Download or read book The Effect of Misuse of Technology on School Culture written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the misuse of technology by students on the school environment and school culture as a whole with a specific inquiry devoted to the effect of the unchecked increase of cyber-plagiarism on educator morale and student achievement. The perception among some educators that technology is an entirely benevolent tool in the classroom can be erroneous. Technology is an emergent issue in the world; an issue that has revolutionized the way people live. The rationale of this effort is to assess the current climate of technology in education as it affects teacher mind-set and student academic integrity and report the results in respect to how they are negatively affecting pedagogical enthusiasm. Information for this study was derived from a four-part assessment, along with direct interviews of educators. Each part of the assessment measured a different aspect of educator interaction with the affect of student cyber-plagiarism and misuse of technology. Part I examined teacher responses to inauthentic writing derived from cyber-plagiarism; Part II examined school administrator and school board support for policing academic dishonesty; Part III examined student response; Part IV examined parental response. The assessment was given to secondary school teachers from central and southern New Jersey. The findings of this study indicate two divergent problems co-exist. The first being that educators are concerned that student writing is being adversely affected by the central role technology has taken in student's writing practices. Technology, in the form of computer based electronic mail and instant messaging applications, are a constant negative reinforcement of improper spelling, grammar, tone, and style. Educators are anxious that this development will have increasing impact on diminishing student-writing achievement in an instructional setting that is adding more emphasis on writing skills. The second finding concerns the affect that cyber-plagiarism is producing the evident decrease of educator morale. When examining the compiled survey results it is apparent that educators suffer from a sense of frustration and isolation when policing plagiarism. Survey results indicate that 73% of teachers have detected plagiarism from their students. Results further show that teachers perceive parents, students, and administrators as hostile to efforts to amplify academic honesty and impede plagiarism. These factors have the consequence of reducing teacher morale, which adversely influences student achievement. The solution to both of these problems is eliminating cyber-plagiarism as an issue in schools. To achieve this, educators must examine and employ new tactics in writing guidance, lesson planning, and policing cyber-plagiarism. Creating innovative lessons that are plagiarism resistant, educating students on plagiarism, and allowing students to take part in policing plagiarism are solutions that will succeed for teachers interested in ending the blitz of cyber-plagiarism.