Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues in the Classroom

I think the internet is a powerful tool in the classroom if used correctly. As a teacher you need to be aware of the things that students are doing on the internet. There are many inappropriate places and people on the internet that students can get into trouble with. I think we, as teachers need to teach the students the correct way to use the internet so they will be better prepared when they face it on their own. I also think that schools having filters in place can be helpful because then some of the temptations are taken away. In elementary especially it is important to limit the sites your students can visit. Overall, I think the internet can really be helpful you just have to learn to use it correctly.

Distance Education

Distance Education can be valuable for students in many ways. One pro is that the student is allowed more flexibility. Instead of having the student be in classroom setting from 8-3 every day they are allowed to finish the projects and learn the material on their own time. The student can take breaks if needed or do things that are needed throughout the day. This can be beneficial because the students that may have physical or mental disabilities can break up their day in a way that works better for them.
There are also some cons to distance education. One con is that students will not receive the social interactions that they would get in the classroom. Learning to work with students in groups and different types of people is good practice for when the students get into the real world. In a job a person is required to work with all different types of people and school gives them a good chance to improve those skills.
A way to determine a student’s readiness for a distance degree program would be the amount of self discipline a student has. If the student is not able to self monitor themselves they will have a hard time completing projects on their own. Since the distance degree program is an independent setting the student must be able to work on their own and get all the work done.
To be able to teach in a virtual school the teacher would need to be able to give explicit instructions. Since the students are not in the classroom with the students the teacher must be able to explain what the students are to accomplish and have the desired results produced. If the directions are not clear or the students do not understand the material it may be hard for them to complete the projects and even to understand the material because they are not in the classroom and they cannot ask the teacher the questions in person.

Emerging Technologies

The technologies that I explored were Google labs http://labs.google.com, Microsoft for educators http://www.microsoft.com/education/default.mspx, and Innovative teachers website http://www.innovativeteachers.com. These websites were ones that had information on many different technologies in the classroom. Google Labs is a website that offers access to different things on the internet such as creating a web page. The last one was a website that teachers can collaborate on and share their ideas with one another. The Microsoft page shows how to use all the Microsoft products and also has a lesson plan bank that you can search for different lesson plans.
I think that technology has a huge impact on your teaching because it is becoming part of everyday society. You will have access to these different types of technologies and if you don’t know how to use them than your students will not get the whole benefit from them. I also think it’s important to learn how these different technologies can be integrated in the classroom because they can enhance your lessons if they are used correctly.
Technology can enhance student’s learning because it can add the extra visual component or the extra auditory component in the lesson. The students can show that they have met an objective by creating a video that shows the final product or creating a presentation that can be given to the class. I also think that if overused technology can make the classroom boring or over stimulated. I think overall if technologies are used than they will benefit the student in the classroom. They can also help the teacher to create more interactive lesson plans.