SOCIAL, ETHICAL, LEGAL,
& HUMAN ISSUES

Teachers understand the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding
the use of technology in PK-12 schools and apply that understanding in practice.








Intellectual Property Rights/Copyright Issues

Email Communication Regarding Use of Copyrighted Material


Technology: Not Forgetting That It's All About People
1. E-Publishing: "Rainsong" Online
2. The Human Factor Behind Technology Use
District Email Use:
Investigating Factors that Determine Teacher Technology Use

Reflection

Some of my greatest "ah ha" moments have happened in this area.  It was a true delight to be granted official permission to used scanned pages of Jane Yolen's Owl Moon, for a Powerpoint that I used to demonstrate the power of good descriptive writing to students and teachers.  I started the process by emailing Ms. Yolen herself, using an email I'd found on her website.  I was surprised to hear back directly from her!  Initially, she told me that she believed that her publisher would not give such permission, but that I should check with them.  I did so, and after a couple of clarifying emails about the purpose and scope of using the scanned materials, I was granted permission.  Being both a fan of Jane Yolen's lovely books, and of electronic communication, it was both a heady experience, and one from which I learned.       The breadth of our ability to communicate via the Internet was brought home in two separate experiences for me.  A year and a half ago, I had the privilege of having a piece accepted  in "The Voice",  the official publication of the National Writing Project.  "Rainsong" was a reflection I'd written about teaching writing in my then-fifth grade classroom, and it was published in both the hard copy and electronic version of the magazine.  A few weeks after having received my complimentary copies of "The Voice" I happened to be searching the Internet for teacher support sites and materials.  I came upon the educational community, "TappedIn" which is an amazing cybermeeting place for teachers of all experiences, grade levels, interests, and curricular areas.  I became a member, and the second time I visited this place I went on to a message board  for Writing Project members. There--to my delighted surprise--I read that one of the members was calling attention to my story, and urging others to read "Rainsong."  (No one knew that I was a TappedIN member or the author, and I'd never spoken with any of these folks before).  Later, I contacted the person who written such nice things.  She was a high school teacher in a juvenile detention facility in another state; we'd likely never have met, but for such a serendipitous moment as was made possible on TappedIn!  And the fact that, 1) the writing was available to others electronically, and 2) that she was encouraging a community that transcending geographical boundaries to access it showed me how powerful (for good OR ill) Internet use is.       The second experience just happened recently.  I've been working very hard, in my current position as a Teacher on Special Assignment in our school district,  to increase the numbers of teachers who are both reading their email, and using our district website to gain information.  My particular job involves many aspects of monitoring and assessment, and the website I created has information regarding timelines and procedures for testing, ways to keep track of assessments for eventual use on our electronic report card, and other policies.  I also included a little incentive for teachers to visit this site in the way of their being entered into a drawing upon emailing me of the fact that they visited the site this month.  I've been happy with response I've received so far from our district's teachers.  However, the other day, I received an email from a principal from another school district in a community far from ours (I don't know this person) commending me on the website, and asking for information on what our district uses to gather and monitor our data, as I had included shots of possible data reports that teachers and administrators could request from me on the website.  This brought home again, how small the Internet has rendered our world; that we truly can be a global community.        Finally, I was fascinated with what I read during my preparation for writing the review of literature on whether a teacher's personal attributes (specifically, his/her background, beliefs and disposition) impact his/her use of technology in teaching.  The answer was a resounding "yes" and reminded me that no matter how passionate I and my like-minded colleagues are about moving our district toward more powerful and equitable uses of technology for our students, we will never get far if we don't pay attention to the fact that it is flesh-and-blood folks who must agree, and open themselves up to, these possibilities.  It has changed how I view the "mission".  I am thankful to have been afforded the opportunity this year to work at the district level.  It has allowed me access to far more teachers and a greater variety of proficiency levels and attitudes toward instructional technology than I would have had in my third grade classroom.  Just the other day, I spent quite a long time on the phone walking a rather frantic junior high teacher through the steps of finding a recipient's name in the district email's address book, and actually using our email system to communicate with this other teacher.  She was delighted with her new learning, and I was delighted to have been able to help her.  This was powerful learning for me, as I need to remember that it is incumbent upon those of us who will lead, to keep in mind the needs and abilities of all of our learners, whether they are eight, or forty-eight!

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