Sunday, April 19, 2020
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Week Eleven Reflections
Essential question: What specific policies will help your district prepare students for current and emerging technology use? How can you help lead your district in creating these policies?
This question couldn't be more relevent than it is now. Just last week we were given an updated technology agreement that we had to sign in order to continue working from home in the midst of COVID-19. Policies are changing rapidly because we were not prepared to banish students from school buildings and still teach them from home all while using school devices.
As we move forward from this crazy time and begin reveiwing and rewriting technology policy with will be key that we focus on promoting the responsible use of technology and create policies that encourage the enhancment of student learning (Clarity Innovations, 2016).
Districts should have a Responsible Use Policy (RUP) which "is a written agreement among parents, students, and school personnel that outlines the terms of responsible use and consequences for misuse. Effective RUPs create an opportunity to teach students, while in school, to become responsible digital citizens, which will help them thrive in a connected world"(US Dept. of Ed, 2017, p. 78).
Wrangell Public School District (WPSD) does have a RUP which is signed by all students, parents, and staff before any technology devices are distributed. However, this will probably need updating in the light of our current situation. Another policy we have explored in this course already is BYOD policies. I mentioned in that blog post that WPSD does not have a policy for this, but currently has a student network and allows students to connect their personal devices to be used at school.
So, I would argue that the most important policy updates needed at WPSD right now are in the realm of BYOD policies. I am an active member of the technology committee which will be important in getting a policy like this passed in our district. In addition to a BYOD policy, I would like to see our current policies be updated and delivered to all parties affected by the changes. This is an issue in our disctrict because we have had a large turnover in adminstration the past 6 years and each has created their own handbook with their own policies. According to the US Department of Educaiton (2017, p.79), "Policies and procedures for device management, teaching responsible use, and safeguarding student privacy should be in place and understood by all members of the community prior to providing internet access or devices."
In the next couple weeks our staff will be looking at putting together a new handbook for next school year and this will give us the perfect opportunity to update our technology policies!
Resources:
Clarity Innovations. (2016, September 13). Policy & Leadership. Retrieved April 12, 2020, from https://www.k12blueprint.com/toolkits/policy
US Department of Education. (2017, January). Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education: 2017 ... Retrieved April 12, 2020, from https://lincs.ed.gov/professional-development/resource-collections/profile-902
As we move forward from this crazy time and begin reveiwing and rewriting technology policy with will be key that we focus on promoting the responsible use of technology and create policies that encourage the enhancment of student learning (Clarity Innovations, 2016).
Districts should have a Responsible Use Policy (RUP) which "is a written agreement among parents, students, and school personnel that outlines the terms of responsible use and consequences for misuse. Effective RUPs create an opportunity to teach students, while in school, to become responsible digital citizens, which will help them thrive in a connected world"(US Dept. of Ed, 2017, p. 78).
Wrangell Public School District (WPSD) does have a RUP which is signed by all students, parents, and staff before any technology devices are distributed. However, this will probably need updating in the light of our current situation. Another policy we have explored in this course already is BYOD policies. I mentioned in that blog post that WPSD does not have a policy for this, but currently has a student network and allows students to connect their personal devices to be used at school.
So, I would argue that the most important policy updates needed at WPSD right now are in the realm of BYOD policies. I am an active member of the technology committee which will be important in getting a policy like this passed in our district. In addition to a BYOD policy, I would like to see our current policies be updated and delivered to all parties affected by the changes. This is an issue in our disctrict because we have had a large turnover in adminstration the past 6 years and each has created their own handbook with their own policies. According to the US Department of Educaiton (2017, p.79), "Policies and procedures for device management, teaching responsible use, and safeguarding student privacy should be in place and understood by all members of the community prior to providing internet access or devices."
In the next couple weeks our staff will be looking at putting together a new handbook for next school year and this will give us the perfect opportunity to update our technology policies!
Resources:
Clarity Innovations. (2016, September 13). Policy & Leadership. Retrieved April 12, 2020, from https://www.k12blueprint.com/toolkits/policy
US Department of Education. (2017, January). Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education: 2017 ... Retrieved April 12, 2020, from https://lincs.ed.gov/professional-development/resource-collections/profile-902
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Week Ten Reflection
Essential question: How are electronics viable additions to “crafting” for today’s young person?
According to Leah Buechley, the traditional way of building and designing electronics is "a really slow process, it's really expensive, and... most of them just aren't very attractive." Including electronics in the crafting process allows us to make them quicker, less expensive, and more interesting and expressive (Buechley, November 2012).
"Crafting technology encourages designers, engineers, and craftspeople to work with materials like wood, textiles, and paper that are uncommon in today’s electronic devices" (Buechley and Wilson, 2012). I know I personally have very little interest in building a circut board, but I love the idea of creating paper circuts or e-textiles. Introducing our students to electronics through these innovated creations could be the inspiration they need to really start digging deep into electronics and coding.
According to Leah Buechley, the traditional way of building and designing electronics is "a really slow process, it's really expensive, and... most of them just aren't very attractive." Including electronics in the crafting process allows us to make them quicker, less expensive, and more interesting and expressive (Buechley, November 2012).
"Crafting technology encourages designers, engineers, and craftspeople to work with materials like wood, textiles, and paper that are uncommon in today’s electronic devices" (Buechley and Wilson, 2012). I know I personally have very little interest in building a circut board, but I love the idea of creating paper circuts or e-textiles. Introducing our students to electronics through these innovated creations could be the inspiration they need to really start digging deep into electronics and coding.
The paper written by Buechley and Wilson (2012), discusses a few ways to use technology while crafting that may interest our students: carving, sewing, painting, and drawing.
"By expanding and diversifying the processes that are used to build electronics, we naturally expand and diversify the electronics that are created and the communities of people who build them" (Buechley and Wilson, 2012). We hear alot about coding for girls to encourage women to enter the field of engineering, imagine what we could do if we started pairing that with making flashy clothing or electronic paintings.
- Carving: Wood is first covered in a layer of conductive material, and then that conductive material is selectively removed to create the desired connections.
- Sewing: Materials like conductive thread, conductive fabric, and conductive fibers enable students to craft soft connectors, inputs, and outputs.
- Painting & Drawing: Paints and inks with different electrical characteristics enable students to create electronics by painting and drawing. Other electronic components can be attached to painted connectors with glue and paint to form full-fledged circuits.
"By expanding and diversifying the processes that are used to build electronics, we naturally expand and diversify the electronics that are created and the communities of people who build them" (Buechley and Wilson, 2012). We hear alot about coding for girls to encourage women to enter the field of engineering, imagine what we could do if we started pairing that with making flashy clothing or electronic paintings.
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| https://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/e-textiles-will-reach-over-3bn-by-2026-176557-newsdetails.htm |
Resources:
Buechley, L. and Perner-Wilson, H. 2012. Crafting technologies: Reimagining the processes, materials, and cultures of electronics. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 19, 3, Article 21 (October 2012), 21 pages. DOI = 10.1145/2362364.2362369 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2362364.2362369
http://lizastark.com/compcraftfall2016/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/a21-buechley_hannah.pdf
Buechley, L. [TED]. (2012, November 15). Leah Buechley: How to "sketch" with electronics [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTBp0Z5GPeI
Buechley, L. and Perner-Wilson, H. 2012. Crafting technologies: Reimagining the processes, materials, and cultures of electronics. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 19, 3, Article 21 (October 2012), 21 pages. DOI = 10.1145/2362364.2362369 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2362364.2362369
http://lizastark.com/compcraftfall2016/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/a21-buechley_hannah.pdf
Buechley, L. [TED]. (2012, November 15). Leah Buechley: How to "sketch" with electronics [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTBp0Z5GPeI
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