privacy online

I know many people still don't like doing banking online or buying things online as they fear their personal information won't be safe. However, as recent events such as hackers getting information from stores and banks alike directly from the businesses computers, even if you don't put information over the web it is still stored in many locations by web-accessible computers. Therefore, even though I don't like the idea of my information going into cyberspace, I realize that its never 100% safe even if I don't. Personally I am willing to risk somewhat higher exposure in order to have the benefits associated with operating in an online world. I like being able to shop online, find information, bank etc etc from the comfort of my living room. If that means a risk of people learning more about my habits, more about me then so be it. I do however have spyware, ad-aware and virus protection software running on my computer and my Nerd-OnSite husband makes sure I delete cookies regularly to limit my exposure to the best of my ability. Its that or head back to the dark-ages before the internet! A world I hardly even remember anymore!

Piracy and copyright

Well, I must admit that piracy is certainly a widespread phenomenon in all forms of media. I think most people have had copies of tapes, videos, CDs and even high end computer programs that aren't paid for. It's definitely a white-collar crime. Its especially tempting in the cash-deprived education system where it has the added justification of being in the best interest of your students.
I must say that I find the issue of copyright very challenging. So much is essentially free for the taking on the web so how are you to know what is and isn't considered copyrighted? Many teachers have websites where they post their notes, assignments, worksheets etc. Are these copyrighted or are they considered free for anyone as they are easily downloaded and any student, at the very least, can have a copy? Are images and pictures ok to take? Certainly a lot of websites advertise lots of free images so on another website where the picture isn't stated to be copyright protected its easy to assume the site originally got it free themselves. What if you take someone else's posted note or worksheet but then modify it to suit your course/class, would that still be considered against copyright regulations? Many sites where the work is clearly original are also clearly intended to allow free sharing including sites like YouTube and and many photo sites where people can post their original material for everyone to share. Can those people still claim copyright if you use it elsewhere?
So many questions, so few clear answers and all those "free" resources on the web sure are difficult to pass up as a busy teacher!

Always connected

I have found several of the posts on the issue of connectedness of interest. Online communication certainly provides a great deal more freedom and flexibility in communications as we no longer have to find a mutually convenient time to phone or meet. In teaching this would likely be more of an issue in communications with parents than students as I personally would be happy to communicate with parents by email but not students. I have a husband with a Blackberry and his 'always-connected' status drives me, and occasionally him, crazy. He ends up always being on call, answering emails at dinner, all evening, all weekend he is 'available' to his clients. This would definitely be a problem for me as a teacher and as other people mentioned it would be best to set guidelines for yourself and those you communicate with about when you would and wouldn't respond to emails to allow for time when you are not your job. Always connected seems to be the direction our society is determined to head but I think we will pay heavily for it as the stress of essentially always being at work will be too much for many people. There are already many more people taking stress leaves,switching or quitting jobs entirely and these numbers will only rise as we allow our work to infiltrate more and more of our life.

Connectedness is wonderful, and its flexibility is wonderful but reasonable limits and guidelines must be set for one's own sanity.

Best in moderation

Hi John, nice to see you again too. From what's been posted already this week it looks like this class will provide lots of perspectives to think about. I find the debate on whether online ed is good or not for the shy student to be quite interesting. I'm sure that online ed, like everything else in life, is something best used in moderation. Certainly face-to-face interactions are a critical part of life and school is a valuable part of learning how to interact appropriately with others. However, online ed provides a medium for expression for a variety of different students that is not provided in class. Shy students may start coming out of their shell online first and then be able to transfer it to real-life situations. In addition, the beligerant student wouldn't find it much fun to make provocative statements online as there is the same immediate reaction they are usually looking for and it may encourage them to make more positive contributions to their learning experience. All in all, as stated, I think it is an excellent addition to the repertoire of educational tactics but not something that should every be used exclusively.

Intro Blog

This is just a first posting to get my blog up and running