Blog Post #2

I have used Microsoft Word probably since the 5th grade onward. I've used it for reports, science fair projects, short stories, and even as spell check in the olden days before I used Google. I have sometimes used it as a file converter as well, uploading files to Word as a .pdf and saving it as a .docx. A lot of teachers will use it to type up assignment descriptions or even to make the syllabus. Teachers may also utilize Word's many capabilities to make lesson plans or to make tests and quizzes.

Copyright and fair use have always scared me in the educational environment, probably because previously I knew very little about them. You can get in a lot of trouble for using the wrong photo, or not citing something you use, so that was definitely intimidating. Now that I know more about the rules, they aren't nearly as intimidating! As a teacher, I would try not to scare my students too much. I would communicate to them that as long as you follow the rules, there will be no issues and you can use the materials that you need to complete assignments. For my own instructional use I will try to use photos that have no copyright, or at the end of any powerpoint I make I will cite my sources, so that my students can follow by example.

One issue I might face would be cyber bullying through platforms like Edmodo or blogs. A way to solve this would be to make it clear from the beginning that any online bullying will have the same consequences as bullying in real life and that online privileges can be taken away if any platform is misused.
Another issue would be keeping children safe online. If they do post anything publicly, pseudonyms should be used to maintain the students' safety. Preferably, students would use platforms that do not post things publicly, but instead post things within the classroom's own private group. It should also be communicated to the students that they should not be sharing personal information such as their address or phone numbers online.
I could also face a problem with students using class computers to send explicit or sexual images or messages to one another. To combat this a teacher should communicate the possible dangers of this, especially if these images or messages go public.  It is illegal even for children to view these images and that should be communicated to the students. It must be explicitly clear that these rules are in place to create a safer online environment for not only the individual students, but for the classroom as a whole.