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AUP - Acceptable Use Policy, for anyone not fluent in ed-speak.
As we've found out on this forum, what one person thinks is SOP everywhere, really isn't. I'm not in a subpar district. We do do surveys, but for whatever reason, a tech survey was not done before our HS went to 1:1 laptops.
Yes, this tends to be an issue on this forum, in general. Lots of assumption made.
For those of you who are teachers, have you ever run into an issue with a planned on-line homework assignment and a student who does not have internet access? How did you handle it?
An adult choosing to use an internet forum for personal leisure and/or information-seeking purposes is not the same thing as a student who may or may not even have various tech access outside of school being required to complete assigned work that demands the use of tools he or she may, through no fault of his or her own, not be able to access.
I agree. But this is not the issue stated by the original OP, to which I was responding... his children, unlike others you describe do fortunately have access to several forms of technology, as explained by the OP....This imo, is more about venting about having a family vacation disrupted.
Mores the pity....I think helping his school district see to those children that, ....as you have interjected, do not have access to the basic technology needed to make them successful students.
He and anyone interested in helping these children could do so by researching school technology grants and providing that information to the schools, or putting together a grant writing committee to apply for those grants. Here is just one link among several found using my search
randomparent.....I appreciate that. I know the struggles, and it may get harder before it gets better regarding the issues you are dealing with. Pick your battles. Hope only the best outcome for you and yours
It is refreshing to see parental involvement, not only are some kids without technology, some are without a good parent like you. Make it a good life.....You will miss all this chaos and hubbub when they are grown
I agree. But this is not the issue stated by the original OP, to which I was responding... his children, unlike others you describe do fortunately have access to several forms of technology, as explained by the OP....This imo, is more about venting about having a family vacation disrupted.
Mores the pity....I think helping his school district see to those children that, ....as you have interjected, do not have access to the basic technology needed to make them successful students.
He and anyone interested in helping these children could do so by researching school technology grants and providing that information to the schools, or putting together a grant writing committee to apply for those grants. Here is just one link among several found using my search
IMO it would be a better use of his skills, then say drafting a letter complaining because his family vacation was disrupted.
Not making sure that a child does his or her homework, when the instruments needed are available, albeit inconvenient.....is a bigger issue. IMO
Why? The school doesn't own children. The family had a planned vacation with no internet access, and I see no reason for the school to think that some online discussion was important enough to completely disrupt the plans of the family.
Why? The school doesn't own children. The family had a planned vacation with no internet access, and I see no reason for the school to think that some online discussion was important enough to completely disrupt the plans of the family.
I agree. The vacation was planned on non-school time, over a 3 day weekend. I think the policy of assigning major homework over these holidays needs to be addressed, too.
The technology will creep on you and I speak as a retired software engineer.
Computers don't sleep; the internet doesn't shut off at 11pm.
I worked with the acceptance of the 24/7/365 during my working career with the exception of vacations.
It can be a blessing in that the availability is there and a curse in that the availability is there.
Teachers need to be mindful before assigning online work especially in K-12.
In college you usually know about it before hand as it's in the course description/syllabus so you know what you are signing up for.
I'd love to have a discussion of the merits and drawbacks of moving toward electronic instruction in school environments. First, though, I'll describe a recent situation that has once again left everyone in our family feeling a bit conflicted about schools & technology.
This past weekend we planned one last electronics-free camping trip to enjoy the final days of summer together. On Friday afternoon, as soon as the kids walked in the door, I asked them to pull any homework and put it in the car, so they could work as we drove to our destination. All was going well until my youngest panicked with the realization that he would be without internet access, because his Social Studies assignment included participating in an on-line discussion. There was no time to arrange an alternate assignment with the teacher, so we came home early to allow him to complete his work.
Now, normally I tend toward being supportive of integrating technology with academics, but this time I felt pretty angry about the situation. I'm in the process of writing a carefully worded missive to my son's teacher, who I'm sure did not intend any harm; however, this is not the first time something like this has come up. It seems to be very young and enthusiastic teachers with whom this becomes an issue. They assume that every middle schooler carries a smartphone and monitors it constantly for updates via text & e-mail in addition to using the school's on-line learning network.
Even my son's choir teacher requires the kids to do on-line homework. A few days ago, he was assigned to listen to and practice with a pre-recorded sound clip and then message his teacher a funny phrase she revealed at the end of the clip through the school's social network to validate he had completed the assignment. While I applaud her creativity, I'm growing more and more concerned that this is placing a very heavy burden on families. If a kid doesn't have internet access, for whatever reason, they're screwed!
Another area of concern is the inconsistency of posts to the on-line learning environment. Our family is busy, so homework time, particularly for our youngest is scheduled right after school. We're finding that his teachers are making updates well after he's moved onto other activities, with the consequence that sometimes he's missing pretty important stuff, so now I'm sitting on the sidelines/stands while he practices, monitoring the websites and texts on my phone myself. Teachers are all over the place. Some use just the on-line learning environment, others use independent websites, and yet others send out reminder group texts to students. We're drowning in e-clutter!
So, I'm curious, parents and teachers, how does your school handle technology? What have been your challenges? How have you addressed them?
Most libraries have internet access. Next time you go camping, instead of running home, how about finding a library for an hour? Several years back, when I was unemployed, I took the kids up north and stayed most of the summer. I drove into a nearby town to use the internet at the library to submit job applications and home only when I had an interview.
You are going to see more and more internet homework and it's not because young teachers are over zealous. It's being pushed on all teachers. One of my goals for this year is to use the internet more. This goal was given to me from higher up. The community wants us using technology. Personally, I prefer the technology between kid's ears but I'm considered old fashioned. You are not going to win this. Figure out your work arounds.
Most libraries have internet access. Next time you go camping, instead of running home, how about finding a library for an hour? Several years back, when I was unemployed, I took the kids up north and stayed most of the summer. I drove into a nearby town to use the internet at the library to submit job applications and home only when I had an interview.
You are going to see more and more internet homework and it's not because young teachers are over zealous. It's being pushed on all teachers. One of my smart goals for this year is to use the internet more. This goal was given to me from higher up. The community wants us using technology. Personally, I prefer the technology between kid's ears but I'm considered old fashioned. You are not going to win this. Figure out your work arounds.
Have you been in the Colorado mountains? IF you are camping near a town, which a lot of people don't like to do, if it has a library at all it may offer only limited hours. Plus, we're talking a three day weekend here, not a summer stay! Maybe they wanted to go hiking, not driving hours to a town to use the library for an hour.
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