Project #4 C4T - #1 Commenting on Jeff Utecht's Blog: "The Thinking Stick"

I few days ago I read "Privacy" from Jeff Utecht's The Thinking Stick. In this post he brought forward and answered some of the questions he is asked about privacy. They include, “If I put something in Google Drive is it safe?” and, “If I put something in Google Drive can anyone see it?”

He also points out that we have to trust someone and our love/hate relationship with technology. We love all that technology knows about us when suggesting things we would like, but we hate that they know all of that about us. Part of this love/hate relationship mentioned is that we love how the "bad guys" (as he put it) can be caught by us giving companies access to accounts, but we hate that they can see what we are doing. 

He sums it all up by saying we became public the instant we signed up for different accounts: Facebook, email, or even our cell phones. As he puts it, there will always be bad guys who will try to break in, but we just have to trust who we feel is safe and do our best to protect ourselves. 

My comment on this blog was the following.

"I enjoyed reading this post, especially how you addressed people’s concerns about different aspects with technology. I really think most people worry about things that do not really matter. I can imagine nobody at Google actually cares about most people’s every day emails about whatever they are doing at that point. They just have to have access so they can catch the bad guys as you put it.
My thought on that is just if you are worried about someone reading something, then you are either being too sensitive about it or you are doing something you probably should not be doing. I also like your point that you have to trust someone. It does come with a little bit of intelligence from the user’s side, you would not put your bank account information on your Facebook page, but it comes to a point where we just have to trust someone with your information. It is just a fact of the world we live in now."

I also read his post "What Happens When We Forget The Mind Shift?" This post was Mr. Utecht's thoughts on why a school district, the Hoboken School District, that tried to implement all students having individual computers failed and then threw them all away. In this he identified what he thought were the five problems that caused this to fail. They were "1) The funding cycle," "2) The need to invest in PD," "3) Technology is personal," "4) No district wide plan," and "5) The exit plan."

Problem 1 focused on the schools having the money to start the programs, but not keeping their technology updated. He says the schools are not thinking in the long term when creating the programs. This can be remedied by hiring employees, teachers and higher leveled positions, who "get it" according to him.

Problem 2 focused on that the teachers were not knowledgeable enough to properly implement the change. He says the educators need the time, space, and freedom to learn this technology so they can teach it. His solution is to set aside 25% of the funds aside for PD (professional development). This should also be programs that are not just one day and then done; they should change mindsets. Although it would take the money from funding the technology; it would create better programs through knowledgeable teacher in his opinion.

Problem 3 was that the computers were made impersonal to the students. They had blocks for certain sites on them, which according to Mr. Utecht, was forcing the students to be "hackers" and "rule breakers." If you make it more personal to the individual, then he or she will take better care of the piece of technology.

Problem 4 was the idea that the schools did not have a common plan. The schools and principal did what they wanted without a uniform plan. His idea was that the school districts should all have the same plan and goal in order to be effective.

Problem 5 focused on the idea that this will not be a one time cost. The idea behind it has to be that the cost will recur every 3 or so years. The budget needs to grow and change with the program.

Above: Students using a classroom set of laptops.
Link to photo source: edcetera

My comment on this blog was the following.
"I agree that schools should update their technology on a regular basis such as in problem 1, but every 2 or 3 years would take a great deal of funding (funding that most schools do not have). The high school I graduated from had good funding, but would not even be near able to afford a personal computer for everyone.

I definitely agree with problem 2. In order for teachers to teach a subject effectively, they must be knowledgeable.

Problem 3 mentions that if individuals are allowed to personalize something, then they will take care of it. I do not know how much I agree with this. From my experience, for example when my friends and I were turning 16, people do not take care of things that they do not have to work for. Most of my friends who were given cars and were allowed to do what they wanted with it (including personalization) wrecked it due to negligence within a year.

Problem 4 addresses unity across school districts. I do agree that schools should have some unity, but there is no one solution for all schools in the school district. If counted from the county's public school website, there are 90 public schools in my area. There is no way a unified program that can be created for all of them.

Problem 5 mentions possible dropping textbooks and replacing them with laptops. No matter how much I love to read off of my Nook, I know from personal experience for myself the best way for me to learn is to have a hard copy of a textbook. I know I am not the only one, so ditching the textbooks would not work for all. I have been a straight A student the entire time I have been in school, the only classes I have had any trouble with included an online only textbook."