Blog Post #2

I have been using Microsoft Word as a student since third grade. I specifically remember using Microsoft Word to help with my science fair projects in third and fifth grade. Microsoft Word has been an integral part of my learning and success throughout my years in school and as I have gotten into higher education it has become more and more important. Whether I am using Microsoft Word to write essays for English, create surveys for math, or even write skits for other class projects, it has been one of the greatest and most simple technologies I have used in my life. I have seen my teachers use Microsoft Word to create a multitude of items throughout the years such as, tests, quizzes, syllabi, and other instructional worksheets. Microsoft Word is just as important to me, as a student, as it has been to all of my teachers.

I have never really thought much about copyright and fair use except when writing an essay and properly citing a source. Throughout my years in school I have searched the web and taken images that are useful to my work or project and just copy and pasted them into my document. I have constantly cited sources from books, articles and other documents to avoid plagiarism but not often did I think about attributing something to the original owner of the image I received from Google. I have also seen many of my teachers use images and documents that they were not the original writer or owner of, but as I read in the "Code of Best Practices" document, I believe they were allowed to do so because they were using it for educational purposes. As a teacher, I would educate my students on copyright and ensure that they are properly citing the documents and images they use in their work. As a teacher, when developing my own instructional materials I will take influence from other documents but never directly and blatantly use someone else's work and try to pass it as my own; I will be sure to give credit to the rightful owner of the image or source I used.

There are several aspects to technology implementation issues and they are broken down into three categories in chapter 11 of Teaching and Learning with Technology. The issues are split into legal issues such as, copyright, and piracy; social issues such as, cyberbullying, and then ethical issues such as, academic honest and privacy (Lever-Duffy & McDonald 257). A solution to the copyright issue would be to make sure all students are educated on what and how to avoid copyright. Students must know when to give proper credit and attribution to a document that they used to aide their work. Cyberbullying is a major social issue and while in school a teacher should do his or her best to prevent it as much as he or she can. As stated in Teaching and Learning with Technology, teachers can do their part by educating their students on cyberbullying and how to prevent it or what to do when encountering the issue. One main issue that I was always taught about was academic dishonesty. Teachers and educators constantly remind students that academic dishonesty is one of the worst crimes a student could commit. To prevent academic dishonesty, like other issues, teachers must be sure to properly educate their students on the consequences of their actions and how harsh the penalty could be. It is important for all these issues,that students are taught sooner, rather than later, on what to do to prevent any of the aforementioned problems from arising.