonomics into account. This can be one consideration when you write your technology plan.
Repetitive Strain Injuries are the most common problem associated with computers. It is sad that knowing what we do we do not design labs to minimize these problems. Another important common issue is lighting. When planning placement of computers it is important that there is enough lighting, but not glare on the computer screens. The article listed in your bibliography is not in your packet because of copyright restrictions, but if you want to know more about this area you can look it up.
Gender
Evidence from studies show that girls are making choices to not learn technology that will effect their careers later. Boys dominate most elective computer classes. In order to even things out many schools are making an effort to reach out to girls in different ways. Some schools have started all girl classes or clubs (boys are allowed to join, but don't because of titles like "Young Women's Technology Club"). Teachers have also found that girls have very different interests than boys. They are not interested in learning technology for technology's sake. Girls want to use technology in the context of some other activity. Girls also like to talk out what they are learning while boys work things out quietly. Technology classes that feature simulations and use of the computer as a tool are more successful in attracting girls.
This article describes the successful efforts of one teacher.
http://www.peak-computing.com/96/oct/18/education.html
Another study is called "The Incredible Shrinking Pipeline". It is one step that the Association for Computing Machinery's Committee on Women in Computing is taking to address the disturbing gender gap problem.
http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/tcamp/cacm/paper.html
Economic
The article by Tom Snyder talked a bit about this issue. He made the point that inner city schools are getting great funding for equipment. The problem is not lack of computers, but lack of teachers, or good teachers. It is an interesting point. Often inner city schools do have a much higher of turnover rate and therefore a greater percentage of brand new teachers. Computers cannot correct that problem. Good use of technology and good teaching go hand in hand.
Even if we are able to correct the equity issues between poorer schools and those in wealth areas there will still be a problem. Schools cannot correct the inequity in homes. Some children go home to a brand new computer and have chances to surf the net. They try new things. They receive new software and have their own e-mail account. Other students live in families that don't even have enough money for food and clothing. These students might only get to use a computer an hour a week in the computer lab, or less.
Go to this web page to find a poll on educator's feelings about technology. Economic Equity is a real issue.
http://www.lightspan.com/Login/Visitor_Center/Meet_Lightspan/frame_o.htm
The importance of this issue will increase as technology becomes more integrated into the schools. As technology leaders what can we do about it?
One solution is to recycle old computers and give them away or sell them for a small amount to needy people. This web site gives an example of what one group in Connecticut does.
Computers for Kids
Very few people are asking questions about how the increased use of computer technologies will effect the environment. There are at least two major problems. One is in the manufacturing. The Silicon Valley in California is suffering from some serious pollution because of the manufacturing of computer parts. As a nation we should know better than this. We are already dealing with toxic waste problems in many areas of the US. Like Asbestos, many of those toxic problems were not discovered until too late. This experience should help us to be more careful with the growing technology industry.
The second is waste. What will be done with all of the outmoded equipment? The Computers 4 Kids project is one good solution that takes care of two problems. In the school district that I worked in last there were piles and piles of defunct equipment in the Instructional Media Center just waiting to be thrown away. This is in a school district that uses machines as long as possible (we still use the Apple IIes), and recycles good parts from old machines. Where are all of the dot matrix printers that people were using only 5 years ago? I am not sure if there is a good answer, but I think it is a good question to ask.
Here are some sites that can give you ideas of what you should do with your old equipment:
Environmental Protection Agency
http://epainotes1.rtpnc.epa.gov:7777/r10/owcm.nsf/recycle/pcrecycle
Another effort to reuse old computers in Carson City, Nevada
http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost/community/com.thompson.computercs.html
And here is one from South Carolina
http://www.awod.com/gallery/probono/corn/
One more plea for computer recycling
http://www.stephensonstrategies.com/tips/product_marketing_tips/recycling_computers.html
An Altavista search using the words "recycling computers" will lead you to many more sites.
This is more of a problem in some areas than others. Here are some sites that can give you more information about methods like locking, barring windows, alarms, etc...
Light Guardian
http://www.lightguardian.com/index.htm
A Compuguard Alarm
http://www.solarchargers.com/compgard.htm
Recovery Sustem for Computers with Modems
http://www.stealth95.com/press.htm
What's Hot in Security
http://www.pc-security.com/info/whatshot.html
Filtering software blocks internet sites from your computer from the Internet. There is a heated debate on this issue and it is very important that you know about both sides and have an opinion. Whole states are deciding to mandate filtering software in public schools and libraries.
There are two types of filtering software. The first type is the blocking software. It works by blocking out specific sites based on keywords. Since the web changes constantly this software must also be updated on a regular basis.
Here are some examples:
Cyber Patrol-http://www.microsys.com/cyber/default.htm
InterGo-http://www.intergo.com/tour/tour.htm
Specs for Kids http://www.newview.com
The other type is Internet Rating Systems. These filters create ratings for sites. The Recreational Software Advisory Council has created a system that has been adopted by Internet Explorer, CyberPatrol and Compuserve. It rates sites on sex, nudity, violence, offensive language and has a rubric of 4 levels. A person can set their program to any of the 4 levels for different users and it is password protected.
Safesurf http://www.safesurf.com
To prepare for the assignments this week read the articles on these sites to get some background:
SafeKids
http://www.safekids.com/child_safety.htm
Why Not?
http://fromnowon.org/mar96/whynot.html
Adult.html
http://fromnowon.org
This website is a central place to find information about all different areas of Computer Ethics. In this lesson we have talked about major ones, but there is so much more!
http://www2.ncsu.edu/eos/info/computer_ethics/www/
On January 8th this year (1999) I heard a radio news commentator on Marketplace talk about the effect that technology is having on the stock market. He said it was a sea change. He compared it to the transition from horse and buggy to automobiles. Other observers of society have noticed the same thing. The commentator said that it means big changes for the stock market. What will it mean for education?
Most of us have barely accepted that we are now in the Information Age, but some are saying that we are past it now and are in the Processing Age. There is so much information available that we need now to learn how to sort through it.
It is difficult to make predictions because technology changes so fast. Watching trends is one way to get an idea of what may happen. Looking back at the changes in the last 10 years can show patterns that make predictions easier.
Integration (not curriculum integration!) is one trend in technology that is beginning to happen. Cable Television, Telephone, and Networked computers (Internet Service Providers) all depend upon wire to deliver their services. Fiber Optic cable can make it possible to send vast quantities of information without any delays. It is becoming effecient to combine these services and have just one wire.We can expect changes in how these services are delivered and paid for.
Reading technology journals or online magazines can keep you aware of what is happening. Knowing what people are predicting will help you as a technology coordinator in making good decisions that will have long range success. There are countless stories of schools that spent large amounts of money on technology without looking at what was coming and paid a large price.
Here are some online journals about technology:
Horizon
http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon
Edlines
Edlines is particularly good for a teacher because it is short and comes out on a regular basis. Doug Adams, the editor, is looking for questions that you want him to answer.
ISTE
This Journal is worthwhile to subscribe to, but if you want to read it online you can find it at the URL below. It only posts abstracts on the web.
THE Journal (Technology Horizons in Education)
You can read full articles here and search the archives.
A fun article about future predictions from the Comdex conference.
http://www.nystec.com/nwsfal97/fal97_02.html
Dynamic HTML (LOOK AT THIS! It will amaze you!)
If your last name begins with a letter between A and M you are pro-filtering. If your last name begins with a letter between N and Z you are anti-filtering.
Go to http://www.filteringfacts.org
Choose the link to either Anti-filtering sites or to Friendly sites and create an argument for your position . It is very difficult to argue for a side that you do not agree with. The assignment is designed to help you think through the issue on both sides since in all schools you will encounter both. Remember your position has been assigned to you you do not need to say what you really think. Begin our discussion forum this week by putting your position on line! If it makes you feel better in a second post let us know your true position!
Truett, Carol; Scherlen, Allan; Tashner, John; Lowe, Karen. (March 1997). "Responsible Internet Use". Learning and Leading with Technology. Vol. 24, No 6, 52-55
Piscopo, Maria. (1998). "Business Tips by Maria; Keeping Up With New Technology" http://www.e-folio.com/piscopo/biztips.htm.
Martorella, Peter H. (Oct 1996). "The Degathering of Society: Implications for Technology and Education". NASSP Bulletin. Vol. 80, No 582, 34-41.
Raney, Mardell Jefferson. (Fall 1997). "TECHNOS Interview: Lewis J. Perelman". TECHNOS. Vol. 6, No 3, 4-11.
Until Friday you can take the quiz as often as you want to and it will give you feedback. On Friday morning I will change the quiz set up so that it reports a grade to me. You will no longer be able to take the quiz multiple times.
