Tech Policy and Ethics/Distance Learning

Tech policy and ethics...interesting stuff. How will the world keep up as the information and technology grows at exponential rates? Whose laws apply? Which state or country's rules apply and how will punishment be enforced? It seems these things need to be figured out and put into place fairly soon. The online global privacy standard article was written in 2006- anyone know what the outcome of google's suggestion was??? Did the countries agree ? Hey! Who owns the right to a photograph or video? The person who captured the images or the people who's images have been captured? I think of this because I'm not sure I want my image out there on the web- I know it is, but not always by my own doing. I have a couple of friends who are huge myspacers and facebookers, so if the camera is around- there's a good chance those pictures are going on several pages. Oh and what about somewhat private information? Who decides what can be retrieved? For example- when googling myself, yeah, I've done it!- My name, address, and how much money the small Business Administration was willing to loan me after the earthquake comes up. Why is that public information? Who made it public? The SBA? How can I get my address off of there? Ever see those sites you can slueth out long lost acquaintances for a small fee, of course. Whoops off on another tangent.
The article on email ethics- seems like a no brainer to me, but who knows what the rest of the world is thinking. This does bring up points made in earlier readings that educators need to tackle the task of instructing students how to properly use technology without setting themselves up to be violated or without violating terms and use of agreement or others. I especially like reading that was from the free encyclopedia, I think, it mentioned Norbert Wiener and his great principles from 1954...civility in our society has become a big focus for me and my dissertation research. I'm drawn to his Principle of Benevolence and also to The Principle of Minimun Infringement of Freedom. The cybernetic account of human nature and society...I'm constantly amazed that these things were written so long ago and yet, this is the first time I am exposed to them. A portion of a Paul Simon songs rolls in my head, "When I think back to all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all!"- Kodachrome. Why do we still teach the things we do? Why don't the textbook companies come up with something more relevant? Who's got the power?
On the subject of distance learning- yes, yes, yes...I am all for it! I think it can help ease the sting of educational budget cuts. I also think it can help fill hard to fill vacancies in educational institutions if we share our expertise. In Dr. Judith's Green class Steve, Dan E, and I did our presentation on seamless education. I'm all for distance learning, but I do believe there needs to be interaction between not only the instructor and each student, but between classmates as well. Look at our program- I'm learning a lot from my class mates- not just the ones in SLO, but the ones that are abroad, too. Experiences, beliefs, and knowledge can be shared between all of us- and members of the other cohorts as well. I frequently communicate with JDP stdents fron cohort 4 and 6. Knowledge is all around us. I still need to take the next step for distance learning and look into potential joint educational opportunities between the schools close to my own site.
Laptops for all!! I all for this too- wouldn't it be great at the start of the school year if every student had one? It could come ready to go with course info already loaded into it. It could also have all of the documents we typically print out, loaded into it. Imagine how much paper we save. Perhaps on the first day of school- students could receive instruction on how to download or access all of the information they needed to start the school year- their schedule, course readings, syllabus, bell schedules, calendars, rules, policies, dress codes, email addresses, etc...Wow! Tools for success on the first day. Hey, this could be part of my school/classroom in the future: ) Tap tap- my idea: )