Journal 3: “Keeping the Peace” (Nets 5)

Levinson, M (2010). Keeping the peace. Learning and leading with technology, 37(5). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=February_No_5_4&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4495&ContentID=25237&DirectListComboInd=D.

In “Keeping the Peace,” Matt Levinson writes about the challenges the Nueva School faced during the first year of a one-to-one student laptop program. The particular challenge focused on in the article is that of students’ usage of instant messaging and video chat features that were initially enabled on the student laptops. Instant messaging quickly became a distraction in the classroom and some parents felt as if the school was making decisions for them about the use of instant messaging at home. Eventually, the school decided to block the instant messaging and video chat programs on student computers. This decision led to a lot of community comments, ranging from parents who applauded the effort, students who felt the ban was too all-encompassing and should be considered on a case to case basis instead, to parents who felt the school was taking on a censorship role that was unnecessary. Ultimately, the school felt that the laptops were intended for educational purposes and that blocking the instant messaging programs helps to keep the laptops as educational devices and not simply as tools for socializing.

Question 1: Do you agree with banning IM programs on school computers?

Yes! I believe it is a problem if students are communicating with their classmates clandestinely through IM when they should be paying attention in class. Notes and whispering are things teachers can catch, IM’s can be much more insidious in the classroom. Furthermore, I think that IM’s inside of classrooms might lead to more cyber-bullying. Finally, I don’t see how IM’s actually improve the learning happening with the computers.

Question 2: How could the IM problem and similar ones be avoided at other schools?

Levinson mentions that banning chat and IM would have been easier if it had been done at the start of the one-to-one initiative. In order for schools to know this sort of information, it is important to have a “best practices” guide with other schools experiences available. As schools begin to implement one-to-one programs, research into these best practices should help them avoid a lot of problems that other schools have already gone through and remedied.