Entry 3

Those who have been following my blog know that as a Millennial I am huge supporter of educational technology integration for schools and training rooms alike. I am always looking for ways to meet the plugged in student where they are. This week, I will be playing a little bit of the Devil’s advocate and touching lightly on my perceived downfalls to having a fully network integrated classroom; because even Albert Einstein knew, “technological progress is like an ax in the hands of a pathological criminal.”

 No matter how effective the teacher, technology is not 100% reliable or impenetrable. When novices begin using technology in an everyday classroom setting, they may encounter any number of viruses, tracking cookies, or phishing sites (Gunter) that can wreak havoc on a perfectly planned lesson. Whether it be clicking a link, or downloading a handout, teachers with internet access in their rooms open up networks to all kinds of viral attacks. Though many schools have begun running routine anti-virus programs and adding layers of firewalls to protect themselves, few are doing enough to truly safe guard against Trojan horse and logic bomb attacks. 

Català: Cavall de Troia, de María Helguera, i Llanterna, de Pablo Palazuelo, al pati de l'Auditori de Barcelona. This is a photo of public art indexed in the cataloge Art Públic of Barcelona (Spain) under the code number 2910-1 (prefixed with territorial id: 08019/2910-1)

     Another major threat to the tech savvy teacher is a familiar one… just presented in a 21^st century context. The disruptive student in a technologically integrated classroom is not one who talks out of turn, or throws paper airplanes, it's the hacker. For example, just 5 short months ago, in my home state of Florida, a 14-year-old student was “charged with a cyber-crime after allegedly hacking onto his school's computer network and changing the background image on a teacher's computer…” (Wong). This new phenomenon of hacking school sites can be observed on any given day in a google news stream. Any student can search hacks and l find a plethora of articles with directions on how to crack their school's system. The current generation of students have been using computers for years. If a school does not have a decent password protection plan in place, anyone can guess their way into a teacher’s account. It does not take a government level encryption code hacker to guess your birthday, or pet’s name. With just a few clicks of the mouse any disgruntled student can post inappropriate content to the schools website, or change an entire year of class grades into A+’s.

Image: 'Windows login screen'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/132889348@N07/20011568173
Found on flickrcc.net

     The last, and in my opinion scariest, attack that the networked classroom should be weary of is that of an electromagnetic pulse, also known as EMP. Never heard of it? Well you should read up. In 1962 an EMP was set off 240 miles above the earth and 900 miles away from Oahu, Hawaii; the result, “The EMP was powerful enough to affect the entire electric grid in Hawaii, blowing out streetlights, and resulting in telephone outages and radio blackouts” (Kelly- Detwiler). Depending on the EMPs size, an electrical energy surge is created that is capable of knocking out any device that uses a plug or battery within a desired range. EMPs are growing continually smaller and more powerful, as years pass, and may soon be small enough to be carried in a shirt pocket (Woolsey). What implications does this have on a plugged in classroom, or networked school? Complete system failure! 

Author: Firstfreddy      Description: Switchable multiple socket, power strip

Date 23 May 2007     Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Socket_5.jpg

     How do we charge bravely into the night, when we know all the dangers that lay before us? We commit to becoming versed in computer security, and increase our digital awareness.  In 2014, “President Obama signed an executive order to guard critical infrastructure against cyber-attacks,” (Woolsey) and schools should begin following in suit. A great way to start moving into safer classroom computer practices is to begin to build internet guidelines for your school. Outline the consequences for hacking, cyber bullying, and data corruption. Have fake phishing emails sent to the staff, and see how many actually open it; this will allow the administration to begin to truly assess the current level of the staff’s security awareness. Schools may also consider offering in-service training for safer internet use, and routinely updating resources on ways to counter attacks. It also wouldn't hurt to keep educators apprised of current viruses and malware plaguing the school.The bright side to all of this is that a versatile teacher can begin to integrate technology, while keeping in mind that if all else fails teaching with just a text book may be a safest back-up plan around.

Resources

Gunter, R., & Gunter, G. (2015). Communications, Networks, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. In Teachers discovering computers: Integrating Technology in a Changing World (Eighth ed., pp. 1-489). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Kelly- Detwiler, P. (2014, July 31). Failure to Protect U.S. Against Electromagnetic Pulse Threat Could Make 9/11 Look Trivial Someday. Forbes.

Wong, C. (2015, April 13). Florida Teen Charged With Computer Hacking After Changing Teacher's Computer Background To Gay Kiss Image. Retrieved September 23, 2015.

Woolsey, R., & Pry, P. (2014, August 12). The Growing Threat From an EMP Attack. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 23, 2015, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/james-woolsey-and-peter-vincent-pry-the-growing-threat-from-an-emp-attack-1407885281

Entry 2

     Sadly, there are many teachers in classrooms today who fear technology in their classroom. In the education world everyone hopes that all teachers would strive to evolve into highly effective teachers. However, just like in any profession, there are those who work hard to improve, some who seek out innovations daily, and others who would simply like to just show up until retirement. Those teachers, who do not choose to use all the tools at their discretion to grow, will be left behind in the ever growing world of Ed tech.

     During my junior internship I had the displeasure of meeting one such teacher, who we will call Mrs. J. This tenured teacher, of 38 years, is quite the expert on classroom management, but absolutely refused to have a computer in her room. Because she had no computer every email for in-service registration, student questions, and parent concerns would have to be addressed in person, or via the telephone. She was especially surprised when she walked into my classroom, and heard music coming from my laptop. With a wide-eyed face of shock she whispered to me, “I didn’t know that it could play music.” How Mrs. J managed to keep her room isolated from the network, I have no clue… but my inner nerd hopes that she claimed fear of it being a Cylon trap.

BSG SER 3 RAZOR Guardian Cylon | by Elitist Czar

     The Internet and World Wide Web are true game changers in the education world. Networking classroom computers offers administrators, teachers, and students to communicate throughout the school district (Gunter, 2015, p. 51). Why bother with paper attendance sheets, rubrics, or student records, when you could use a secured network to store information? Who needs only text books in your room when you could build a webpage to hold important links, reliable search engines, interactive graphics (Gunter)? With so many Internet services available to educators, it is crucial that we use these "tools [to support] student collaboration and provid[e] interactive experiences (Price)."

     Be an innovator, and find ways to engage your students using message boards or chat rooms. Find virtual reality games such as Minecraft or Number Munchers to add a “balance of play” (Gallagher) to homework. Foster a classroom of connectivism by engaging with students using instant messages or interactive whiteboard tutorials. Record a vlog (Gunter, 2015, p. 72) of quick homework tips, or create a weekly podcast to give students kudos. It is up to us to not be fearful of these changes, but lead the revolution in being technologically savvy educators.

Resources

Gallgher, C. (2015, June 3). 5 Things About Minecraft That Worry Parents. Retrieved September 18, 2015, from http://edutechniques.com/?p=6936

Gunter, R., & Gunter, G. (2015). Communications, Networks, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. In Teachers discovering computers: Integrating Technology in a Changing World (Eighth ed., pp. 1-489). Boston, MA: CengageLearning.

Price, S. (2014, September 19). EdTech Apps for the Collaborative Classroom. Retrieved September 18, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shayla-r-price/edtech-apps-for-the-colla_b_6184666.html 

Entry 1

Imagine a scenario in which you walk into your classroom at 9:00am and say, “Please sit down and turn on all of your devices.”  Long gone are the days of early class bells, banning wireless devices, and isolated overhead projector only classrooms. Schools with just one technology director or lacking Wi-Fi are expiring like bad lunch… Or have you not noticed the recent disappearance of soda and mystery meatloaf from cafeteria menus (Hrannar Ómarsson)?

As educators moving into a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) world, the changes can be a baffling experience. As if combating our iPhone apps daily isn’t hard enough; now we must become tech savvy enough to navigate a Smart Board, incorporate Prezis, and send mobile surveys throughout class. During our ongoing battle with multimedia integration (Gunter, 2015, p. 6), we will face the challenge of vying for student’s attention against Twitter Feeds, Vine Comps, and Tumblr updates. It makes many teachers long for the times when the biggest classroom distractions were fire drills, Walkmen, and the occasional disruptive student.  How can we, as educators, stay relevant when we are in constant competition with weapons of Mass Distraction (Rosen)?

As a digital native, I think the answer is simple; teachers need to make the effort to become digital citizens themselves. We should be diving into technology head first! We can’t be nostalgic for the outdated weekly typing classes and monthly bulletin boards; we must become “media literate” (Gunter, 2015, p. 19), which means learning how to create lesson plans using all forms of communication and information. We have a new responsibility to guide our students into utilizing the true magic of the internet.

Nowadays, most students in our classrooms have had internet access since elementary school; why not use this to our advantage?  Schools can no longer expect to reach the masses with TV and radio alone. If our students and their parents are plugged in, then the best way to reach them is in their daily feeds. If you’re a novice you can start small with sending out a weekly Remind101™ text message or student designed e-newsletter explaining upcoming assignments. If you want to go a step further, consider implementing virtual office hours so students have time to access you outside of class. The truly advanced should find ways to reinforce their curriculum with Sandbox lesson websites for students to play. These will offer great opportunities for any of type learner you may have, at any time of day. Being truly media literate could effectively eliminate the “all even, all the same” (Hrannar Ómarsson) lesson plan mantra.

When exposing ourselves to more technology based teaching it is imperative that we increase our information literacy. This means committing to the concept that teacher and student alike should know how to “find, analyze, use, and communicate information” (Gunter, 2015, p. 5). Teachers now have the capability to share what they are creating, which means collaborating via the internet has made one-size-fits-all workshops obsolete. Unfortunately, this free flow of information can lead to misinformation and poor investigative habits. Before Wikipedia or Ask Jeeves, traditional libraries, card catalogs, and hard covered encyclopedias were necessities for conducting thorough research. We must become truly engaged educators and use reputable search engines (e.g. Google Scholar) to teach our students how to find reliable digital resources.

      In the wake of these new e-learners, effective education means preparing our students to enter the work force and be competitive in the global marketplace. Recently many states, including my home state of Florida, have implemented laws which require high school students to complete at least one online course to earn a diploma (Sheehy). These progressive states know that universities, tech schools, and community colleges are reaching students where they are. Using technology to reinforce our face-to-face communication is just the start (Gunter, 2015, p. 6), we must be committed to life-long learning and be prepared to “focus all of [our] energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” (Millman, 1984, p. 113). This is the only way to be equipped educators, therefore shaping the future of education.

Resources

Friedman, T. (2005). The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Gunter, G., & Gunter, R. (2015). Integrating Educational Technology into the Curriculum. In Teachers discovering computers: Integrating technology in a connected world. (Eighth ed.). Thompson Publishing.

Millman, D. (1984). The Sword Is Sharpened. In Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book that Changes Lives (pp. 1- 226). Tiburon,, California: Publisher’s Group Wes.

Rosen, D. (2012, December 18). Weapons of Mass Distraction. Retrieved September 2, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rewired-the-psychology-technology/201212/weapons-mass-distraction

Sheehy, K. (2012, October 24). States, Districts Require Online Ed for High School Graduation: Requiring online classes may not benefit all students. Retrieved September 2, 2015.