Jesse Miller and Safe Technology

This week in EDCI 336 we were honored to have Jesse Miller give us a presentation all about the use of technology as a teacher. More importantly, the SAFE and SECURE way of introducing technology to your students.

The lecture really opened my eyes to all the precautions teachers need to be aware of if they want to have a presence on the internet. After the presentation was over it really started to dawn on me that I have the power to influence children on how to be responsible, knowledgeable, and protected when it comes to technology and social media. Yes, there are many potential caveats to incorporating technology into students’ learning such as parent disapproval, privacy issues, and perceived inappropriate contact between teachers and students. However, the world we live in has evolved and there are endless possibilities right beneath our fingertips to make classes more engaging for students. One of the many beneficial reasons to allow for technological learning in your classroom is it creates a space where meaningful connections can be had. Connections can be made between all sorts of parties including parents to stay informed on their child’s learning and growth or other teachers across districts to share educational resources. If not for the connections, we as teachers have the ability to show our students how to leave a positive digital footprint at a young age and just maybe we can prevent potential bad situations that would arise in their teenage years. Jesse emphasized that the question shouldn’t be whether teachers should have a presence on the internet but how teachers will have a presence on the internet.  The answer, as long as educators are maintaining a professional and security tight profile on the web than the skies the limit for technology-based learning.