Introduction

Statement of the problem

Hypothesis: When school systems tightly restrict the use of online access, are staff and students being hindered in their teaching and learning? With these restrictions, are we using best practices when teaching the students how to use computer technology in a safe and ethical manner ?

Ten years have passed since we have entered into the 21st century. During this time, technology has blossomed, both in education and in the homes of the students that we teach. We have seen the desktop shrink down into a laptop size and smaller. The internet has become faster and faster. VCRs have given way to DVD players, and now blueray is on the horizon. No one buys records any more, few buy CDs, the music of today is just downloaded onto mp3 players that are smaller than cigarette packs.

The internet is now both a helpful and sometimes dangerous road to be on. Both children and adults need to be aware of the risks and safety precautions that should be employed when on the internet. Where do people learn about these safety precautions? Who should be the ones to teach this important subject. We submit that the school has a responsibility to teach its students how to be "cyber safe".

Nice job. DS

Students also need to be able to handle the cyber world responsibly. This task is not an easy one when suddenly "let loose" with no restrictions and no parameters. Not all parents are knowledgeable enough to monitor their student's internet access nor are they able to teach their children cyber etiquette**.** Therefore these students need to fall back on prior knowledge that they were given in school. We submit that the elementary years are the appropriate time to teach the proper use of these tools. The Augusta school system doesn't currently allow blogging or email for students. These real world applications are pieces of technology that students need to learn to use responsibly and safely. In the "real world" people from around the globe are working on projects together. Technology has allowed people in the business world, from different parts of the globe, to collaborate on projects. This allows savings for the company, while allowing great minds to work together. Collaboration with others around the city, country or world is the way of the future. Unfortunately, Augusta doesn't believe that collaboration by students is practical. In our opinion, it seems that the Augusta school system feels the need to "shelter" its students from opportunities that would enrich their lives.

Our premise is that we need access to certain tools to be able to teach our students 21st century skills. What are these 21st century skills, anyway? The Partnership for 21st Century Skills states: “To successfully face rigorous higher education coursework, career challenges and a globally competitive workforce, U.S. schools must align classroom environments with real world environments by fusing the three Rs and four Cs:

The four Cs include: critical thinking and problem solving; communication, collaboration; and creativity and innovation.”
 * The three Rs include: English, reading or language arts; mathematics; science; foreign languages; civics; government; economics; arts; history; and geography.

In discussing the pedagogy of weblogs, Will Richardson states that the potential audience is one of the most important aspects of the Read/Write web. “The idea that the relevance of student work no longer ends at the classroom door can not only be a powerful motivator, but can also create a significant shift in the way we think about the assignments and work we ask of students in the first place.” Other reasons to use blogging with our students include the following: • It expands the walls of the classroom to include classes from disparate geographies. • It improves our ability to archive the learning of teachers and students. • It supports different learning styles and enables the shy student to share their ideas more comfortably. • It enhances the development of expertise in a particular subject. • Blogging teaches students the skills that they will need in to deal with the expanding amount of information by improving there ability to research, organize and synthesize ideas.

Specifically referring to blogging with elementary students, Richardson says, "Certainly elementary students could not be expected to do the consistent analytical thinking and writing that extended blogging requires. But to start, we could provide ar ask students to find interesting and relevant sites of information and teach them how to write about what they find useful at those sites. We could ask them to do some basic deconstruction of the design of the site, or we could ask them to write about what more they would like to see. Even at this level, teachers may consider recruiting an audience to interact with students, allowing them to begine exploring what it means to write with an ear for readership and to enter into conversations about ideas. And it's never to early to think about bringing primary sources like authors, scientists, politicians, and the like into the classroom through the blog so students can ask questions and reflect on the answers. But there is also nothing wrong with asking other teachers or freinds or even parents to become part of the learning as well."