Journal 4

Journal #4: “It’s Time to Trust Teachers with the Internet” by Dian Schaffhauser (All NETS)

Schaffhauser, Dian. (2010). It's time to trust teachers with the internet. The Journal, Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2010/12/01/Its-Time-To-Trust-Teachers-with-the-Internet-A-Conversation-with-Meg-Ormiston.aspx?sc_lang=en&Page=1

Summary: The main point of this article was that for teachers to better utilize technology in the classroom they need to be trusted with easier and more unrestricted internet use.  She makes the point of saying that if educators can be trusted to use the internet in their classes how can they be trusted with children in general.  Also she says that once the teachers do have more unrestricted use of the internet available to them it is their responsibility to use it responsibly.  Another thing that is mentioned is the need to teach educators how to use the resources out their once they become available to them.

Question 1: Do you think that teachers should have unrestricted access to the internet to use in their classrooms?

A= I think that they should have complete access.  I agree with the author of the article that if we can trust teachers with the internet how are we supposed to trust them with kids.  There are so many good resources that could be used to help educators with their lesson (e.g. youtube, sites with primary sources…).  If teachers had access to these things they could use more technology in their classrooms and instruct students on how to use the technologies responsibly.

Question 2: Are there any down sides to this?

A= As with any other issue there are also downsides.  There are going to be teachers who use the internet in inappropriate or irresponsible ways.  When I say irresponsible I mean that they are going do something such as not screening a video before showing it in class and fail to realize that there is inappropriate content.  If time is taken to train the educator however I believe these kinds of problems can be easily overcome.