Technology transforming Health Care

I recently started a new job in the health care industry and during my first week, all I keep hearing about was this huge project to switch from paper charts to computerized medical records. Once the project is complete, all patient information will be stored electronically and will be accessible to all medical practices within that particular health system. This will increase efficiency, improve medical care and reduce medical errors.
This is huge! Gone will be the days of the health care staff going to find your chart, it will be just a click of the mouse to find all of the health data. Here is another example of how technology is and will continue to transform the world.

Copyright Issues in Education

As I reviewed the information on copyright and fair use, it became quite apparent how complex these guidelines can be and because of the complexity may result in several violations taking place within education. Hopefully the administration offers some support when educators are in doubt. I would say that the two most common copyright violations that I have witnessed are:  copying printed materials and the use of online materials. I have also noticed the use of television broadcast being used in violation.

Printed materials – There are several guidelines related to copying printed material. Examples of printed material could include poems, chapter from book, article from a newspaper, short story, etc. It becomes a copyright violation when teachers exceed the amount of material that can be legally copied and when they use copying as a substitute for purchasing. Teachers also need to make sure that they aren’t copying more than one copy per student.

Online materials – The internet can be a great resource for teachers but they need to remember that without permission they should not be reproducing, distributing or transmitting other people’s material. Even though it’s on the internet it’s still printed material and should follow the printed material guidelines. If you read an article form a magazine or journal’s website and copy and paste it in your email and send to others, that is considered copyright infringement. A better option would be to send out the link to the website or just include a small excerpt from the article.

 Off-air Television Recordings – Educators often use television broadcasts to help with classroom instruction which is considered fair use for educators. However, they should really pay attention to the copyright guidelines regarding how long they can retain that recording. The period is not to exceed 45 days and must be used within the first 10 days of that 45 day period.  

This is definitely a lot to digest but is quite necessary in order to prevent legal problems in the future. If in doubt get permission.

Is Technology making our youth Antisocial?

Are today's teens and preteens allowing the use of technology to rob them of really developing the intimate and emotional friendships that extended face-to-face time can give?  I think so. I recently read an article that discussed a study that was done on kids ages 8-18 and the findings revealed that  they are more likely to use their cell phones to text friends than call them. Some texters send over 100 texts a day.  That's a lot of texting.  The study also found that this age group spends on average 7 1/2 hours a day using some sort of electronic device, from smart phones to MP3 players to computers.

Today, the exchanges seem more public and superficial to me than when I was growing up. It's more like group chats, not personal at all. Facebook is not a converation to me. I remember my friends and I being on the phone for hours at a time with one person sharing secrets and really getting to know each other. Those days are long gone and I think today's youth are missing out on experiences that helps them build trust in people outside of their families, knowing how to read facial expressions and body language which is crucial to preparing them for healthy adult relationships. Their tech skills may be great but their face-to-face human contact skills are weak.

I would love to hear your thoughts....

Open High School

Wow! This is next generation learning at its best! I was very impressed with the model. The students get individualized instruction that can be customized just for them. The teachers are more like facilitators which is so much more engaging than the traditional models. Students learn to investigate and build critical  thinking skills which is a huge void  in today's traditional educational models.

We have to find ways to expand the minds of students and the Open High School is doing just that. I don't know about you, but I saw students that looked so engaged and excited about learning. The flexibility and the use of innovative technology is ideal for this generation. Kudos to the forward thinking administrators in Utah that are preparing students for the 21st century.

I am sure that this might not work for every learner or every teacher but it should definitely be an option. I do wonder why there are so few open high schools in the U.S. This model seems to be very successful so why can't this be replicated. Hopefully, as we work to revamp the current education system we can use this model as a benchmark.

Wikipedia Page Attacked

As we learned in Chapter 3 of our textbook, Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, is the most famous wiki out there and was created by users around the world. It's a great place to start the research process. Apparently, users aren't only using it for research they are also using it to express their strong feelings of anger and dislike.

After the winner of the Best New Artist award was given to Esperanza Spalding at the Grammys, Justin Bieber fans attacked Esperanza's wikipedia page. They were adding statements like, "Who the heck are you anyway? and "Justin Bieber deserved it go die in hole."  They even changed her middle name and altered her biography. I thought it was interesting that they chose Wikipedia to voice their negative opinions but then again why not, it's so easy to do. Users can add, remove, edit or change information quite freely and sometimes without even registering.

The lesson learned for me was that even though Wikipedia can be a valuable place to start research and a great tool for collaboration in the classroom, I need to always question its reliability. How can you trust the information when anyone has access to change it. It's actually quite scary.

Boomers, Gen-Xers, & Millennials - The New Students

The article, "Boomers, Gen-Xers, & Millennials - Understanding The New Students,"  that was posted by Dr. Mosley completely echoes the discussion topics that are always present within the Adult education program. How do you cater to the needs of all students? This article not only discussed the generational differences and their unique needs, it also talked quite a bit about technology and the millennials which I found quite interesting. I never really thought about the fact that those born in or after 1982 don't view a computer or the internet as technology, it's an assumed part of life. They have never known life without it. They also consider themselves to be more Internet-savvy than their teachers and find the teachers use of technology "uninspiring." As educators, we are really going to have to do a better job of incorporating all types of technology in the classrooms to keep our students motivated and eager to learn. Of course this will require us to step out of our comfort zone and be open to learning new ways to use technology. It will also require us to question the status quo and be willing to confront administrators when the technology is lagging behind at our schools. We have to appeal to the information-age mindset and we can't do that by doing what we have always done, that simply doesn't work for this age group. I am ready for the challenge and I hope you are ready to jump on board with me.