Technology and Curriculum – Safety For Our Students

Technology is changing our country, so fast that the average American can’t keep up with all of the trends. In fact, it is impossible for most Americans to have the financial means to keep up with our changing technological world. Educators are aware of the fact that in order to meet the growing demands for innovative learners students must possess technological savvy. The problem becomes, as Doug Young, spokesman for the Lower Merion School District points out (2010), “mistakes might be made when combining technology and education in a cutting edge way.”

While technology strives to make educators lives easier in many ways, it creates anxiety in the lives of others. It is no wonder with words like cyber-bullying, cyber-threats and sexting that teachers worry about expanding their students knowledge base with an Internet full of up to date research, when the hazards they can be exposed to sound so intimidating. The solution might just lie in how we develop curriculum to teach children about safety on the Internet. The topic of Internet safety for students in schools is both interesting and debatable.

In West Deptford, New Jersey, student Internet browsing is being filtered for inappropriate content. This includes the laptop program that allows students to take computers home. According to Joel Brown, a member of the West Deptford Technology Team, “All web traffic goes through the school’s filter first and then gets thoroughly logged and reported upon.” Brown explained that the debate on student Internet use is usually framed in two opinions. One side believes that children should be protected from offensive content in any way possible, while the other side contends that through proper education on Internet security and safe practices children should be guarded as little as possible. The truth seems to be that because the Internet is such a large and dynamic space censoring becomes almost unattainable.

It is embedded in New Jersey State Curriculum Standards, that children, as young as second grade, are taught about safe, legal and ethical computer behavior. I currently work with fourth graders, so I found it interesting that Technology Standard 8.1.4.D.1 suggests that students are able to, “Explain the need for each individual, as a member of the global community, to practice cyber safety, cyber security, and cyber ethics when using existing and emerging technologies.”

How are we as educators applying this standard to our curriculum? Are we producing digitally responsible citizens and why is this important? The value of computer use in the classroom can be witnessed in multiple studies that suggest that the benefits include, “increased student motivation” (Gardner 1994), “a shift toward more student-centered classroom environments” (Stevenson 1998), and better school attendance (Stevenson 1998). With the evolution of Anti-Bullying Laws this September, several organizations have made advances in curriculum and lesson planning ideas to help educators teach students about digital safety in the classroom and at home. We must, as vigilant members of society, teach our children about the consequences of negligent computer use because the pros of accessing technology far outweigh the cons.

It is more important than ever to protect our students by teaching them how to self-filter dangerous information, avoid suspicious websites, and exchange safe information on the Internet. The world is changing and our children need to be able to evaluate and make critical decisions related to their technology choices as they advance in our increasingly technologically advanced world.

Technology & Curriculum

Technology & Curriculum

By Kristina E. Bergman

9-20-09

Technology in schools is not only up and coming, it is already here. If you are not on the proverbial technology train, you will be left far behind. Unfortunately, many of US schools, especially those located in urban and rural areas, are the last to get on board. The era of Essentialism and Perennialism philosophy in schools is on its way out. The current philosophies are the Progressivism and Reconstructivism philosophies, both benefiting from being society centered and being sensitive to global issues, as well as being student and activity centered, and deemphasizing the role of the three R’s and rote learning.

The advancements of technology today not only go across the US, but encompass the world. This results in increased pressure on US high school and US college undergraduates to become more competitive in what they decide to do as a career. There is no longer a guarantee of a good, high paying job unless you are either a college graduate in one of the STEM areas or at least a high school grad with vocational training in Computer Technology or Engineering. This increased awareness that the US is falling farther and farther down the global technology ladder, in regards to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), is alarming. We, as educators, need to encourage our students to learn the skills necessary to better prepare them for the future. Using technology both in the classroom and out is an excellent way to accomplish this goal. Considered a ‘disruptive innovation’ by Clayton Christianson, on line education is a new tool that will completely change the way we currently teach and transfer knowledge to our students. On line education is so simple, anyone, any age, can use it, or in other words, it has ‘asymmetrical competition’. Today, laptops are not only affordable, but highly portable. Combined with wireless capabilities, and the small wireless attachments available, the world can now be at anyone’s fingertips, anywhere at all. The latest statistics show that by 2013, approximately 10% of all classroom seat time will be utilizing on line instruction. This will not only teach to individual needs, which studies have shown, are how students learn best, but the software available will also allow students to go at their own pace. As an example, I personally offer my Special Education students time in the high school computer lab to hone their computer skills with a research project on a specific historical person. They have relatively no difficulties in negotiating the web or finding out how to do the computer programs. They have more questions regarding spelling or grammar or how the project should be set up than about how to work on the computer. Occasionally, we use the laptops in my classroom as well, as our school has wireless capabilities. Several of our classrooms have the new technology, ‘Starboard’, a form of smartboard that utilizes the computer to bring more of the World Wide Web to our students. New lessons, new people, and new teaching ideas – all thanks to technological advances in curriculum and grant money.

Incorporating technology into our teaching and our curriculum is imperative to prepare our US students to compete with other global countries and give them a fair and level playing field. Statistics have shown that public schools have spent nearly 60 million dollars putting computers and technology in the classroom. Unfortunately, placing all this new upgraded technology on top of old business and technology, usually leads to breakdowns in the form of down time, slow service and frustration. One plan to incorporate this technology into everyday curriculum is with careful planning and cooperation. Initially, a technology planning team would be organized, which would be comprised of a sampling from all segments of the school and the community. It should include members of administration, teaching staff, and business persons who are technological experts in their field, as well as parents. They should select a team leader, to keep them on target and to shoot for an approximate finish date. There should be specifics on how the technology will be used in the school; how the role of the teacher and parent can be affective; and most importantly, how will this technology ultimately benefit the students of the school to be successful in this globally competitive market?

As schools continue to struggle to find an even medium, hopefully they can use technology and curriculum to help them, not only keep up with a changing world, but equal and surpass the world markets without spending significant amounts of time and tax payer’s money.

Sources:

Dugan, Jay. Blog from April 11, 2009, titled “Technology & Change: Disruptive Innovation”

Guhlin, Miguel. Blog from 9/14/09 titled, “Defining 21^st Century Literacy’s” from Around the Corner; mguhlin.org: Stare into the Abyss of Curriculum.

Curriculum, Foundations, Principles, & Issues, 5^th edition, pgs.38-52.

The Need for STEM Education in Today’s Schools

According to a research report published by the National Academy of Engineering, STEM education (science, technology engineering, and mathematics) in our schools mainly focuses on science or math, rarely combined, and hardly places any emphasis on the importance of technology and engineering. Technology is often written off as something indirectly incorporated into other curriculum fields, while engineering is often has no formal place in the school day. Not only is an emphasis on the importance of STEM lacking in today’s overall education system, but women and other “minorities” are largely underrepresented. According to a report by the National Science Foundation, women in the U.S. only earn 20% of bachelor’s degrees in engineering, computer science, and physics. The American Association for the Advancement of Science additionally found that, out of the 69,300 science and engineering full-time professors employed in 2006, only 600 of them, less than 1%, were African American women.
Statistics such as these present a national problem. According to the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, U.S. high school students rank 18th below other countries in math and science literacy. Countries in Western Europe and Asia are, for the first time in history, surpassing us in STEM advancements.
The implications for such trends affect our standing as a world leader as well as our national economy as a whole. There is currently a shortage of highly skilled workers in our country, for which there is high demand, and a surplus of lesser skilled workers, for which there is low demand. This has led many of our businesses to “import brainpower” from others nations. In 2000 it was found that nearly 40% of jobs requiring Ph.D.s in science or technology were filled by foreign-born workers; in 1990 only 25% of such jobs were filled by foreign-born workers. Our nation is also, increasingly, filling its Ph.D. programs with foreign-born students; according to the National Science Foundation, foreign-born individuals in 2003 comprised the majority of all Ph.D. recipients in computer science (57%), electrical engineering (57%), civil engineering (54%), and mechanical engineering (52%). With increased presence and demand for highly skilled workers abroad, it is speculated that aspiring STEM workers from those countries will not only eventually cease coming to the U.S. for STEM education, but STEM employment as well. The absence of so many highly skilled workers would be detrimental to our future.
According to reports conducted by Eric A. Hanushek of Stanford University, putting into effect STEM education reform efforts would not only strengthen our country’s place in the technological world by encouraging more students to seek STEM professions, but such reform would also lead to great economic improvement. Hanushek projected that the U.S. gross domestic product would be 4% higher in 2025 than it would be without such reform and 10% higher by 2040. The 4% increase, alone, would be enough to cover the annual cost of K-12 public education.
STEM education reform is not an easy task. School districts would, potentially, face a variety of obstacles such as curriculum issues, time constraints, a lack of funding, a lack of qualified teachers, and potentially low teacher retention due to finances or motivation to pursue other careers. Societal attitudes may also prove to be a challenge to STEM reform; education in STEM content areas are often viewed to be “not for everybody”, irrelevant, too hard, or merely a stepping stone to a career too difficult to attain. The benefits of STEM education reform, nonetheless, are clearly reason enough to face these obstacles and lead our nation toward further educational, economic, and job prosperity.