Module+3+Reflection

=Reflection 3=

===**//Reflection Prompt://** Reflect on what you plan to do to address the equity and ethics issues when applying technologies. You may share with us about what you have been doing by addressing these aspects and what you will change after learning in this module===

**Description: ** The case study that we have been reviewing has brought up some ethical and equity issues within my own school. As a technology leader, it is important that I not only recognize those issues, and but also look for creative solutions to solving these problems appropriately. **Impact: ** **The largest issue in my school is one of copyright. Most of the staff is unaware of copyright laws, they pass these habits onto the students within the building, and then I have issues when students are working on my assignments. As a result, I become one of the few teachers that address student use of media and information, and since I don’t see every student in the building, I know there are others who are not learning the laws concerning this. Fundamentally, there is something really wrong about ****//all //** **students not learning these restrictions, and as a staff, the teachers in my building need to all be on the same page when it comes to student work and copyright. One way to address this would be to have professional development (question and answer type) sessions with the teachers within my building, and allow them to learn what the legal and ethical use of information is. By doing this, I give them the opportunity to understand how they can use the information available to help students in a safe and fair way, perhaps providing them with more resources, and giving them the ability to write rules and standards for students to begin using when it comes to media/content of assignments and presentations. On the flip side, this also gives them a standardized set of rules and conditions (teacher/administration/technology leader developed during PD sessions) that they can take back to the students and teach. Ultimately, the teachers have significant contact with the students, and if these rules and ideals for technology use are implemented throughout the curriculum, then the students will learn and adapt accordingly with copyright laws. Another issue is one of equitable access to technology (which I never experienced as a student in a suburban school). Most of my students do not have computers at home, and they receive their only time on the computers during the school day. However, there is limited access to these resources (only 1 computer in each classroom), and only one computer lab in the whole school, so this is not a great way to have students using technology for the benefit of learning. To allay this issue, my administration and I have been looking into some grants that would bring some much needed computers and technology into the building, and really start to allow teachers to begin integrating more technology with their students, providing them with the tools and means to raise test scores as well as experience understanding of the content. ** **To overcome the copyright problem, I really need to bring the administration on board as well as a few teachers to begin with. I also need to make sure that we are all well-versed in the copyright laws, and that we are prepared to support teachers as they begin to develop and implement these new school-wide rules in their classrooms. With any policy, if there is little support, then it will fail so for this to succeed, it’s so important to garner that support from the administration and staff at all levels of the process. For the equitable access problem, we are presently looking into what places funding can be found (grants, endowments, etc.), and also trying to determine what technologies/programs will best suit the needs of our students and building goals. Hopefully, we will find the money from some avenue we are exploring, and because we are determining our needs as well, we will be able to purchase these items as soon as the money becomes available. ** **Intent: ** **My intent for copyright is to send out a survey concerning copyright laws, and see what types of responses I receive. Once I have this information, I can then approach the administration with some ideas about how we can best eliminate the problem, and come up with some positive solutions that they are willing to wholly support. After this, the staff and administration can have productive (question and answer) informational sessions about copyright. The goal of these sessions would be a school-wide set of rules and regulations for students as well as staff and administration, and a requirement that these be taught to students, practiced by all, and enforced (teachers and/or administrators). Truly, I believe that this is an ideal scenario perhaps, but while it may be a new concept at first, I feel that what can be gained by staff and students is worth any initial bumps in the road. Overall, this will make teachers and students more thoughtful practitioners when using “found” content, and as an end result, make them technology leaders in their own right concerning fair use and copyright law. As for equitable access, we are finding alternative sources of funding (grants, endowments, donations, etc.) at this time, and are excited to see what types of tools we can bring into the building to expand not only the learning capabilities of stduents, but also the scope of their horizons as they advance into adults. **