As technology has become more integrated into schools, there has been a need for the field of education to look at how it is being addressed in the classroom. In education there are content standards, common core standards and now technology standards.  When looking at technology standards there are two specific areas that need to be examined the international dictated by organizations like the ISTE (International Society of Technology in Education) and state standards (this blog post will examine the Ohio Department of Education). While standards ensure students are being taught technology properly, it is up to the schools and teachers to teach students about ethics and copyright laws dealing with the web. 

The ISTE has created 5 main technology standards educators to implement in the classroom to assist them in becoming more effective teachers. These criterion are designed to engage students and enrich not only learning but also the the professional practice for the instructor. For a more in-depth description on each standard and to view the performance indicators click here for the pdf distributed by ISTE. 

Standards for Educators: 
1.Facilitate, Inspire Student Learning, and Creativity   
2. Design and Develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning
4. Promote Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility  
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

In addition to having standards for teachers there are also Standards for Administrators and Students. 

According to the ISTE administrators play and important part implementing technology into the schools. Similar to teachers there are also 5 standards for administrators as: 

"Transforming schools into digital age places of learning requires leadership from people who can accept new challenges and embrace new opportunities. Now more than ever, the success of technology integration depends on leaders who can implement systemic reform in our schools"
-ISTE.org

To see standards and performance indicators click here.    

ISTE's criterion developed for students is to help assess the abilities and knowledge they will need to not only learn effectively, but also thrive in an increasingly global and technological society. According to the ISTE,
"Simply being able to use technology is no longer enough. Today's students need to be able to use technology to analyze, learn, and explore." Six Standards have been generated to assist students in advancing their digital aptitude. 

Standards for Students:
1. Creativity and Innovation 
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency 
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship 
6. Technology Operations and Concepts 

To view more information on the standards and performance indicators geared toward student learning click here. 

Side Note On ISTE: 
It is not only an organization dedicated to just developing standards they also offer a variety of other services. One their website there is are countless resources to assist teachers, from resources such as books, podcasts and journals to educational events for members. Additionally there are a multitude of professional development tools available, from webinars, conferences, online courses, and consulting services. The ISTE is also a great organization for creating contacts and social networking, they are on twitter, Facebook, linked in, they have a wikiplace and a have Young Educators Network. Furthermore the ISTE has created its own version of Facebook called Ning, for its members, affiliated organizations, groups and educational leaders. Ning allows members to network, share and learn from and with other members only. Another website which also provides educators with support in dealing with technology is etech ohio. Their goal is to not only help teachers continue their professional development but assist instructors in obtain and effectively utilize technology in schools. They are a great resource for grants, subsidies and funding for technology. 
 

In the state of Ohio there are currently seven standards regarding technology. 

1. Nature of Technology 
2. Technology and Society Interactions
3. Technology for Productivity Applications 
4. Technology and Communtication Applications 
5. Technology and Information Literacy 
6. Design 
7. Designed World

These criterion have been developed to address a wide range of digital skills broken up into three main groups computer and multimedia literacy, information literacy and technological literacy. For more info on the standards click here for a downloadable pdf. 

 

To concluded standards both ISTE and State benchmarks are important and hit on similar points, the ISTE however provides criterion for educators and administrators in addition to the students. Furthermore when looking at applying these standards to a social studies class some of these work very well such as Ohio's seventh standard Designed World. This touchstone requires the students to learn of the history, governmental, economic and cultural impact of science and/or technology; how it has been done to improve the human condition, which can easily be incorporated into lessons.

As the blog Digital Citizenship:Using Technology Appropriately  points out "...we recognize inappropriate behavior when we see it, but before people use technology they do not learn digital etiquette (i.e., appropriate conduct).   Many people feel uncomfortable talking to others about their digital etiquette.  Often rules and regulations are created or the technology is simply banned to stop inappropriate use. It is not enough to create rules and policy, we must teach everyone to become responsible digital citizens in this new society."
Schools often implement AUPs (Appropriate Use Policy) to unsure students are safe and using the internet correctly. These policies are often signed by students/parents and are used to detail what is acceptable when using the internet and what is not. These documents also outline safety rules and restrictions to network access and releasing the school district of responsibility for students who choose to break those restrictions. Most schools make a point of letting students know that they have freedom on the web based on the principle notion, in which they need to take responsibility and accept any limitations pertaining to that liberty.  More information on AUPS can be found here. 
AUPs only go so far and their is no guarantee students are reading what they are signing as such students need to be instructed by the teacher on what is to be expected of them on the internet. 
There are generally rules net users subscribe to that can be posted and taught in the class. Below are some example of a few of these rules. Clicking on the rules will directed you to more in depth information on each. 

Rule 1: Remember the Human
Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth
Rule 5: Make yourself look good online
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control
Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy
Rule 9: Don't abuse your power
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes

Additionally beneath is a video that educators could have students could watch before using the computers in the school. 

The © or Copyright legally grants the originator of a work the exclusive publication, production, sale or distribution of their creation. Meaning there is a protection of the creators right to control how his/her product is used and to be compensated for it when others are give the permission to use their work. Additionally anything that is creative, tangible or an original work does not have to be registered.When examining Copyrights it is also important to look at the Fair Use doctrine. The Fair Use principle limits the copyright law and allows for the use of copyrighted works when it does not divert monetary income from the originator and/or is for the greater good/benefit of others.

What does this mean for Education? It means as long as students and educators are using copyrighted material for instruction in the classroom it is okay to use it. Additionally though both students and teachers need to cite sources and give credit for borrowed information as neglecting this can lead to plagiarism. Plagiarism can be avoided by giving proper citations and quotations when using other's work in your own.

For more information on © visit:  
http://www.isafe.org/imgs/pdf/education/Copyright.pdf

In the field of education it is necessary for teachers to continue their education, learn about new innovative instructional strategies and find resources to implement in the classroom. But where does one get this going to conferences, seminars and taking counting education class? While all of these are great  tools they are not accessible on a regular basis, there is however one aid that is and its free. This resource not only puts instructors in contact with other teachers and educational researchers but also gives them exposure to experts in their content areas, and the tool that does that is twitter. Twitter is often just thought of as a social network teenagers use to tell their friends where they are at or what they are doing, but when used in a professional way it can open a gate to instant information that can be useful for educators to use to improve their teaching, classrooms, and schools. 

While twitter can put one in contact with professionals around the world it can also give access to the learning  and content area communities. It does this through the #hashtag. When writing a tweet one can add the hashtag and your tweet is instantly sent to a chat on the subject you have hash-tagged and by searching you are able to view what others are saying about the same subject. A list of topics created by for education can be found here. Some of the most useful tags I have found are a general education chat #edchat and #ntchat for new teachers. I also like for social studies looking specifically at #sschat and #twittersorians to learn more about happenings in my content area. These forums can be more effectively viewed by installing applications like TweetDeck. This app is free and can be used by installing google chrome or for macs by going to the App Store and downloading TweetDeck (it is also free). Below is a few images of using TweetDeck.