As many of you probably know we are under surveillance wherever we travel. I have actually become so accustomed to it that I don’t even care. I actually used to make faces at the cameras and see if anyone was watching. Now I figure – hey watch if you have nothing else to do!!! My concern in this post is the amount of money we are investing in surveillance without perhaps knowing the true intention of what we are trying to accomplish. I fully agree that security cameras serve a purpose in specific locations but do we have to have them for the sake of having them. I ask this question as schools get grant funding (there is that word “grant” again) and think they can put them in and voila problems solved. Are they getting to the root of the problem or developing a monitoring system to catch them when the deed is done? Again I believe for safety purposes they are necessary but not everywhere. I don’t want us to get distracted from what the root of the problem is and how much it really does cost. Is there a consideration of costs to personnel, infrastructure, and recurring costs? Is this grant “free” money and then when 5 years go by and infrastructure and camera upgrades need to occur money is taken from other important instructional activities to offset infrastructure that are becoming very “administrative” centric. Just another function for the technical services department that perhaps used to be part of the police department or buildings and grounds. We have to be careful that we think about why and what before we start hanging cameras all over the place. But of course there are many perspectives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7IZnYdlaUI
I have been following the articles surrounding the new Bring your own Device initiatives. It has been compelling as schools grapple with do I move down this road, will it work, how do we keep up and is it safe? I have begun a BYOD program in my school and it is important to do this strategically not just jump in. I sometimes feel that decisions are based on fear and not knowledge and real planning. With a thorough and well thought out plan that includes feedback from district employees and students it can work. I would begin with a school and meet with parents to discuss what this will look like. Initially there will be some concern as students responsibility is questioned by parents. Will they lose it, ruin it, or forget it someplace. These are very real issues. My recommendation is to “work with it.” What can we do – perhaps brainstorm leaving devices at school for a few days locked up, or have special days where devices are brought in. Do we need to adjust what and how students carry their work and can students be a part of the process to figure out this issue. I truly believe that eventually everyone will get used to the idea and come up with their own solutions. As I took a poll most of the students do have cellphones but parents said they were to call them. None had been taken or lost. From there we need to work with teachers to create web-based environments for work. The devices used will be great on the Internet, be used for textbooks and so on but we want them to be relevant and have a purpose in class. If the device becomes very important in terms of a students education then they will be more careful and follow the AUP. It needs to be an integral part of school and not an add on for it to be treated with respect. In Digital Directions this month they highlight some of the issues schools are facing as they try and get technology into the hands of students. They are also trying to leverage what is out there rather than replicate what students already have.
I am going for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.bookshare.org/ is a site that encourages the sharing of books for our students. We use it in Monticello but I would like to take this Napster invention a step further. Should our students all have a digital reading device that all of their books reside on? I was at a tech meeting yesterday and thanks to a colleague I have a new way to look at this. There are many many books that are available that are free to down. http://www.gutenberg.org/ offers free books to students to be downloaded to these devices and there a Chemistry applications that are flash based (cannot run on the iPad) that Kindles and Nooks can accommodate. We are constantly trying to find a device that does everything when perhaps we need to focus on devices that are indeed “focused.” With a ereader there is a specific purpose that can be used in the classroom. What do you think? We can use textbook aide to offset the cost. I see a pilot brewing……………..
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