At this point, no one would argue about the positive value of integrating technology use in the classroom. Students benefit from collaboration, engagement and motivation. However, the next step is teaching students to understand how technology works and be able to use it in other ways. This set of skills is governed by both the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE), which monitors the use of technology in American schools, as well as the Ohio Department of Education which lays down Ohio's Academic Content Standards (OACS) for Technology at the state level. The ISTE has standards to teachers, administrators and students and address the use of technology in the classroom, whereas the OACS for Technology are more detailed and ask students to "apply, interpret and formulate ideas" and use systems while examining the use of intellectual property, copyright, patents, trademarks, ethics, etc. Under the OACS students are not simply using technology, instead they are understanding the functions and roles of technology as well as its interaction with society, as well as understanding how the technology itself works. Students are not only using Skype and online conferences, but they are also learning concepts of engineering and system design.
The integration of technology and the classroom has provided both teachers and students with endless opportunities for teaching and learning. However, along with those opportunities, come responsibilities on both parties to adhere to federal and state copyright laws as well as maintain certain ethical standards along the way. It is important that students understand the seriousness of these issues legally as well as academically. It is very interesting learning about "netiquette" and teaching our students how to behave and function as digital citizens, and it is also extremely important to educate them about online safety.
The integration of technology and the classroom has provided both teachers and students with endless opportunities for teaching and learning. However, along with those opportunities, come responsibilities on both parties to adhere to federal and state copyright laws as well as maintain certain ethical standards along the way. It is important that students understand the seriousness of these issues legally as well as academically. It is very interesting learning about "netiquette" and teaching our students how to behave and function as digital citizens, and it is also extremely important to educate them about online safety.