Running head: VIETH, M.

EDUC 1070 PERSONAL FRAMEWORK PAPER

Personal Framework Paper Mason Vieth Concordia University Chicago

VIETH, M. EDUC 1070 PERSONAL FRAMEWORK PAPER Personal Framework Paper In todays ever-advancing world, technology has become a crucial part of education. There are thousands of companies across the globe that are rapidly creating online learning services. The birth of the iPad has also brought about many applications that offer educational resources to both students and teachers. However, with this new, helpful technology, there are also downsides. Social, educational, cultural/equity, and legal/ethical issues have tainted the ethical use of technology throughout the past 10 years. Too many people may not realize what they do in their private life online can come back to cause issues in their professional life, especially in public education, says Robert Dodig in an interview with Katie Ash of Education Week (Ash, 2010). In order to avoid online social networking in the classroom, schools have created policies to restrict the use of them. These guidelines, restrict teachers from communicating with students on social-networking sites, require teachers to inform supervisors when using socialmedia websites for work purposes, and forbid teachers from accessing the websites for personal reasons during work hours, even if they are on break (Ash, 2010). A fear of some educators is the fact that some of these social networking sites might be beneficial to them in the classroom. Teachers just have to be very cautious and ethical when using these sites as a resource. Many schools wanted to start integrating technology into their classrooms but just didnt have the funds to do it. Nowadays, smaller and cheaper laptops have made 1-to-1 computing programs affordable. One of the dangers of starting a 1-to-1 computing program is that schools will implement it before they actually see the need for it. Schools

VIETH, M. EDUC 1070 PERSONAL FRAMEWORK PAPER need to put a lot of research and preparation into a 1-to-1 program to make sure everything comes out seamlessly (Mohr, 2010). Technology is a tool in the classroom not to be completely depended on. The amount of special needs students in schools has taken a rapid increase in the past ten years. Technological companies have taken into account this rapid increase and have begun to create applications that assist special needs students in the classroom. An example of a technology that has been integrated into special needs classrooms is that of multimedia. Instead of relying on textbooks, teachers use multimedia technologies that incorporate, digital textbooks that feature high-quality audio, images and video and interactivity that supports students with pronunciations, definitions, comprehension prompts and translations for English language learners (Technology and Special Needs). Multimedia technologies have increased student achievement in the classroom. Digital technology makes copying and pasting easy, of course (Gabriel, 2010). One of the most unethical problems with technology in the classroom today is that of plagiarism. Many students copy and paste others work into their own paper and claim it as their own. There are thousands of accounts from university around the world that have had plagiarism scandals. In order to cut down on the amount of plagiarism that is being conducted at the university level, researchers believe that students should be better prepared during their high school years. If students were properly trained on how to correctly cite information in their papers, the amount of plagiarism at the university level would decrease (Gabriel, 2010). John Dewey, a social activism theorist, believed that learning is individual growth that comes about through social experiences (Doering & Roblyer, 2013). This

VIETH, M. EDUC 1070 PERSONAL FRAMEWORK PAPER means that through hands-on activities connected with issues of the world today, students learning would grow. Technology has increased the amount of hands-on activity that students do in the classroom today. 1-to-1 technological initiatives have greatly increased the amount of technology that is readily available at students fingertips. This technology can also keep students and teachers up-to-date on the latest real-world news, which they can apply to their learning. Albert Bandura, a social cognitive theorist, believed that, students learn vicariously through models (Doering et al., 2013). The iPad has brought about thousands of apps that can be used by educators today. There are applications for almost every subject that is taught in schools. These models can help students deepen their knowledge about a given subject by giving them hands-on experiences. I pledge, as a student and a future educator, to ethically use technology as what it is, a tool. Too many times, students and teachers use technology as a crutch for education. Technology is supposed to be used to further education and deepen knowledge. I pledge to hold strong to the technological policies of any given school and keep up-to-date with any new standards set by the State Board of Education or by the school I am attending/working in. Ethical technological use should be put in the forefront of education. Through the training of teachers and students alike, social, educational, cultural/equity, and legal/ethical issues will be brought to a minimum. Technology is going to keep on advancing in the years to come. Educators need to be ready to adapt to this new technology and use it ethically in their classrooms.

VIETH, M. EDUC 1070 PERSONAL FRAMEWORK PAPER References Ash, K. (2010). Back-to-school social-networking policies. Education Week, Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2010/08/back-toschool_social-networki.html Doering, A., & Roblyer, M. D. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc. Gabriel, T. (2010, August 01). Plagiarism lines blur for students in digital age. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?pagewanted=all&_r =0 Mohr, P. (2010). Schools combine netbooks, open source. Education Week, Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2010/10/20/01netbookopen.h04.html Technology and Special Needs. EdTechAction Network, Retrieved from http://www.edtechactionnetwork.org/technology-and-special-needs