Blog Post #D- Chapter 5

As this class continually show us a variety of ways to incorporate technology to a learning base course that children can use on a daily basis we should also become fluent with technology. With technology now a person is able to read a book in sheer darkness with the use of a nook or kindle. There are now online books people buy to use with their tablets, kindles, and nooks which are cheaper and also more portable instead of hauling big textbooks around campus.  Also with these devices one can also highlight, write side notes, bookmark and use so many more features. The best part of this is with these devices we are able to connect to the Internet and navigate through search engines to gather information needed for lectures.  Search engines are a wonderful way to find the information needed for just about everything from driving directions, cooking instructions, and let not forget about research. Search engine function by entering certain phrases or keyword which then they look through their information and give us long lists of websites we can look through.  Although it may seem easy we must also be cautious of the information given to us.

When using online information to we must learn to evaluate information to verify that the information is indeed essential and validated.  When dealing with elementary school children especially is important we strain the use of “bad” information. For instance, misinformation is wrong information, out of date or misleading. There is also malformation in which there is harmful material unsuitable for young ones whether it be sexual images or information from bias points of view.   Fortunately, most schools now have outsmarted these said website. The schools now have the ability to use filtering software to censor material, as well as exclude children from using certain website that are not authenticated.  Schools have also created a portal for children to access resources in which the school verifies the website and ensure the information is relevant and not misleading.

With technology most school work and lesson are done through or with the use of a computer. With this, there are also responsibilities one must use in order to be a digital citizen. Not only is it important for educators to understand and properly use it, but it is also essential for us as future educators to teach the upcoming generations the information for them to become digital citizens as well.  One of the most important parts of being a digital citizen is not allowing plagiarism and cheating when using technology in a classroom. As I previously mentioned technology is a wonderful tool but just the same it is essential to give credit to the author/s who originally created the material. Overall, plagiarism or cheating in school or college can only lead to disciplinary action such as failing the course, suspension even high fines paid to the original author. With this being said leads me to the next issue of Cyber-bullying.  Cyber-bullying is treating or negative comments send to another individual with the use of a computers, cell phones, chat rooms, text messages and so forth.  Cyber-bullying is dangerous to any individual and can lead the victim to depression, low self-esteem and suicide tendency.  Cyber-bullying is something that needs to be dealt with immediately once seen so that people don’t get hurt by this.  All in all, it essential for us to understand how to be a digital citizen so we can teach others as well.

 In conclusion, technology is an amazingly helpful tool that is used on a daily basis.  However, it can also be a very dangerous tool if not used properly. With these being said, we as future educators must learn to properly use said items such as search engines and efficient websites so we are able to teach our classrooms the proper way to use it as well. 

Resoucres:

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.    

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