End of the Term Thoughts on E-Sponsibility

Picture from Google Images

When I first chose the topic of E-Sponsibility to research over the term I understood what it meant, but did not understand how truly important it really is. I knew that Internet safety as a professional was essential to keep in mind, but after researching the topic in much more depth I have been shocked to find that all professionals MUST understand E-Sponsibility in order to have a successful career. My perspectives on E-Sponsibility did not necessarily change over the term, but instead just grew deeper and I found a greater understanding of it. Previously I thought that E-Sponsibility was something that most teachers should keep in mind and if they didn't they might find complications. Now however, after reading about numerous teachers who have found themselves fired or suspended for things I once saw as innocent online behavior, I see E-Sponsibility as something that should be demanded of professionals, not just something that is encouraged. I always recognized that professionals posting nights out drinking with friends or trips in their bathing suits on their social media might be controversial, but I never interpreted it as something that could get them fired. When people say that you cannot post anything slightly inappropriate on your social medias as a professional they are not joking; people's online actions are watched and professionals like teachers will be fired if their online behavior is not 100% appropriate. Researching E-Sponsibility this term has opened up my naive mind that you actually can be fired for what seems like innocent, legal things if they are posted publicly on the Internet. What is legal is not always appropriate online behavior and although I had this position starting out the term, after more exploration on the topic of E-Sponsibility I appreciate the unavoidable seriousness of the matter much more.

Picture from Google Images

My newly-acquired knowledge about E-Sponsibility will affect my future teaching endeavors in a number of ways. Now that I have an understanding of how serious it is to be responsible online users as a professional, I will never take any risks. I have learned that although you might think something is appropriate and okay to share with the world, it might not be looked at as okay by others. All parents out there want to feel comfortable with the person who is teaching their child and I want to make sure that they are comfortable with me. I know know that respect can be lost by parents, colleagues, and even students if you are not careful with what you share. I want to be looked at as a respected, well qualified professional from every one that I work with in the future and in order for this to happen I must separate my private life with my professional one. I am so glad that I chose to research this topic because I am afraid that if I didn't I would go into teaching with a naive outlook that issues like being fired and suspended over minor online behavior can't actually happen. I would never post obvious inappropriate things, but after exploring E-Sponsibility I have found that not everything that professionals get called out on is obvious. As teachers we have to be extra careful because our job involves young children who should not witness all the legal things that adults are allowed to do. After gaining a lot more knowledge on E-Sponsibility, I feel much more prepared to become a teacher and be a responsible online user.

Voicethread made by Molly Neumeister

Should Educational Technology be Held Accountable for Student's Learning Gains and Losses?

I strongly believe that it is not appropriate to hold educational technology accountable for student learning gains or losses, due to many reasons. First of all, you cannot standardize it because not every school has the same equipment. It is unfair to hold technology accountable for students learning gains and losses when they may not even have the resources they need to succeed. Some schools that have more technology resources will have more learning gains from it while others that aren’t as fortunate to have many resources will have learning losses; therefore, it is not appropriate to hold educational technology accountable for learning gains or losses. Also, not every teacher is incorporating computers enough; they are not using the technology resources they have. It is unfair to expect all students to be on the same level academically with educational technology when not every teacher is teaching on the same technological level. You need to level the playing field for students and it is hard to do that with technology when some schools don’t have the resources and some teachers either are not as tech savvy or disagree with the use of technology. Lastly, I believe it is not appropriate to hold educational technology accountable for student learning gains or losses because the motivation and engagement of the students should come from the teacher, not technology. A lot of teachers are now depending on technology to motivate and engage their students, and this is not beneficial. Most students’ attention will only last so long with technology and therefore, it is unfair to expect students to learn only from technology. Although technology has the capability to be a positive aspect on education, it should not be held accountable for student’s learning gains or losses until every school has the same equipment, every teacher teaches using technology on the same level, and every teacher continues to motivate and engage their students with and without technology.

Video from YouTube

Accessibility's Negative Affect on E-Sponsibility

Made by myself off of Worldle

Accessibility is one of the four core issues that is seen from using Internet in teaching. Not everyone can afford having Internet in their homes which leaves students without access to it at a disadvantage to those students who do. I believe that accessibility to the Internet has a negative affect on my core issue topic, E-Sponsibility. I believe this because the more people that have access to the Internet the more pressure teachers have on them to obtain their status on the Internet. Do not get me wrong, I think that teachers should be responsible with their Internet use regardless of whether anyone can see it or not, but without accessibility there would be less controversy over what teachers should and shouldn’t post on the Internet. As a teacher you are held to a higher standard both inside the classroom and outside the classroom and both off the Internet and on the Internet. Even though you have to be responsible in all ways, having what you say and do be accessible to anyone is questionable. Everyone thinks that only their friends they accept on their social media's can access their information but in reality many people can. These days it is hard to define what is and isn’t okay to post on the Internet; everyone has different values and beliefs as to what is moral, therefore it is impossible to please everyone unless you just completely stay away from it. It is so easy for a picture or post to be twisted around by someone that is out to get you. There are tons of people out there searching the Internet and you can’t be sure what their purpose is. But without accessibility to the Internet, no one can see it and if no one can see it, then there is no problem.

Topic: E-Sponsibility

Picture from MS Images

For my EDST 220 final project I chose to do my research on the EdTech core issue of E-sponsibility. I chose this topic because I think that in this day and age technology is becoming bigger and bigger and with that, E-sponsibility is an extremely important issue to touch on for future teachers. We live in a time where it is so common to share your life on the Internet whether that be on a blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and it is so important that as a teacher we know what is and isn't okay to post publicly. What many people don't understand is that when they post something in writing, it is permanent. Anyone can have access to seeing what they posted on the Internet as well as saving it, which is why social media is so dangerous, especially for professionals. I believe that moral behavior as teachers should be demonstrated both in and out of the classroom. I have a little prior knowledge on the topic of E-sponsibility because I have known people in the past who have applied for jobs and didn't get it because of either inappropriate pictures they posted on their Facebooks or from their crude “statuses” posted in the past. An employer doesn't want to hire someone who will make their company look bad, so when they see people posting unprofessional pictures and thoughts on their social media they won’t consider hiring them. I hope that after researching more on E-sponsibility that I grasp a better understanding of what truly is and is not considered professional in media usage. I hope to be an elementary school teacher in the future and because I believe that the usage of technology in the classroom will increase over time, I think that learning about the do’s and don’ts of what is and isn’t appropriate to post on the Internet will highly benefit me.

Picture from MS Images

For my EDST 220 final project I chose to do my research on the EdTech core issue of E-sponsibility. I decided to choose this topic because I think that in this day and age technology is becoming bigger and bigger and with that, E-sponsibility is an extremely important issue to touch on for future teachers. We live in a time where it is so common to share your life on the Internet, whether that be on a blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and it is so important that as a teacher we know what is and isn't okay to post publicly. What many people don't understand is that when they post something in writing, it is permanent; anyone can have access to seeing what they posted as well as saving it, which is why social media is so dangerous, especially for professionals. Moral behavior as teachers is important to be demonstrated both in and out of the classroom. I have a little prior knowledge on the topic of E-sponsibility because I have known people in the past who have applied for jobs and didn't get it because of either pictures they posted on Facebook of them drinking and partying or from crude posts they posted on their social media. An employer doesn't want to hire someone who will make their company look bad, so when they see people posting unprofessional pictures and thoughts on their social media they don't even give them a chance.