Journal 3: Keeping the Peace- NETS 3 and 5

Levinson, Matt. (2010). Keeping the Peace. International Society for Technology in Education, 37(5), 1-4. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=February_No_5_4&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4495&ContentID=25237&DirectListComboInd=D

Summary: This article related a controversy that occurred at Nueva Middle School in Hillsborough, California. The students were given laptops from the school that they could use for their classroom assignments and projects. Yet these laptops were also equipped with iChat so students were able to instant message their friends and socialize on their laptops too. This caused an issue because many parents thought their children were doing too much socializing and not enough research and homework assignments off their school laptops. Many of the parents felt they could not control their child’s usage of the iChat once they got home and so they wanted the school to get rid of the software. However, other parents said that they should keep the iChat because it is just is like watching TV or using video games or Internet browsing. Basically, they believed it is the responsibility of the parent to teach their children how best to use these tools. So each parent should set ground rules about how they can use the IM at their houses, not have the school block iChat for every student. The school eventually decided to block iChat because from the school's perspective, the academic purpose of the laptops had disappeared into a vortex of social networking.

Why is a “boot camp”, as described in the end of the article, necessary for students in order to use their laptops with IChat?
This boot camp enables students to become more proficient in the correct usage of their laptops. A three mini-workshop program teaches the students how to physically care for their laptops, what the guidelines are for correct usage and explains the ethics related to technology. Also, by having technology educators come and speak to the students about extensive possibilities of media, it enables students to feel like they can creatively express themselves through technological means.

What lesson can be learned from this article regarding communication?
Obviously this was a sticky situation for the Nueva Middle School to be in. On the one hand, school administrators and staff wanted to provide these laptops with iChat so that students could become more technologically savvy and use such technologies to complete their schoolwork. However, many parents were upset by the “socializing” that was done through these computers. The school handled the situation very well though, by getting teacher, parent and student input on the situation. After listening to everyone’s viewpoints, the school then made a decision about what to do. Thus communication between all three parties involved- parents, teachers and students- enabled the school to rectify the situation. The lesson that can be learned is that communication is important to settle issues and to keep peace and unity within the school environment.