Journal #2

The Threat of Security
By: LeAnne K. robinson, Abbie Brown, and Tim Green

This was a very interesting article. It discussed how security could actually be hindering the use of technology. The article starts with a story of a man who ordered bulbs off the internet after class. He then was being monitored for inappropriate use. He also had new computers but was informed that the CD-RW were inoperable. The teacher found this very discouraging and decided that it was too difficult to keep asking for permission to use technology so he stopped using it altogether. Security demands seem to be increasing and teachers and educators are finding it harder to incorporate technology in the classroom. Some of the barriers that inhibit the use technology are lack of appropriate hardware, lack of training, lack of administrative support, and most of all, lack of access. Studies have shown that teachers who implement technology tend to develop more constructive learning activities. The article states “…increased use of security monitoring software is having a negative effect on students and educators.” For example, teachers are being discouraged from using e-mail because of the limitations on content that can be exchanged. There are stricter policies on website for classrooms for security reasons. They compared not being able to build a web site for the classroom to not being able to buy school supplies with your own money for the classroom. With the many filters added to computers, it limits internet access to retrieve information. The article goes on to say that there needs to be a balance between the high security demands and accessibility to technology. Students need to be protected, but teachers need to feel like they can fully integrate technology tools.

Questions:

What are some ways that you can overcome the barriers of security?
It is important to know the policies that come along with technology to their fullness. If there is any questions the administration should be addressed be for perusing any activity. If the policies are strict then you use what you do have to its full extent. Using my knowledge, I could share with the administration how barriers affect the use of technology in the classroom and also explain to them why technology is so important.

If there were no filters to filter out inappropriate sites, how would you monitor student use of the internet?
I would have to be very observant and constantly supervise when they are on the internet. If they do choose to go to an inappropriate site, their privilege is removed. In the article it said that only 0.03-0.05% of websites are inappropriate.