It is simply a fact that technology is moving forward and that the rest of our lives have to follow along. It would be wrong of any classroom to ignore this fact or to let the students remain ignorant in the social and moral issues in regards to technology.
As a math teacher I will not be using a lot of day to day technology in the forms of laptops, the Internet, or word processors. I will, however, be using calculators of varying intelligence, Smart Boards, and document cameras. These technologies do not have the copyright issues that documents and reports must deal with, but these technologies do interact with the students and are therefore subjected to their moral compass. Despite what may be the common thought, technology in the classroom is a privilege. Students should be taught to respect the equipment as such. Ethical use of calculators can include limiting gaming use; many graphing calculators have games preloaded onto them.
Ethical use of technology is an important topic that should be specially taught at all ages. From copyright to vandalism, our technology and our students are our responsibility.
