My first interview was with a female 12th grade student, who works a few days a week at a local supermarket. She is enrolled in mid-level courses at the high school and is about 3 months pregnant. Knowing her fairly well, I know she comes from a very challenging background, but has managed to maintain a solidly optimistic perspective on school and life. The second interview I conducted was with a 10th grades student, who is extremely motivated and is enrolled in the schools highest level courses.
When asked about whether students' online activity at home should be the business of the school, both students replied with "No". They both expressed the idea that there is a certain level of privacy the school must respect with their students. I then asked them about cases where students' Facebook pages are open to public viewing. They both agreed that if something is posted publicly it is done so at the risk of the student. Continuing in the area of Facebook and privacy, I asked about how schools should treat knowledge of underage drinking that is recieved through Facebook page searches of students. After both spending time considering their answers, both students' solution was to have schools contact the offending students parents. My final Facebook-related question was "Should schools permit teachers to be Facebook friends with current students?" Intrestingly, this is a point where the two students disagreed. The first student said it was just "too risky" to have that type of contact. The second student did not see any reason why it should not be permitted.
The remaining questions I asked were wide-ranging, being that this interview was somehat thrown together. I then asked whether athletic coaches should communicate to players through text messages? Both expressed reservation about this, stating that texting is a very personal means of communication. On the topic of cell phone use the response was immediate. They felt that cell phone use in non-instructional settings should be permitted. The impression I had was that a little of freedom could go a long way.
Overall, the students felt technology is a bit "overhyped" in education. They dofeel like the level of technological usage varies greatly. According to them, technology is important, but maybe not to the extent that it is spoken about. Finally, I asked them if new teachers should be technologically prepared in college. They did feel like a basic knowlegde of educational technology is needed, but not to an expert level.
The conclusions I drew from this very short and very informal interview were:
- students definitely feel that their online behavior is not the business of school
- students are very sensitive of their privacy
- students are not in agreement about the role technology should play in school
Nice job with the interviews. I agree that we need to be able to ask our students about how we use technology to help them learn. Knowing this will make our lesson plans better suited to meet their needs.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I agree with Mike. Seeing this from the student perspective is important. It helps us to vision and plan. Thanks for sharing this.
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