Journal #3: Keeping the Peace, NETS-T # IV, V

Levinson, M. (2010). Keeping the peace. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(5), Retrieved from
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This article describes a school where the use of technology created a war of opposing views about the use of this new technology. The culprit was instant messaging on school-issued laptops. It was interesting to read that some parents saw the situation as "the school had made a decision for the home, and they were given no choice in the matter." This was a tricky situation as the laptops could be taken home, which brought school policy into the home. I have known about problems with technology and different views of parents. However, I think that these parents have a point: technology is something where people have very different views, and educators need to approach this as they would other controversial topics. However, parents need to know that just like other controversial topics, sometimes they come up in school, and technology is becoming the way of the future. I think the school did the right thing in blocking the iChat, but also creating an IM to use at school, and creating a "boot camp" for kids to learn about the proper ways of having a laptop.

How would I deal with parents who disagree with my use of technology in my classroom?

I know that this may happen, along with parents having issues with other aspects of my classes. However, I think that I will have to take into consideration their views, as they are the parents and need to have a say in their kids’ education. Thus, I will inform parents of projects that involve technology, and give information that parents may want to know. If I want to use a website where kids have to register, I will get parental permission first. I think that if my school did what the Nueva School featured in the article did with having a laptop program, I would want clear regulations about what kids can use on the laptops at school, as it is easy for students to use social networking programs instead of focusing on work. However, I think that there should be a place for the social networking, and that this should be monitored, and left mainly up to the parent to decide. 

Is it possible to use social networking for school purposes?

I think that a way to incorporate social networking into school would be through using things like iChat, Facebook, and Twitter for students to do work through. They may have to ask a question of their classmate and then show me that they did this. Thus, they can get the desire to be on these sites out of their system during class, but use them in positive, educational ways. Maybe using Twitter for discussions as a part of homework would be good, and it would be something that I could monitor as well. However, I would need to make sure this was alright with parents, and that the students were allowed to get a Twitter account. If some were not allowed, I would not do this assignment.