Journal 4: "It's Time To Trust Teachers with the Internet: A Conversation with Meg Ormiston" NETS-T 1,2,3,4,5

Schaffhauser, D. (2010). It's time to trust teachers with the internet: a conversation with meg ormiston. The
 Journal, Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/12/01/its-time-to-trust-teachers-with-the-internet-a-conversation-with-meg-ormiston.aspx?sc_lang=en

Summary:
This article is an interview between The Journal staff, and Meg Ormiston, about her efforts and struggles as a school consultant responsible for incorporating technology into the classroom.  Meg Ormiston has served as a " curriculum coach, school board member, conference presenter, professional development specialist, and grant facilitator" and yet she is still facing resistance amongst school districts in her argument to use Internet resources in the classroom.  She claims that most of this struggle comes from school boards simply not trusting their teachers to have Internet access in their classrooms. 
Ormiston explains how she understands the importance of protecting our children, however this doesn't mean we need to cut them off completely from all of the useful and free, resources on the web.  Rather, she believes that administration should trust their teachers judgement to preview material for appropriateness, while also teaching students safe and responsible computing.  In doing so, she also believes that districts should not go blocking crazy, and limit access on school computers.  while she clearly believes that pornographic material, and other malicious sites should she be blocked, she believes that the blocking of social networking is more of a nuisance and will lead to further problems.  First off teachers are likely to give up on using technology in the classroom if they are continually blocked from resources.  In addition, students are not being taught to how to self filter, and are likely to run into inappropriate sites when they are surfing the web at home and have no guidance. 
Ormiston suggests that the first step is educating administration so that they become less afraid and can see the values of using the web in the classroom.  From their she suggests first opening up access to the teachers, and from their slowly opening access to the students.  Ormiston stress that regardless how much you block in the classroom, we live in an age filled with technology where children have access to the Internet regardless of schools attempt to hide it from them.  So rather than blocking sites, we should focus on educating our students with supervision, to teach them how to use all the tools at their fingertips. 

Question 1: As a teacher how could you ensure the safety of your children while using the web?
If i was given the opportunity to use the web as a resource in my classroom, with out having to worry about blocked sites, i would make sure that I was not endangering my students with inappropriate material.  First off, Any sites, or videos used in class, i would make sure to preview for appropriateness.  Second, I would teach my students what to be aware of, and how to be safe, and appropriate while using the web.  Finally i would make sure my students were always being supervised, to prevent them from entering dangerous sites, and to assist them with learning how to use web tools and resources in a positive way. 

Question 2: If you had limited access at your school and found a site that would be appropriate and beneficial to your curriculum, how would you go about using it in your classroom?
If i found a site that I had previewed and was sure it would be beneficial and appropriate, i would talk to my superiors about its value.  I would schedule an appointment with the person in charge of Internet access, and show them how the site would help my students, and aid to the curriculum.  I believe after showing them that the site was safe, and age appropriate, as well as the benefits from using the source, they would realize that it was a great aid, and would allow me to use this site.  In this way I would gain the respect of my superiors by not going behind their back, and showing them that web resources, can be a great education tool in the right context.