Welcome To Controversy, Tech. Population: Infinite.

  This week we were very fortunate to have John Finch join us in my Internet For Educators class. This was the second time that I have heard John talk, so I was quite excited to enter the class for the presentation.  To me it seemed like we talked about a lot of controversial topics surrounding technology and education.  What do I think about controversy?  I love it!  Not the celebrity life controversy, or mainstream controversy; real life controversy.  People hear the word and think "Uhhh..... maybe we should just stay away from this subject," or "I'm not going to touch that with a ten foot pole."  Many do not realize the benefits of (some) controversy.  Controversy starts conversations, and ideas (to an extent).  It can sometimes lead to questions being answered, which can lead to the solution to a problem.  Not all controversy is good though (please don't think that is what I am trying to say).  It will always turn heads, and it will never disappear.  I find that there is a lot of controversy in the educational field.  Like cyber bullying; as bad as we think, or has it been inflated due to external factors?  Should a teacher be able to go out and have a drink once in a while, or should they only do so in the privacy of their own home, with the blinds down, hiding underneath a blanket?  Use sites that download educational you tube videos at schools with low internet accessibility, despite terms of agreements, or don't?  So much controversy, so little room to type about it all.  More on this later...

  We started by chatting about a topic that has gained a lot of attention over the past year, which is cyber bullying. First off, cyber bullying is an awful and disgusting thing, which, like every other awful thing, should not exist. However, the awful truth is that bullying in some form will always exist. Despite how terrible cyber bullying is, that was not the main subject of cyber bullying in the talk.   John asked us if we thought that drama played a large role in cyber bullying. As much as I despise bullying... yes, yes it does. When I was a youngster, bullying existed, and it was present as much as it is today. Kids got pushed around and tormented on the playground and on the walk home after school everyday. Students were in the office daily for situations that happened on and off school property, and sadly it was probably the same in other schools. Something since then, however, has changed. I don't think it is the amount of bullying, I think that has stayed consistent over time. I think that it has a lot to do with what John said, in that drama's impact is huge. While working this summer to pay for my final year if schooling (hopefully), I had a conversation with one of my co-workers, who has 2 daughters aged 10 and 15.  He stated that there was more drama going on in his 10 year old daughters life than there ever was, or is going on in his 15 year old daughter's.  He said that the school has sent home newsletters and other things to address the problem of cyber bullying in the school.  He knows what goes on in his daughters' life, and even when she has said that she has been bullied, he sees the text or Facebook post, and does not see it as bullying in any way shape or form.  He thinks that students today, because of technology, are just being over dramatic with messages they receive.  I agree, and disagree with this.  The reason I disagree, is because there are many instances of real cases of cyber bullying, that cause real serious problems.  Whether or not in happens once, or a hundred times, it should be addressed.  I agree, however, because in a text or message there is no way to tell the tone the sender had at the time (a threat is obviously a threat though).  In addition, messages and posts stay there, and linger.  This makes them accessible, over and over again, which can just increase the problem.  This coworker does believe though that there is too much drama in grade school, and that it is skyrocketing the notion of bullying.  I also agree with John and his notion that the media blows many subjects out of proportion.  They really do that with everything don't they?  Always report on the negative the majority of the time, and rarely the positive, almost to scare people.  I don't know about anyone else, but it would be nice to hear an uplifting story once in a blue moon.  John just mentioning drama's role in the cyber bullying epidemic is controversy.  Good.  The mere mention of it starts discussion, and gets people looking at the facts and stats (which for cyber bullying, John said are fairly low).  John said that some administrators may start to limit the internet because of the cyber bullying problem.  This in turn could lead to many valuable resources in the classroom becoming extinct.  So by talking about it, we may just save it.  For the record, I am in no way for cyber bullying, I think it is awful, and it has no place in society.  I just think that we need to take a look at it, and truly talk with our students to see the truth, before we do something rash like ban the internet in schools.

  Have I used you tube downloaders?  Yes.  Do I think they are exceptionally amazing to use when a school has a low bandwidth?  Yes.  Do I think that students should see some of these videos because of the educational value they hold?  Yes.  Have I stopped using them, now that I know I am going against  the 40 page Terms of Agreement that I totally read when I signed up? ......*cough cough*...... (see previous responses).  This topic is controversial, as it should be.  Want to know what else is controversial that never seems to be brought up?  The Terms of Agreement.  I do not understand how websites, whose names or URLs I will not mention (I don't want to be controversial), can get upset with users when their Terms of Agreement are 40 pages long, and written in a language that only J. R.R. Tolkien could have created (he created many languages for his Lord of the Rings books; and I apologize if that reference did not make sense).  A website, or company, should only be able to complain about users breaking their agreements, if the agreements are legible.  I can honestly say that I have never sat down and read a full agreement before, because I know that it will not make sense to me even if I tried (I will however, if any superintendents or principals are reading this, without a doubt sit down and read my entire contract and duties list).  I will also read a Terms of Agreement if it gets to the point and tells me in less than five pages, in english, what I am agreeing to.  South Park had an episode based around this topic of Terms of Agreement, and though I will not get into the details of the episode, it made many very good points about how the length of them are just absurd, so barely anyone knows what they are signing up for (guilty as charged):



  As an aside, some people think that a pre-service teacher having South Park as their favorite TV show is controversial.  I was told that I should never watch that show because of the profession I am getting involved in.  If thats the case then no teacher should be allowed to watch a show on TLC (it stands for The Learning Channel, and I don't think anyone has learned anything from "Toddlers and Tiaras" and "Honey Boo Boo").  As a second aside I love Apple, but i still find it hilarious.

  Overall, it was awesome to have John Finch in our classroom.  He isn't afraid to ask the questions, despite the controversy that may be surrounding the topic.  Some people of course create controversy out of nothing, and then that can lead to bad things, but sometimes questions need to be asked.  Good or bad, controversy is here, and he (or she) is knocking on the door.  We can't keep the lights off and pretend we aren't home, in hopes that it'll go away and not bother us.  Sometimes we have to face it head on.  Sure, sometimes when we open that door we may get harsh words thrown at us, but sometimes we just may be lucky enough to open the door and buy a box of cookies.  Until next time.... CHEERS!