Joseph Giatras

Personal Framework
By
Joseph Giatras

12/5/14

Joseph Giatras

I believe that technology is an important part of education. I think that it is essential to

the academic success of students that teacher integrate technology into their lessons as often
as they can. Technology has become a part of students everyday lives. They are comfortable
with it and use it constantly. Integrating technology into the classroom can help engage
students in the material and increase their interest in learning. Technology is great for teachers
and students but it must be used the right way in order to be effective. Following rules and
obeying restrictions with technology protects the students and the teachers. Technology is a
positive advancement for education but must be used with integrity.
An educational theory I agree with, in terms of learning, is Lev Vygotskys scaffolding
theory which creates the idea that adults support learning through scaffolding, or helping
children build on what they already know. Students are exposed to technology on a daily basis
these days. Sometimes they know how to use certain technologies before they are even old
enough to start school. Most children already have the knowledge and understanding of how to
use technology. Teachers can use that knowledge and build off of it to teach the students new
concepts and I believe that the students will succeed in learning more the material because of
their prior knowledge. Another educational theory that I believe supports my views on the use
of technology is Jerome Bruners discovery learning theory which states that teachers support
discovery learning by providing opportunities for exploring and manipulating objects and doing
experiments. Technology can make is possible for these things to be done and be effective in
strengthening a students knowledge. There is software that creates simulations, which could
support students doing things such as science experiments on a computer. Having software
that allows students to participate in more experiments than the schools supplies can allow
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them can increase their discovery of learning and strengthen their knowledge of a wide range
of subjects. I strongly believe that students learn the most when they have hands on experience
with material. I believe that various software could create more opportunities for students to
explore various situations. I believe that being well versed in a wide range of subjects is key to
academic success and that is possible through the use of technology.
Some of the social issues regarding technology are quality of life concerns, fears about
technology overuses, fears about technology misuses, risks of online social networking and
problems due to malware, viruses, spam, and other malicious actions. In order to help students
ensure that their quality of life is not effected by technology teachers should teach their
students about how to keep their personal information private on the internet and how to
protect that information. Putting personal information on the internet has become a common
thing in our world. From Myspace to Facebook, students have started to put more information
about themselves on the internet. Web sites targeted toward children are broad in their scope
and purpose, with many offering games, contests, and various degrees of social networking in
an effort to solicit names, ages, e-mail addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers,
demographics of family members, attitudes, opinions, and other personal information.
(Miyazaki). There are so many dangers on the internet and I believe that it is important for
teachers to educate students how the dangers of having too much information on the internet.
I think that students need to know that what they put on the internet will always be there and
could be found at any point in their lives. Bad information could prevent them from getting a
job in the future. Too much information could lead to even worse things. I think students
should be taught about what should never be put on the internet and what is okay to put on
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the internet. There are also fears that students will use technology too much. In order to
prevent this teacher should teach their students about the benefits of balancing their
technology-based activities and their other activities. I think it is also important to educate
students on how not to use technology. Students should be taught about the consequences of
sexting and irresponsible text messaging. I think if students are educated on these dangers they
will have a better life and academic career with technology.
There are many educational issues with technology as well. There is a lack of funding for
technology. Teachers should stay up to date with the local funding opportunities for their
schools, as well as the national opportunities. Teachers should always be looking for ways to
fund technology projects. In article by Mema Smith, the author states, in relation to finding
funding for technology in schools, that the first step is to establish an advisory group to
develop a long-term technology plan. The group should be diverse, including administrators,
teachers, parents, community members, students and representatives from local businesses
and colleges.(Smith). I agree with this idea. I believe that schools should create groups that
devote time to finding new and exciting technology for the classroom. I also believe that the
group should search for funding and try to raise funds in order to advance the technology at
their school.
Some of the cultural/equity issues that surround technology are the digital divide, racial
and gender equity, and issues with students with special needs. With the digital divide, teachers
should research reports on how to connect the digital divide and be aware of the concept in
their classrooms. They should also use practices that use technology that support all types of
students such as women and minorities. In an article about this concept Barbara Monroe
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discusses a cybermentoring project between mostly white undergraduate students at the

University of Michigan and high school English students at a low-income school in Detroit The
college students had e-mail correspondence with the high school students and critiqued some
of these students written work as wellMonroe claims inner-city Detroit youth are
linguistically isolated from mainstream America ; they practice literacy behaviors at home and
in their communities that are not privileged in school. They live on one side of a language
divide. Building a digital bridge across the linguistic divide, Monroe argues, can be a powerful
way to connect groups with different language practices (Monroe). Monroe is saying that
there is a disconnection of language between the University of Michigan and the Detroit high
school students. There is a disconnection clearly in this case study but I believe, as Monroe
does, that a better use of technology can end that disconnection.
Also, Special needs students sometimes need assistive technology in order to learn
certain materials. I believe that teachers should constantly be checking on new technologies
that can be used to solve problems for, or at least assist, students with disabilities. All students
deserve the right to a good education, that includes special needs students. Sometimes, these
students cannot learn material in the same way that other students do, so they need
technology to complete lessons. I think that it is important that schools constantly look for the
best technology available for their special needs students. Those students need a lot of
assistance in order to have success academically and new inventive technologies could be the
key to giving them that assistance.
When using technology there are legal standards that students and teachers must
follow. Students and teachers need to know about the legal protections the internet has to
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offer and how if they are abused, there could be legal action. One protection that I think is
important for students to know is Copyright Protection which is the protection of an original
expression of an idea that is fixed in any physical medium, such as paper, electronic tapes,
floppy discs, CD ROMs, etc.(Faust). I believe that all students and teachers should know the
rules and restrictions when it comes to using copyrighted material. Using copyrighted material
without the permission of the owner can lead to a student or teacher being sued by that
author. Policies involving trademarks are similar. A trade mark is a log or statement that
represents a company or a business that provides goods and services. Using trademark material
without the companys permission can also end with a student or teacher being punished by
the law. I think that it is important to teach students about the dangers of using certain
information and pictures when gathering information for a project or assignment. If the
students are not educated on the legal aspects of technology then they could participate in
illegal activity within the classroom without even knowing it. Teachers jobs are to educate
students but they are also supposed to protect students as well. By educating the students on
the legal restrictions of using material from the internet, teachers are also protecting their
students from unethically using technology.
In conclusion, I pledge to use technology in the way that I stated I believe it should be
used in my framework. I will use technology with integrity and always conduct myself ethically.
I also pledge to support fair use of technology by my future students to ensure that every child
gets the chance at a fair and successful education.
References

Joseph Giatras

Miyazaki, A. D., Stanaland, A. S., & Lwin, M. O. (2009). SELF-REGULATORY SAFEGUARDS AND
THE ONLINE PRIVACY OF PRETEEN CHILDREN. Journal Of Advertising, 38(4), 79-91.
Smith, M. L. (2005). How to Find Technology Funding. Principal, 84(4), 62.
Monroe, Barbara. (2004). Crossing the Digital Divede: Race, Writing and Technology in the
Classroom. Teachers College Press, New York. 154.
Faust, Alicia. Teacher Ethical and Legal Use of Technology in the Classroom-Presentation
Transcript.