Reflections+on+Technology+Facilitator+Standard+VI


 * The introduction of new elements into established practice unavoidably gives rise to implications of a public, moral, legal or human nature. It is because of this that the role of the Campus Technologist assumes a leadership position to offer guidance and make informed decisions about the use of technology in education. Standard VI, for instance, rationalizes both the need for parents to sign consent in order for students to use the internet at school, and teachers’ responsibility to declare they will use technology for educational purposes only. The ethical aspect of this standard endows the technologist with the responsibility of guaranteeing equal, impartial access for all students and to make sure that accommodations are provided so that everyone benefits from the application of technology. **
 * As a special education teacher, I always have to provide accommodations for my students with special needs. In the spirit of the Least Restrictive Environment, I must make sure that my students receive the necessary accommodations and modifications. The activity involving the UDL books serves as an example of Standard VI. **
 * One obstacle I may face at times is the huge range between concepts of special education that general classroom teachers may have about accommodations and modifications. The UDL books were seen as something too difficult to master by the general ed. teacher and suggested that I provided more “traditional” activities to our students, in addition to giving them work below grade level. It was communicated that the purpose of this activity was to assert our commitment to accommodate for all learning styles and academic deficits by means of technology resources. No Child Left Behind states that students must be exposed to grade-level material; our UDL book activity taught grade-level geometry along TEKS vertical alignment lines. **
 * Another responsibility of the Campus Technologist is to model proper citation of intellectual property. Altough it is easy to take for granted that material available online is free for the takingand nobody will know if we download an illustration, copy music, or copy part of a book, the lifelong learner, whether student or teacher, must be reminded to include the origin and ownership of documents. In my case, in addition to citing the origin of materials, overwhelmingly I try to avoid copyrigted material at all and direct students and faculty to websites or resources that list royalty-free illustrations or text. Our CIT frequently reminds teachers to cite sources, however, many teachers still need to practice this. I would like to ask an expert how to further stress the importance of citing sources or to make administration realize why it is so imperative to do so. From a practical perspective, because the Web is becoming increasingly collaborative, I wonder if in the future copyright laws must change simply because the information superhighway makes materials less exclusive than ever, and because the advancement of this technology seems impossible without changing copyright legislation? **