INTERNET SAFETY ...continued

6/27/2008

June is Internet Safety Month - who knew?

Part III: Have you read your school's acceptable use policy for technology?

I am excited to begin teaching art for a new school this fall. While my excitement builds, the techy teacher in me is also aware that I may face an up hill battle when trying to integrate technology into the art curriculum. Access to computers will be a problem because there is only one computer lab. There is also a full time teacher housed in the lab.

No worries... my motto is "Where there is a will, there is a way!" So before I start looking for grant money and begging my administrator for more space to house all of the cool equipment I will acquire, I must do my homework and find out what my choices and limitations are when it comes to student use of technology and the Internet.

Here is what I have found - it is even available online :-)
"The primary purpose of Tipton County School District's electronic communications network is to support and enhance learning and teaching that prepares students for success. Providing access to technology is an investment in the future of both our students and staff. The Tipton School District believes that electronic communication is a tool for life-long learning, and that access to technology is one of the resources that promotes educational excellence, (Tipton County Student Handbook, p.43)."

Hot dog, this is exactly what I was hoping for! As a teacher, I too, want to use technology to support and enhance learning in art class... Tipton County Schools and me... we are going to be okay.

The above statements were taken from the Student Acceptable Use Procedure for Policy #4.406 for the 2007-2998 School Year. The document also indicates that students and staff should use technology in a "responsible, efficient, ethical, and legal manner..." Furthermore, the handbook lets the students and their parents know that the use of technology is a privilege, and the privilege may be revoked at any time for misuse. Students and parents are also required to agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the policy document and provide signatures.

It is important to have such documentation in place. Parents and students must always be made aware of the expectations for electronic media use while on school property. When using the school's computers, network or the Internet teachers and students should always have educational objectives in mind. Anything else is just not okay in a school setting.

This policy clearly outlines what is and is not acceptable for students. Below, I have listed the specifics with a little less jargon :-)

1) be careful - do not share passwords!
2) hands off other people's data or equipment
3) your emails are not necessarily private
4) big trouble will follow if you access or receive inappropriate material over the Internet
5) the school's technology may not be used to sell stuff
6) you break it, you buy it - that includes programs, hardware and networks
7) do not steal software & for heaven's sake, do not install anything if you haven't been given permission

The only thing that seems to be missing is a statement on plagiarism. In the days of "cut and paste" it is all too easy to acquire text, images and video from the Internet. Use of other people's intellectual property without proper citation is plagiarism - no matter how you look at it. Without proper guidance, students may not even realize that direct use of someone else's work found online is wrong. As teachers, it is up to us to teach our students about the potential ethical and legal problems that surround plagiarism. When developing lessons that require students to conduct research online, teachers must also stress the importance of proper citation. Having a rubric that clearly requires citation for student products will help.

That said, it is important that I teach students to be good stewards of the wonderful world of technology. There are so many awesome tools available for art education and I can't wait to get started. Now... I need some money to purchase equipment... anyone want to make a donation???

6 Comments

Jim Harris link

6/30/2008 02:13:36 am

How important are computers to art, artists and art history? What kind of things do you teach the kids in class, and what kinds of things do you want to teach in the lab? Does the lab have graphic tablets, Illustrator and Photoshop? Are there free software solutions that you can use instead?

I've often seen http://www.getpaint.net/ offered as a decent free substitute for Photoshop./>
What kind of equipment do you want to buy?

Angela link

6/30/2008 02:46:18 am

Thank you for the link to www.getpaint.net Jim! I am always interested in new tools – especially if they are free. I may run into the problem of some applications being blocked by the school district’s filter… I will have to wait and see what is possible.

Computers are a vital part of any art program. In today’s digital world, teaching art without technology is akin to teaching without paintbrushes. Granted, it can be and is done but I would rather not have my students’ miss an opportunity to use tools that will translate into other aspects of their academic and professional careers. For example, I would like to have my students not only complete art projects using traditional media such as painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, etc. but then I would like them to publish their work in some way – whether to a class web page, an enhanced podcast, or digital slide show. Furthermore, there are many possibilities for creating artwork in pure digital form such as digital videos (visit this site to see one of my favorites from another art teacher http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/~TriciaFuglestad/VisualArt/page14/page14.html ), digital photography, digital painting, etc.

If given the opportunity to purchase technology for my art program, I would like to have ready access to computers (10 - 20 would be great), digital tablets, easy photo, audio and video software, digital cameras and a digital camcorder.

Kristy Conger

6/30/2008 02:54:33 am

Jim beat me to the punch on paint.net. : - ) It's a great and FREE tool. I have it installed on both my work and personal laptops. There is a ton of Web 2.0 stuff out there (as you already know) that you can use in the classroom. Now...the trick is to get enough classroom machines to run all the neat Web 2.0 tools on : - )

Jim Harris link

6/30/2008 04:02:24 am

Actually, if you staged production, you could get by with far fewer computers in the classroom. Also, can you rely on your students having computers at home. Buying 10 Macs like in our lab would be $13,000 (20" screens, $20,000 for 24" screens) not counting furniture and other support equipment, plus they raise the electricity bill considerably. You could probably get 10 Quad-core PCs with 22" screens for $8000, but still that's a very big number.

If your results were always shown online you could save on ink and paper.

Amy

6/30/2008 02:58:06 pm

As far as internet safety- you have a great motto!
My concern for Tipton County lies in the meaning of "Enhanced Learning". The phrase is broad and open for assumption of meaning. My instinct tells me to make use of that full time monitor/teacher you guys have to guard against inappropriate use of internet. Other than that don't sweat it- we live in a day in age where kids will look up anything to get a rise out of themselves or someone else. Let their work speak for them. If their work is honestly good then let it go. If their work is suffering then guide their "enhanced learning".r/>As far as plagerism- Mix in a lesson about the artists rights, napster, Metallica drummer, downloading cost vs.free, how would they feel?, the story of you and me trading artwork (You let me print and paint I give you 50% if I ever sell one), copy into sketchbook then usein artwork, working so hard on something and some jerk just takes and takes, borrowing quotes, learning from watching, reproducing, etc... - bring up these debates in a current fashion. Ethics is a hard thing to teach yet the whole idea of art is to reproduce things you soak into your brain and reinterpret them, put them down on canvas, and in school people ask ,"Where did that come from?" Plagerism is being afraid to not go out on a limb and reinterpret something and make you very own.
I know there are programs blocking certain websites from being accessed but that goes against all my beliefs. Hmm- what a pickle.

Dana

7/12/2008 01:33:58 am

Don't forget about the expense and challenge of printing creations sista'! When I ran class in a comp lab that was my main issue aside, of course, from keeping students away from innappropriate surfing:) We finally started recycling dittos and mess ups to print on.

AND, taping mini-versions of an expectation rubric on each individual comp & then a huge version on the wall with related consequences and rewards helps maintain those wanted behaviors.

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INTERNET SAFETY ...continued

June is Internet Safety Month - who knew?

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Angela V. Christopher

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