Blog Journal 2

     As a history major, writing makes up the bulk of my assignments, and so MS Word is naturally very important for me as a student. I have typed dozens of papers, both lengthy and short, and I have used word for all of them. Likewise, nearly all my professors have composed their all-important syllabi in word, in addition to various assignment descriptions and topics for essays. Word is not the only word processor, but it is one of the most powerful and efficient, so just as writing has always played a role in formal education, so too will Word play a role in modern education until something even better comes along.

     Since my time as a college student began I have not made much use of fair use policies or had to worry copyright too much, however this semester I have taken two classes where copyright and fair use policies have been relevant. The first class is an introduction to film studies, and so the issue of copyright comes to forefront, as the class has regular screenings of all sorts of films, all of which are still under copyright. The faculty coordinator for the class deals with this, thankfully, but there is a process that must be undertaken if we are to be allowed to watch the films for free. Secondly, and recently, my professors for a Japanese culture class had to ask permission from a director to watch a short film for the class, as it was still under copyright. As an educator, I would do my best to stray away from copyrighted material whenever possible.

     Technology offers a host of benefits for education, but of course is not without it's drawbacks. Cyberbullying is increasingly problematic in online circles, but I feel that with the right environment, it becomes impossible. The classroom is generally small, and relatively intimate when compared with the entire internet, and the sense of anonymity that comes with internet use is what makes cyperbullying possible. In a classroom setting, without that anonymity that comes with large groups, cyberbullying is unlikely to rear its ugly head. Academic honesty can also be easily compromised by the internet, and this will never be entirely unavoidable. However by sitting your students down and explaining the risks and consequences of cheating, along with the moral and practical reasons cheating is unacceptable, most will never seriously consider it. The digital divide is a problem that will slowly fix itself, but until that point teachers and other faculty should take special care to familiarize students with the technology they are expected to use. Assume no student understands how to use a certain piece of technology and work from the ground up. If students already know how, kudos to them, they can even help their peers.