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Why Monitoring Technology in Schools is Important

Monitoring technology in schools is important to students, teachers, parents, and the society as a whole. Technology should, of course, be made available to students and teachers to use at school. It can bring a level of learning to a classroom such as has never been seen before the advent of computers.

However, many students and even teachers are using technology (Überwachungstechnik) in inappropriate ways. They use the technology provided to them in the classroom for uses that were never intended by the school board. Parents who know what the computers are often used for will usually support monitoring technology in schools.

One of the abuses of school internet access is to view pornography. This has been a problem with some teachers as well as many students. If parents wish to stop this use of computers, they should petition their school board to begin monitoring technology in the schools. Sometimes all it takes is a simple program that will direct access on the computer away from pornography sites.

One terrible use of the internet that has become commonplace in schools is the threatening email or web page. Students can use these to make other students’ lives miserable. This is one case where monitoring this technology in schools is difficult. Yet, it may be possible to teach better internet citizenship.

Since the internet became available in schools, students have been trying to hack their way into their teachers’ grade books. This is an abuse which makes the grading system useless. If a student succeeds in changing his or her grades, no work will be required to earn good marks. Monitoring this technology in schools is imperative. It can be done by teachers reviewing their online grade books.

Plagiarizing was a problem long before the internet came along. The trouble is that the internet makes it so much easier. All a student has to do is copy and paste to come up with a report on any subject. A wise teacher will have no trouble monitoring this technology in the schools. Knowing a student’s individual writing style is all that is required.

A different kind of modern technology is the cell phone. Students are very adept at using their cell phones for text messaging in class without getting caught. A teacher with adequate hearing might be good at monitoring phone technology in schools. Most text messages are announced with a small beep.

Students also like to play video games. It is pretty obvious if a teacher sees a student playing a video game on a full-sized computer. It may not be so easy to spot if the game is being played on a PDA or a cell phone. Playing during class keeps the students from learning. Good eye contact is one way of monitoring technology in schools.

There are dozens of inappropriate ways to use technology in class. It is time to put a stop to this abuse. Monitoring the use of technology – especially of computers and the internet – is the only way to see that these tools are used correctly. Other uses of video technology can be seen at my-presenter.de.