Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!

Posted by Aaron Smith on March 17th, 2008 filed in Web 2.0

I have been silent for far too long.  There is a device, a little technological innovation, that is potentially extremely dangerous to our students, our children, and perhaps even ourselves if we’re not careful.

This device was originally intended for the purposes of communication, and that’s where most of it’s danger lies.

  • It can be used to send notes secretly between students during instruction and exams.
  • It can be used to organize clandestine meetings after school without adult supervision.
  • Because it’s a communication tool, many teachers actually require its presence in the classroom. Some teachers have even distributed it to students who didn’t already posses one.
  • This loathsome item has even proven to be physically dangerous.  Why, I myself once accidentally stabbed myself with the sharp edge of this item and had to go to the nurse for medical treatment.  When the principal heard what had happened, he admonished me for keeping this item in my pocket.

Have you figured out what this item is, yet?

OK, that’s all  rather amusing in the grand tradition of the movement to ban water, but I do have a point.  Students are allowed and in most cases expected to bring pencils to school because:

  1. They’re convenient,
  2. They’re used in the “real world,”
  3. Some tests are impossible to take without them, and
  4. We teach students how to use them, so they’re really not that dangerous.

Let’s shift the topic towards your favorite Web 2.0 technologies. Blogs, wikis, Flickr, del.ici.us, and so on.  All are potentially harmful or inappropriate for students, and many schools block them and deny their use for just that reason.

The potential.

At the same time, they are denying the potential good that can come from students using these very things under supervision, so that they don’t stab themselves in the leg.  (I’m still embarrassed about that, really.)

So I think we should allow students to use these things, because:

  1. They’re convenient,
  2. They’re used in the “real world,”
  3. Some tests types of social interaction are impossible to have without them, and
  4. We should be able to teach students how to use them, so they’re really not that dangerous.

Those are my thoughts.  What are yours?


7 Responses to “Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!”

  1. Maryann Molishus Says:
    March 17th, 2008 at 8:05 am

    Ditto!!

    One of my students got an eraser stuck in his nose last year!!

    Teach them young and often.

  2. Stephanie Sandifer Says:
    March 17th, 2008 at 8:38 am

    I actually have the tip of one stuck in my upper arm from a “sharpener accident” in 5th grade. Another student bumped into me with his newly-sharpened “communication device” as we stood in line to use the sharpener.

    If my elementary school had banned these things before I started school, then I wouldn’t still be walking around with a piece of lead in my arm 30-something years later! Unfortunately, my school felt it necessary that we learn to use these tools effectively and efficiently.

    ;)

  3. Sean Valley Says:
    March 17th, 2008 at 9:37 am

    I agree… I have a constant fear that the tip of the communication device that Lisa Bassett stuck in my ring finger in 1980 will come loose and lodge between my finger and my wedding ring. How will I explain THAT to my lovely wife??

  4. Joan Vinall-Cox Says:
    March 17th, 2008 at 10:59 am

    Great comparison. My only communication device wound was the indentation on my middle finger, right hand, a workplace disability from writing long exams. Still there 40 years later!

  5. mrsdurff Says:
    March 17th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    You stabbed yourself with a pencil? I’m sorry Aaron but that IS funny!

  6. Anne Mirtschin Says:
    March 17th, 2008 at 1:04 pm

    I must be the oldest commentor because I still have fountain pen ink in the palm of my hand as a constant reminder of a horrible boy in grade 6. However, I agree whole heartedly that we should be able to teach students how to use blogging, web2.0 tools so that they are not that dangerous. I am so glad that the leadership in both my school and in my state of Vic in Australia support me in this endeavour. However, I am constantly annoyed with the amount of blocking that occurs with internet service providor.

  7. Dlaughey Says:
    March 21st, 2008 at 7:59 am

    Hi-
    I am a HS English teacher for a large Virtual School and I teach from home. Wonderful experience but I am returning to the brick and mortar school for several reasons. The local salaries in the state to where I moved are better; I miss face-to-face interaction with students; and the VS environment is quite corporate. I miss the autonomy of creating curriculum. Working from home can be very lonely and podcasts (fascinating and informative) talk at me, not with me. I do some live teaching with Elluminate but the job is mostly grading and calling. I have procured a great position starting in August but do not yet know my schedule. My Virtual School job entails me to stay within the course and its tools. My year has wound down so I have the luxury of 4 months to think about this. Here is my challenge (and it is exciting). So, Teachers 2.0, what would you bring into the classroom with you? My first task is to make this journey into a blog. Which blog site is best for me? The teachers in the district I will be joining use Typepad. Should I sign up for a free blog there or go elsewhere? Thanks for your help. New to Twitter. dlaughey

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