Issues Related to Technology Usage in Schools

I read an article titled Urgent Emerging Issues Related to Technology Applications in Schools by Peter Martorella. The article was broken down into five sections.
The first section was about ethical concerns in technology usage. Thefts of computers are computer components are becoming increasingly prevalent in schools. Thefts are even worse today now that computers are becoming smaller and smaller and with fewer wires to tether them down. However, the worst problem is theft of software because it breaks copyright laws and hurts the authors and publishers of their owed compensation. Plagiarism is another problem with the Internet. Most sites do not give the author credit and copying and pasting has become so easy to do. The author suggests that teachers explain plagiarism and model behavior of acknowledging the author.
The second section was about Internet Usage. One problem is using modems for connecting to the Internet. Modems are slow and if one goes onto a website during peak hours, they become extremely slow. Another problem is verifying the truth found on websites. Students do not know what is true what is not when searching on the web. They often are easy to believe whatever they read. This is a major problem and teachers can help students by teaching them what to look for when deciding if they site is credible.
The third section was about the first amendment and privacy acts. A problem that is occurring is being able to control the freedom of speech. It is hard to regulate what people can say and put on the Internet thanks to the freedom of speech. Due to this freedom, children can now have access to indecent and salacious materials. The only way to fix this problem is to have firewalls created or software installed on computers that block adult material from children.
The fourth section was about personnel shortages. Computers are great but it still takes a human being to maintain such technology. People have to understand that technology sometimes breaks and needs to be fixed. Teachers now have to worry about not only their lessons, students, adding technology in their lessons, but being able to troubleshoot and fix problems associated with technology. Also, teachers have to stay current with today’s technology. Technology changes so quickly that it is hard for everyone to keep up. Technology workshops are being used more and more in professional development seminars. Lastly, teachers that are current with technology, who try to juggle all of the extra duties that teachers now have to do, tend to burn out a lot quicker.
The last section was about ascendancy of the technology critics. The cost of computers is the real problem in this section. Computers cost less today but the upkeep on them is getting more and more costly. This is especially hurting schools that are starving for even the basic school supplies and have little money to spend. Therefore, not every school is equal in the amount of computers it has compared to others. This is the same as how many students have computers at home. Schools in affluent areas are going to have a large number of students that have at least one computer at home. In a not as affluent school area, not as many students will have a computer at home. This hurts the student in school because it puts them behind students that have a computer at home and use it on a daily basis.
The article ends with a conclusion summing up what the author has explained throughout the article.

Technology is a great asset, however there are many problems to think about and keep an eye on when using it. This article did a great job in listing some of these problems and is a good article for teachers to read before introducing a new source of technology into the classroom. What do you think?