Module+3+Reflection

Reflection Prompt:
===Reflect on what you plan to do to address the equity and ethics issues when applying technologies. You may share with us about what you have been doing by addressing these aspects and what you will change after learning in this module. ===

//Description://

I hadn't really thought about my plan for equity and ethics when it came to applying technologies in my classroom before. I think it's because so many things are already planned out for me. My course is all about using technology and I don't think that some of the students are aware of this requirement when they sign up. I know one problem that I have with some students is that they don't have computer access at home. This is a big problem because one of the things that I want the students to do is keep on track with the course calendar and it's hard for me to enforce this when they come to me with computer access problems. Between work and school most do not have time outside of class to get work done.

//Impact//:

My solution to this problem is to try to build in time where students can work on their homework in class. This is the first semester that I am trying this. We meet two times a week for an hour and fifty minutes a day. I will cover the chapter in Tuesday's session and have Thursday's class be a "lab" day. This is a day built into the calendar wherein students can get their labs done at a scheduled computer time and I am there to help them. So far, many students have taken advantage of this. Some have even told me that although they have a computer at home, they would still rather come to class to complete labs because there are too many distractions at home. I hope that losing a day of instruction isn't going to push them too fast but so far it seems to be working.

//Intent//:

The intent of implementing lab time into my calendar is that I will be giving the students time to complete the labs. Without completing the labs, the students have no practice on the computer programs that we've just covered. I always tell them that learning a new computer program is like learning a foreign language. Unless you practice, you'll never know it. In my previous experience, some students do not have computers at home. Asking them to find time to go to the labs on campus, the local library or a friends house puts a burden on them. A lot of students don't have time outside of class to get away so building this lab time into our scheduled meeting time will help students to actually learn the programs taught.