NCTE Position Statement Reflection

In the NCTE position I chose to stand by, found here, the organization makes a statement about the use of the Internet by students, and the responsibilities of educators therein. The position statement is entitled, "Resolution on Electronic Online Services," and essentially states the following:

• All instructors realize that students spend a great deal of time on the Internet-- so much so that the Internet has been made available to these students at school
• It is the responsibility of professional educators and library specialists to make sure students have the tools to know how to use the Internet to meet their educational goals
• Educators have to set up guidelines for surfing the Internet at school, since it is impossible to know what students will come across while accessing the web. These guidelines should be based on ethics, privacy, and legal boundaries.

Nothing about this particular position statement surprised me or made me feel uneasy, which is why I felt so comfortable putting my name next to it on the roster. It makes sense that as students have more access to the Internet at school, new and ever-changing boundaries need to be put in place. This way, it can be ensured that students use the web for learning, and not checking out questionable material during school hours. For this reason, I really liked this position statement.

I might revise in one way-- when speaking about students who are at an age of accountability, it is important to hold students responsible for enforcing these rules within themselves-- after all, these rules should be common sense, and the NCTE position statement makes it seem that the enforcement of these rules is strictly the job of teachers and library specialists. Students should at least know the basic differences between right and wrong, especially when accessing the Internet at school.

This position statement gets me thinking about teaching and technology because it is easy to assess all the good points about new strides in technology, but this reminds me of the bad as well. Students have so much technology at their fingertips, and sadly, some are tempted to use it to plagiarize, look up questionable material, make privacy mistakes, and cross legal boundaries. This makes me realize that educators have the responsibility to instill technological values in their students, or all the new strides we are making with teaching and technology are virtually useless.

• Who: Educators and students
• What: Technology, and how it can be used for hindering learning rather than enhancing it
• When: High school/middle school students
• Where: Everywhere in the developed world
• Why: With new technology comes new curiosities about just how far one can go with it.. Sometimes boundaries are crossed that make learning less of a priority, and getting away with something more of a priority
• How: NCTE position statement implores educators to watch out for this, before it is too late for their students.