Social/ Ethical Issues in Technology

Technology has become such a prominent and great tool in society today, but with this up rise several issues have been raised as well. Second Life is a social networking site where people can go to create their very own virtual world to be apart of. As much as this seems like a fun and interesting thing to do, it promotes a level or anti-social behaviors and truly hinders face to face communication. For teachers, sites such as Second Life allow those students who may be more reserved and shy to become much more quiet and kept to themselves during class, and decrease their chances of making friends. So much of what goes on in schools is through the social learning that takes place amongst students, and Second Life hinders this for many students. I think that students need to be encouraged to make friends at school and engage in face to face communication as much as they can.

Distance Education

Distance education can be a great resource for students to use that allows them to finish school on their own time. I think for learners who may struggle in mainstream classrooms, online school would be great. Having online schools are a great resource for any form of homeschooling to keep kids involved with peer interaction and also guide their learning. Parents can also home school their kids better with the use of the online classes to keep their students on track with the other students in their age group. Having the ability to keep students on track with other students in their age group is ideal for any homeschooling situation.
However, because Distance education generally allows students the freedom to do complete their work whenever they have the time, this can become an issue. If a student does not have either the personal drive or the guidance by an outside source, they are likely to not succeed with their education. I think that a good distance program should require a substantial amount of effort from each individual student as well as guidelines to help keep the students on track. Not all students have the drive to do well in school, but it is these students who need the most structure form their schooling, whether it be in a mainstream classroom or through distance education.
To determine if a child was ready for distance education, I would try and find out if this was the best possible solution for this student. If I noticed that a student had an extremely hard focusing on their class work at school and interacting with other students successfully, then I may suggest this. I would also possibly suggest this type of education to a student who had fallen behind exponentially in the class due to some unseen circumstance like a health condition where they where extensively absent, to help catch them up with the rest the class.
In order to teach in a virtual school I would require my students to have designated times in which they were required to meet online with me and the rest of the students in class. I think social interaction with both peers and teachers is essential in a classroom, as well as beneficial for students. I would also make sure to provide a great deal of structure in my online class to ensure that my students were keeping up with the work I was requiring from them. Something else that I would make sure to do is be readily available with my students through the online school, either via instant chat or e-mail, so that students could communicate any trouble or ask any questions that they may come across.

Emerging Technologies in the Classroom

The Document Camera is one technology that could be extremely useful in a classroom to project items large enough for the entire class to see. Unlike an overhead projector, Document Cameras allow you to put anything under them to project without having to go through the hassle of making transparency sheets. Another great technology to consider are Smart Boards. These are a great tool to use in the classroom to keep students involved with you while you teach. Not only can students write on the Smart Board as if it were a regular white board, but they can also use the Smart Board as a computer to illustrate to the entire class what they are doing. Skype is a third technology that can be used in a classroom to enhance the communication ability within you classroom. Skype allows students to communicate efficiently through internet, mobile and landlines with people all across the world. Having the increased communication would be a great tool to use during any sort of collaborative project. Below are resources to find more information about these technologies.

http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/SMART+Boards/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype

http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/SMART+Document+Camera/

Technology could impact my teaching by helping me to become better prepared for my classroom. In order to successfully integrate technology to my classroom I would have to become very familiar with the technology to ensure that it was only enhancing my lesson and not hindering it in any way. Integrating technology would also require planning to make sure that you have a back-up plan as well. Sometimes technology can be very difficult, and it is easy to run into problems that may hinder your lesson. Always being prepared for this will make your lessons go much smoother for both you and your students.
I think that technology could be very useful for student learning, and essentially would impact student learning in a positive way. Because so many learning styles exist, it is important to be able to adapt to each style through your teaching. Having the technology that would be able to help each and every student learn to the best of their abilities, and truly understand the material. Technology also can help students demonstrate their learning objectives because they are learning the material better through the technologies. Technology can a be a great resource to use in a classroom as long as the teacher knows exactly how to use that technology to enhance their students learning.