Educational Technology Blog post 2

“How to get fired for using technology”

I hope you enjoy my blog!

Welcome Back to my second blog! As I was using twitter this week there were several articles about teachers using technology in the classroom. Some of these articles were positive while some were not. I came across one article by Jordyn Brown. This article talked about the difficulties of using technology to teach without getting fired.

When I first started to read post about getting fired from using technology there were many key words that stood out. In fact, three major key words were “Librarians, Computers and Language”. After reading this article and a couple more twitter post there were 4 main ways that educators were getting fired for using technology. Here is a quick synopsis of the four ways:

Personal Accounts
1. While having personal accounts on social media is a fun thing, it can also be dangerous.
1. Many teachers have their private life and photos online which students should not be exposed too. In many cases educators are not going to get a job or become fired from inappropriate content displayed on their own pages.
Contact with Student
1. While it’s alright to be able to contact students via school emails and remind 101 some teachers don’t realize when and how it is not appropriate to contact students.
1. For example, some teachers using texting straight from their personal phone is not appropriate.
1. In fact, I had a professor who told us it was okay to submit late assignments if we put it in her mailbox, (her mail box at her house). This is not appropriate.
The use of inappropriate websites
1. Technology is great to use to find sources and references. However, if the teacher does not show student how to appropriately use these websites students can get inappropriate results and/or use the wrong information
1. Students have to learn how to use these sights appropriately or else the educator can/will be the one to get in trouble for the misuse (this is most common in libraries).
The use of child friendly sights
1. Teachers want their students to be exposed to information and be able to use a variety of sources. However, teachers can get fired from allowing student to use non age appropriate websites.
1. For instance, a 3^rd grade class writing about school safety. The teacher should be sure they aren’t reading about school shooting and school threats. The content should always be age appropriate.

Do I think we can use technology without getting fired?

In my personal opinion, I believe that technology is a great tool that we should utilize in classrooms. However, I also believe that all educators should have to take a mandatory course on what they are allowed to do and what they aren’t allowed to do. I also think that educators should check each other’s accounts for inappropriate photos or information. If teachers work together to make sure their private lives are kept private and their technology is efficient and safe to use, then why not use it!