Blog Journal 2

I have used Microsoft Word extensively as a student since middle school. Most of my experiences using it come from school essays and assignments. These papers and assignments I have done for classes have given me the full and total skills to use and navigate around MS Word. Teachers also use MS Word for everything in school. All handouts, syllabus', assignment details, handwritten tests, and much more are usually created using MS Word.

I have not had many personal experiences with copyright or fair use of materials in an educational environment that I can think of. I have only seen copyright marks on the bottom of readings, books, and other learning materials I have used in classes. As a teacher, if I were to develop my own instructional materials I would definitely want to copyright them under my name so I get credit for my work. However, I would also like to share them with other schools and teachers under fair use if it related to their lesson and would help them teach their students more effectively. When it comes to students creating their own works, fair use is important. Students use copyrighted material to aid in their understanding of what is being taught.

With implementing technology in the classroom, issues definitely come along with it. These problems include legal, social, and ethical issues. As a teacher, when using technology in the classroom it is important to discuss all these issues with students and let them know they will not be tolerated. Three big issues I could see in my classroom are academic dishonesty, cyberbullying, and student privacy. A solution to academic dishonesty is to teach a lesson on plagiarism and cheating and make it clear that I will not accept it in my classroom. I will make my students aware that if they are to plagiarize or cheat they will get a 0 on the assignment and it will bring their grade down. When it comes to cyberbullying, any students engaging in this activity will be in serious behavioral trouble. Families and the school will get involved and hold meetings with those involved to put it to an end to it. With student privacy, any time information about a student is required to be shared I will have to send home a permission slip where parents/guardians must approve first.