Issues in Educational Technology

          Copyright, which is a form of protection to the authors of original works, is a serious matter and it is important to know the laws that come along with it because it could cause you to get into serious legal trouble. However, copyright laws are not the only legalities when it comes to educational technology. The No Child Left Behind mandate, together with the National Educational Technology Plan, put forth a framework of guidelines for schools to follow in order to close the achievement gap. The No Child Left Behind act came about due to the declining reading scores in America and has four basic reform principles: results, local control of local issues, effective methods that bring about results, and choices for parents. The philosophy of the NTEP is to use technology to better meet the needs of students, teachers, parents and administrators. They will ensure that teachers are trained and prepared on how to incorporate technology into their curriculum, which will also help in the closing of the digital divide-the gap between those who have access to technology and those who don’t. The goal is to integrate the application of technology into the classroom so that all students can have the same resources and take part in a more dynamic learning process.

            In this weeks readings we also explored the issue of copyright and fair use and because of the fact that the No Child Left Behind mandate doesn’t pertain to my major, I am going to explore how copyright does. In a field such as telecommunications, which is all about communication and getting issues out to the public, it is absolutely necessary to watch what you say. It is important that I make sure to use my own words when telling a story, especially if it is something I’ve researched from another source. Even if I were to use some cute catch phrase to conclude a story I was reporting on, you never know where that phrase may have originated, and it may in fact, not be mine to use. Being in a field that has you in the public eye, whether on TV or online, it easy for people to follow you and track everything you say so I will definitely be researching the laws on copyright and where fair use can be applied.

            I felt that this video called The Digital Divide, although it is only 38 seconds in length, has a powerful message! It switches back to the topic of the digital divide and shows us how unfortunate many people are, especially those in other countries. It basically asks us to think about our lives without digital technology and how we would be living if this trend had never started. For 300 million people it hasn’t started. Hopefully with the integration of technology into more and more classrooms, some of those less fortunate will be able to experience what the vast majority of us take for granted everyday.