Are we moving ahead or backward?

It took me awhile, but I finally found the webpage "77 Ways Teachers Are Using Technology in the Classroom in District 77" I created 10 years ago. What spurred the search was a "gee whiz" article on students following some online expedition somewhere. I thought. "Why are we still exclaiming about things like this after having been doing them for a decade or more?"

As I look at the list, I can't help but think we may well have gone backwards in the past 10 years. The focus in classrooms today is so tight on reading, writing, math and test scores fewer teachers seem willing to try something new (and exciting.)

Plus our tech efforts still seem so scattershot. Why do we not have the same level of sophistication regarding technology and information literacy curricula as we have for reading, math, writing and the content areas - or commitment to implementing such a curricula?

Big sigh... 

(Oh, I finally found this webpage on our isd77 server when I accidentally typed the search term "77 ways" into Google when I thought I was typing it into Spotlight. Amazing.)

Should schools provide students e-mail accounts?

I received this e-mail from a district parent yesterday:

 I was a little concerned when I noticed our 5th grade daughter remotely accessing her school email from home.  Possibly I overlooked any information that informed us that she would have an email account.  Could you provide that information to me again.  Also could you briefly describe any threats to our home network and what is being done on the district side to keep her safe.

After verfying that was indeed a "real" parent, I responded:

We have been giving Mankato students e-mail address since about 1997. While accounts are established for them when they enroll as kindergarteners, they do not gain access until a teacher or librarian “activates” the account by giving them a password and showing them how to access the account. These e-mails are on our own internal mail sever and students access them through a web-based interface. Their e-mail username and password also give them access to their online storage space in the district.

We have given students e-mail addresses for a number of reasons:
1. E-mail is taught as an essential skill. E-mail use and safety is formally taught at 5th grade and reinforced in 8th grade in our library media curriculum. We have based our IL and Tech curriculum on the Minnesota Educational Media Organization’s  Information Literacy and Technology Standards (base on the ISTE NETS Standards) that read:
II. Technology use
Standard: The student will select and use the appropriate technology for educational and personal goals.
Use communication programs/devices such as phones, fax, email, instant messaging, video teleconference, synchronous and asynchronous communication tools.
2.      E-mail is used to communicate with teachers and peers. Students are encouraged to use e-mail to communicate for educational purposes with both their teachers and peers.
3. E-mail used to access experts. We recognize and value human experts as a vital information source for research assignments and projects. E-mail can be an effective and efficient means of contacting such experts.

We believe it is better for the school to give students e-mail accounts over which we have some control (monitoring, search of stored e-mail, ability to disable and change accounts) rather than ask students to use commercial accounts such as yahoo or gmail over which we have no control at all. This also gives us a chance to teach the safe and appropriate use of e-mail.

In terms of threats to one’s home network, there would be same risk than if your children were using a commercial e-mail account and they opened attachments that contain viruses or similar programs. We do filter at the firewall most attachments with extensions known to carry viruses (except those enabled through macros within Office documents.)

In terms of informing parents about student e-mail accounts, we could be doing a better job and I will be discussing this with our library media specialists how this happens at each building. I appreciate your bringing it to my attention.

If interested, I am looking for a parent for our district’s library/technology advisory committee and would be pleased to have you join us. We meet 4 afternoons per school year to work on policies, goal setting, and budgeting for the district.

All the very best and I hope this answers your questions. Feel free to give me a call if you’d like to discuss this further.

The irony is that very few students use their school e-mail address after about 6th grade, prefering their personal (and unregulated) accounts. 

Does our district need to revist the wisdom giving e-mail addresses to students? 

How does your school handle student e-mail accounts? Why or why don't you provide them? Has anyone used gaggle.net?  

Why librarians should be in charge of educational technology

If you want well and appropriately used educational technology in your school, turn its planning and implementation over to your library media specialists because they have:

1. A healthy attitude toward technology. The LMS considers and teaches not just how to use technology, but why and under what circumstances it should be used. (A sexist syllogism: Most librarians are women.  Women have a heathier attitude toward technology than men. Therefore most librarians have a healthy attitude toward technology.)

2. Good teaching skills. Unlike technicians they are more likely to use good pedagogical techniques and have more developed human relations and communication skills. Librarians are understanding and empathetic when technologically related stress occurs in the classroom.

3. An understanding of the use of technology in the information literacy process and its use in fostering higher level thinking skills. We view technology as just one more, extremely powerful tool that can be used by students completing well-designed information literacy projects. Many “technologists” are just now getting this.

4. Experience as skill integrators and collaborators. Integration of research and information literacy projects has been a long-term goal of school library programs, and as a result many LMSs have become excellent collaborators with classroom teaches, successfully strengthening the curriculum with information literacy projects. Librarians know kids, know technology and know what works.

5. Been models for the successful use of technology. The library’s automated library catalogs, circulation systems, electronic reference materials, and student accessible workstations all showed up well before classroom technologies. Teachers rightfully see the LMS as the educator with the most comfort with technology as well, which in turn bolsters their own self-confidence.

6. Provided in-building support. A flexibly scheduled LMS is a real asset to teachers learning to use or integrate technology. The LMS can work with the teacher in the library, lab or classroom. The LMS is available for questions that might otherwise derail a teacher’s application of technology. This as a primary advantage of the LMS as opposed to a classroom teacher having primary responsibility for staff development in technology.

7. A whole school view. Next to the principal, the LMS has the most inclusive view of the school and its resources. The LMS can make recommendations on where technology needs to be placed or upgraded as well as on what departments or teachers may need extra training and support in its use.

8. Concerns about the ethical use of technology. Students will need to have the skills to self-evaluate information; understand online copyright laws and intellectual property issues; and follow the rules of safety and appropriate use of resources. Who but the librarian worries about this stuff?

Your reasons why to turn tech over to librarians?