Databus Issue: 2008 1 01/28/2008
Opening Up Access to the Online World
Sara Armstrong, Ph.D. Editor, OnCUEStudents as Evaluators
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In 1979, I was introduced to computers in my classroom. The computer looked like a typewriter, and ran off a disk drive for 8” floppy disks; output was produced on a long roll of thermal paper. The next year, we got a keyboard and screen set up that still hooked to that 8” floppy drive. Kids could play Hangman and other games illustrated with pictures made up of ASCII characters. The following year, the Atari Educational Institute invited my school to participate in an early telecommunications program, and my students conversed through the computer and our 300 baud modem with students at another school 200 miles away in interactive book talks. Even then, technology was changing quickly, and there was little support.
It was about that time that the first CUE conferences were taking place, bringing together teachers who were interested in and discovering the possibilities of early personal computers in the classroom. The necessity for such an organization as CUE was apparent: the possibilities of using these new technologies in the classroom were unexplored, and when groups of teachers could meet to talk about and share their experiences, ideas, hopes, and fears, everyone grew in understanding.
CUE is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2008, and remains in business because new technologies keep on coming. And the need for thinking, sharing, and growing continues. Just as information technology folks keep up on their understanding of what’s new and how it works with an eye towards classroom support, curriculum people need to know and understand what technologies kids are excited about and using in order to incorporate what makes sense into teaching and learning for the purpose of addressing standards and increasing student achievement. Not only do these two groups need to talk and learn from their peers, but they also need to talk with and learn from each other. After all, it’s all about the kids, right?
One major challenge in using technology in schools today concerns safety and security. The Internet can be a wild and woolly place, with dangerous and inappropriate possibilities our youngsters may encounter. Every IT department has to be concerned with these issues. However, sometimes the “cure” is worse than the “illness.” With the focus on 21st Century skills that include digital literacy, perhaps allowing more access to the online world, carefully framed by information literacy skills, better serves students (and teachers) and prepares them for the world beyond school, where we hope they will make sound judgments about what they see, hear, and decide to participate in. It seems to me that without opportunities to explore or experience “bad” sites that might come up, students will not have the background to make informed decisions about what they encounter online—if the site is to be trusted and the information sound, for example. I’m afraid the idea that “It’s on the web; it must be right” is pervasive, and it is incumbent upon teachers and parents to help students analyze what they are seeing and hearing online and elsewhere. This is not to say that Acceptable Use Policies should be thrown out or ignored, but that the agreements they contain engage students in thoughtful analysis of the sites they come across. In this way, discerning young people can be trusted to question what they read online and off, take responsibility for what they do, and grow into thoughtful global citizens. When students cite
As CUE celebrates its 30th anniversary, our leaders are looking ahead, questioning how members can best be served and in what ways the thoughtful integration of technologies that don’t even exist currently can take place. Let’s put more effort into teaching thinking and problem-solving by creating opportunities for discussion and discernment rather than trying to isolate and protect our learners too much.
