EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN TECHNOLOGY:
PREPARING SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS FOR A
DIGITAL AGE
VIRGINIA E.
BY
GARLAND AND
CHESTER TADEJA
Chapter 6: Legal and Social Issues in Technology
CHAPTER 6: SYNOPSIS
• NETS.A Standard 5: “Digital Citizenship”
• Appropriate Internet uses for students
• Laws relating to copyright and Internet access
• Ethical and environmentally sound technology
practices
• Leader survey for Chapter 6 skill sets
• Discussion questions
CHAPTER 5: LEADER REFLECTION
Key points in this reflection come from an instructional
technology coordinator in Illinois:
• Block inappropriate content on the web
• Educate students on appropriate uses of social networking tools
• Inform parents and students on Internet acceptable use policies (AUPs)
• Educate students and teachers on all grade levels about cyber-bullying
• Electronic Communication Guidelines for the Naperville District 203
• Students are "our future" as digital citizens
CHAPTER 6: INTRODUCTION
• Explanation of NETS.A Standard 5
• Laws and guidelines for student safety online
• Ethical and environmental concerns regarding
technology use in schools
• Global issues regarding digital citizenship
ISTE NETS.A STANDARD 5: “DIGITAL
CITIZENSHIP”
• Leadership roles for superintendents in leveraging
technology use in their school districts
• Social networking tools for school leaders
• School administrators and technology coordinators
should address the factors causing a “digital divide”:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Scio-economic status
Disability
Ethnicity
Race
Language
Gender
ISTE NETS.A STANDARD 5: “DIGITAL
CITIZENSHIP”
• Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA); the need for
safe Internet use policies in all public schools or loss of
federal funding under the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) and low E-Rates
• Fair use of the Copyright Act should be enforced:
Copyrighted text, graphics, music, and images from the web
may only be used in the classroom
o Student multimedia projects may not be copied to school
websites or social media sites
o
ISTE NETS.A STANDARD 5: “DIGITAL
CITIZENSHIP”
• Cell phone policies and no cameras from Smartphones in
schools
• Cyber-bullying policies and social networking tools
• Environmentally appropriate technology waste removal
• Tools for global communication and collaboration
CHAPTER 6: TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
SELF-ASSESSMENT SURVEY
• Self-scoring survey
• Based on National Educational Technology Standards
and Performance Indicators for Administrators
(NETS.A) Standard 5 (NETS.A 5.a, 5.b, 5.c, 5.d)
• Ratings of 1 or 2 indicate areas of needed professional
growth
• Assessment can also be used to create an individualized
e-portfolio
CHAPTER 6: TIPS FOR LEADERS
1. Here are some important questions to ask before developing a cyber-bullying policy for
your school or district:
• What issues prompt the updating or creation of an anti-cyber-bullying policy?
• What does the district or school website currently define as cyber bullying?
• What are my top concerns as a superintendent or principal about cyber bullying?
• What staff development training will I provide to address this topic?
• What resources, including experts, do I have to initiate or sustain an effective anticyber-bullying policy?
2. Make sure that your school district is in full compliance with the Children’s Internet
Protection Act (CIPA), which requires that students are blocked access to such content
as pornography, gambling, or obscenity.
3. Provide clear guidelines on the appropriate and inappropriate use of social networking
tools for educational purposes, particularly the social networking communication tools of
text messaging, filming, emailing, and posting information on Internet-based sites.
CHAPTER 6: TIPS FOR LEADERS
4. Have strong anti-cyber-bullying policies by educating not only teachers
but also students and their parents on the forms of cyber bullying that
can occur at all grade levels.
5. Discuss and review appropriate Internet safety and digital citizenship
with school resource officers throughout the school year.
6. Encourage teachers and students to explore and collaborate with the
global world of Internet users by safely and securely using Web 2.0
social networking tools.
7. Overcome the socio-economic, disability, ethnic, racial, language, and
gender factors that can cause a digital divide in your school or district by
providing equitable access to appropriate technology resources for all
learners.
CHAPTER 6: TIPS FOR LEADERS
8. Ensure simplicity and clarity as you design an acceptable use policy
(AUP) in your school or district by using student-friendly language which
includes the purpose, the penalties for misuse, and a place for all
stakeholders to sign an agreement with the guidelines.
9. Enforce fair use of the Copyright Act by not allowing students and
teachers to use copyrighted text, graphics, music, and images from the
web outside of the classroom without written consent.
10. Use only “green” companies in order to safely remove and destroy or
recycle old computers or other obsolete hardware, such as FAX
machines and copiers.
11. Provide your students with opportunities to collaborate with other
students around the world for enriching cross-cultural experiences.
CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Does your school or school district block content? What do you know
about this process? Who determines what information is to be blocked?
Using a diagram, draw a representation of the kinds of information your
school or school district blocks (or can block) and the positive or negative
impact this can create for student learning. Be sure to include the benefits
and possible consequences of this kind of blocking. Be prepared to share
findings with the rest of the group.
2. Discuss with a small group (or draft a paper on) what content should be
included in establishing, monitoring, and enforcing an acceptable use policy
(AUP) for your organization. Discuss the need to protect intellectual property
as it relates to an AUP.
3. Identify several scenarios in which cyber bullying could take place
between students and other students and/or employees and other
employees. Be prepared to discuss these scenarios, as well as their possible
solutions with other individuals and/or groups.
CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
4. With what other professional organizations could you partner? How would
you promote and foster cross-cultural collaboration? How would you engage
in multinational collaboration? What could you do to sustain such a
relationship?
5. In the leader reflection for this chapter, John David Son states: “The
Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires school districts to block
access to such content as pornography, gambling, or obscenity. Every
school district is required by law to block such content, and we do that fairly
well; but what about the other content? What about the social
media/networking sites? YouTube? Twitter? Facebook? Many school
districts today block access to those sites because they don’t want to deal
with potential distractions, or incidents that might occur from their use.
School districts spend hours each day searching log files, blocking new
sites, and disciplining students according to acceptable use policies.
Wouldn’t a better use of our time, energy, and resources be educating our
students [on] how to appropriately utilize these tools to enhance their
educational experience?” Discuss concerns you might have with enforcing
CIPA and your agreement or disagreement with Son’s ideas on student
access and appropriate educational uses of Internet-based social networking
tools.
CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
6. Based on your responses to the self-assessment for
Chapter 6, what are the next steps you might take in
becoming a more effective leader in the educational use of
social networking tools in your school or district? What is the
district lacking or proud of in terms of safe Internet access
or cyber-bullying policies or environmentally sound
practices? What technology resources would you need in
your own professional e-portfolio in order to assist you in
achieving your goals?