Journal 2

In high school I used Microsoft Word for every paper, essay, or project I had to type up. My freshman year of high school I was required to take a Microsoft course that helped break down ways to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Which is probably why I resorted to Word over Google Docs or Pages. I also used it to take the majority of my notes in classes, and still do because I can type faster than I can write. As for my teachers I know the majority used them to type up their tests or handouts they gave to us. Some would actually link Word documents to their class pages so we could edit and submit assignments that way, much like this class. 

In high school, my AP Lit teacher was also the moderator for our school's online newspaper. That being said she informed all her students about the dangers breaking copyright laws. Even when we had projects in class that required us to link videos or incorporate pictures she was a stickler for citing or using fair use appropriately. She mentioned once that the online newspaper moderator prior to her never told her students about copyright laws and my school was heavily fined as a result. I want to teach 2nd or 3rd grade so I feel like I wouldn't have to worry about the exact same situation occurring. However, I remember around 3rd grade was when I learned how to search images on Google and incorporate them into a letter on Word. At that time I obviously did not know I was breaking any laws. I just thought it would be cool to add a picture of a dog to a letter I was making. So I think it's still important to teach younger kids about the concept of copyright. I think I'd also show kids how to use the filtered search in Google so that it only shows you images labeled for reuse.

Because my high school was all girls, we didn't have many problems with students searching inappropriate things as much as we had issues with people going on Pinterest and searching for homecoming dressing during class instead of working on their assignments. I found this issue to be an easy one to fix--by simply using a filtering software to block websites on our schools wifi. Since they were purchased through the students, our IT team couldn't block everything on our actual laptop. However, from what I've heard many elementary schools use iPads strictly in class and are not owned by the students themselves, which would be easier to block and prevent students from doing thing unrelated to class. I have also seen classrooms set up so that the kids screens are facing the teacher instead of the students themselves, but I think this set-up might be too difficult to teach. If the technology the kids are using are iPads or tablets implementing a rule where the screen has to be flat on the desk is another good solution to monitor the kids tech use.

As for the more social issue that technology causes, I think it's important to make the parents in addition to the students well informed about the use of social media or games. Because many kids don't have access to online gaming or social media in school, it is difficult to monitor their behavior and the information they are putting out about themselves. That being said I think it is very beneficial to address that potential privacy breach to both the students and their parents. Again using filtering software could also prevent kids from even accessing these types of games or social medias that they shouldn't be on as it is.

 

Lastly, I feel like plagiarism is a large issue for this generation because it's seen as a simple solution. To counter this I would implement using antiplagiarism software like the book mentioned. I'm familiar with Turnitin.com which I always thought was a very reliable one. An issue that could counter this is if a paper needed to be handed in as a paper copy, but I think it'd be easy to make a rule that the essay must be submitted to the designated antiplagiarism software in addition to the paper copy. I have known people who plagiarize unintentionally because they'll read something and be so focused on trying to incorporate the idea they just read that they subconsciously wrote exactly what they read. I think an important rule of thumb would be to notify students of situations like this and add that when in doubt cite and give credit where credit is due.