Date: October 29, 2001

Science, Technology, and society Topic of the Week: Should the Internet be Censored?

Educational Technology Topic of the Week: How to Use Power Point

Science, Technology, and Society Topic Position:

Should the Internet be Censored?

This is a tough decision.  After reading both points of view in our text, I must say, I agree that things on the Internet should not be censored.  The Internet is another way to be heard, another way to express opinions, feelings, and ideas.  Despite all of the "bad" sites out on the web, I feel everyone has the right to say what they want to say.

Raymond W. Smith says, "on-line hate groups can easily jump Internet service providers and national boundaries to avoid accountability" (Easton, 2000).  He is right.  There are hundreds of ways to sneak inappropriate things on the Internet, whether it is banned or not.  As a matter of fact, last week in class, we typed in the word "snake" for a group project, and different pornographic sites came up involving snakes.  It's ridiculous, but to be honest, it is a person expressing their feelings and ideas.  How can we take that right away from them?

I must say, I agree that our children should not be introduced and familiarized to such inappropriate sites.  However, I feel, by censoring and banning certain things on the Internet, it is taking away the freedom of not only the people who put it up there, but also those wishing to use such sites.  If there are sites with violent pictures, and harsh words, I feel children should not be exposed to those, but, at the same time, I feel adults have the right to use these resources.

This is a really tough topic to write about.  I agree whole-heartedly that people should express themselves, but at the same time, I am disgusted with some of the disrespectful sites out there.  However, I can't help but compare this to books and television shows.  I would not want somebody to ban books or censor television shows, and the Internet is just like a book or TV show, but in the 21st century.

Perhaps there is a way sites can be more secure when it comes to children.  I am not sure how this would work, but children should be taught what is appropriate to look at on the Internet and what isn't.  Computers are an important part of the classroom these days, and children need to learn how to use them appropriately, just like we learned how to use books and televisions appropriately.

Children are going to be exposed to vulgarity and violence on the web, but they are also exposed to this in schools, on the playground, and some at home.  I don't think censorship is the answer, only because it is a right of each and every person.  There is always going to be that one child who sneaks away to the corner in the library and reads a comic book instead of a Judy Blume classic, which have been known to be censored themselves, but the vast majority of children will completely ignore anything inappropriate they may come across and keep working.

Similar to what was mentioned before, people will find a way to put their sites up on the web, just as children will find a way into those websites.  Truthfully, the more you tell a child "no" the more they are going to want to explore outside their boundaries.  Let the children go, but make sure you keep an eye on them, so they do come back!

Summary of Educational Technology Topic:

PowerPoint

Power Point is a program which allows people to give a presentation using the computer.  This type of presentation allows for more attention from the teacher or presenter to be focused on their audience.  It also allows for more of a visual method of relaying information to people, rather than a normal lecture-style.

By using PowerPoint, time is saved during the presentation because of the work that is done ahead of time.  Teachers, professors, and other presenters are able to create their presentations ahead of time, go back and correct any errors, use it in the classroom, and then correct things that may need to be fixed before using it again.

PowerPoint allows for information to be easily deleted or added from or to the presentation, and many times, this presentation can be put on to the web for additional use.  We learned 3 different ways to put a PowerPoint presentation on the web for others to enjoy.  It is also possible to view the majority of the presentation even if PowerPoint is not a program on your computer.

In class, we learned different ways to set up a computer slide show, and how to make it more enjoyable for our audience.  Different fonts, graphics, sounds and backgrounds can be added to the presentation to make it more visually appealing to the audience.  However, we learned to keep the sounds, colors, and graphics to a minimum and pretty steady, as it can easily drive somebody nuts!

PowerPoint Webfolio Implementation Possibilities:

How impressive would it be to have a PowerPoint presentation in my webfolio?!  PowerPoint is easily converted over to be added into a website.  This is definitely a plus for my webfolio!

I am able to take my PowerPoint presentation and add it into my webfolio, so other people can view it.  I can save it in a couple of different forms, so then people who may not have PowerPoint are still able to view it.  I will have the information and layout from the selected PowerPoint presentation to use all of the time.  I don't need to worry about having it saved somewhere, I can just view it from my website!

Ways to Improve this Class Session:

I felt this class went pretty well!  I followed the instructions really well, and though I had some previous knowledge of how to use PowerPoint, I learned things I did not know before.  Everybody seemed to follow along really well, and nobody lost their temper due to frustration.

I must admit, it is a lot easier to follow along in class now that there are enough computers for everybody to use.  In previous classes, there were times when we had to share the computers, and then I was not able ot actually follow along doing it myself.  I tend to learn better when I actually have the chance to do it myself.  I definitely think this helped me during today's class.

I also thought Dr. Klein was very patient with the students.  I know it was not a very difficult thing to learn, but in previous classes everybody was getting a little frustrated.  I think things are going much better, now that the majority of the people are understanding basic rules of making a website, and even just using a computer!

Reflection on Potential Classroom Use:

I can definitely see using PowerPoint in my classroom.  I think it is more visually appealing to students, and they would be more inclined to pay attention if I used PowerPoint.  I don't have to worry about students not being able to read my writing, my back does not need to be turned to the class because I am writing, and it is easy to go back to something mentioned before.
PowerPoint allows for everything to be laid out nicely, and transitions between each slide is easy.  It also makes it easy to know where you left off in a lesson if there was need to go back to it.

However, in the elementary grades, I can see a couple setbacks to using PowerPoint.  First of all, if the school cannot afford to have the equipment in each classroom necessary for PowerPoint, then teachers cannot rely on that to teach.  Some schools may be unable to have computers in every room, or the proper projectors to display the presentations to the class.

I also feel it takes quite a bit of time to create a PowerPoint presentation for each class.  In the middle and high schools, a teacher can use a PowerPoint presentation for all of his/her classes that day.  But, at the elementary level, a teacher has 5 lessons to teach in one day.  It is time consuming to create a presentation for each one of those classes.

I think it's a good idea to know how to use PowerPoint and be able to teach with it once in a while.  But at the elementary school level, I feel it would be too much of a hassle to use it all of the time.

Outside Sources Pertaining to Internet Censorship:

The following resources enable you to search the web for information on Internet censorship.  Personally, I feel the Internet is just another way to express what it is a person wants to say.  See what you think after viewing these sites.

Outside Sources Pertaining to PowerPoint:

These two resources offer more insight on how to use PowerPoint, and where to use it.  As mentioned before, I feel PowerPoint can be an asset to the classroom, however, it is time consuming if being used for more than one subject.

"PowerPoint in the Classroom"

This site allows people, teachers especially, to learn how to use PowerPoint, and how to incorporate it into their classroom.  This address takes you to the homepage.  Just click on the title you want to view, and the information is provided for you.

http://www.actden.com/pp/index.htm

5.  "Tutorials: In and Out of the Classroom"

This site invites teachers to come and learn how to use PowerPoint inside and outside of their classroom.

http://www.microsoft.com/education/?ID=IOCTutorials

 

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