Dear technology,
I think that I don’t love you so much right now or more accurately for a while now. You see it’s my job to make things work and quite honestly a lot of you just don’t play that well together. You don’t. Admit it. People expect web-type things to work consistently on everything that they use. And they don’t care what it takes behind the scenes to actually make it happen. They want their web-type thing to work on a Mac, a PC, a tablet (not the Babylonian kind), a cell phone or smart phone, a notebook (not the paper kind), or whatever else that you create and send to the market that has the ability to access the Internet(s). I’m tired of all of the work-arounds and quirks.
How exactly do I incorporate the social interactivity of the latest technologies, such as blogs, video, chat, and keep young people in K-12 classrooms safe from bad people? Is it different for people 18 and over who are in some form of post-secondary education? What about confidentiality?
The Federal Communications Commission’s web site on the Children’s Internet Protection Act says:
So I’m working on a project to develop and deliver K-12 modules and lessons about environmental toxicology that incorporates or supplements “hands-on” learning. The primary targets are students in biology classes that have sufficient access to technology both at school and at home. According to a National Center for Education Statistics survey, 97% of public schools in the United States have broadband access.
I just feel that I’m making quite a few assumptions about the type and amount of computer technology in public schools and how the multimedia pieces will be delivered in a science classroom. Is there only one computer in a classroom? Are there any computers with internet access in a science classroom? Is there a projector? Will the “hands-on” activities be demonstrated by a teacher because of limited access to computers in the classroom?
I’m trying to figure out how “facilitated assets” will be used in the science classroom, as opposed to a complete online course that is developed from start to finish. Credit for the phrase “facilitated assets” goes to my co-worker Angie Dick.