Theorizing Educational Technology

ETEC 511 Instructor: F. Feng

Assignment # 1
Should Teachers Be Paying Teachers?

With the growing influence of technology, opportunities and challenges are becoming
readily available to both students and teachers alike. TeachersPayTeachers is an open
marketplace for educators where teachers buy, sell and share original teaching resources
(TeachersPayTeachers, n.d.). This platform was developed by Paul Edelman in 2006
and has been empowering teachers, minting millionaires, and improving education ever
since (Epsom, 2012). First, I will explore the opportunities available to educators that
technology provides. Then, I will discuss the challenges regarding intellectual property,
ethics and professionalism.

Along with increased student engagement, communication and productivity, technology

offers educators an online community that fosters collaboration and inspires teachers to
share knowledge, and to be creative and innovative with their teaching strategies and
materials, to improve education. As educators, we are taught to be life-long learners,
always developing professionally to better our practice. Websites such as Pinterest for
example, where users can (freely) browse other pinboards for inspiration encourages
creativity, collaboration and innovation in education (Wikipedia, 2012). Sharing
knowledge with colleagues via technology improves learning as it allows educators to
reflect on their teaching (and learning) and add to or tweak past lessons and/or ideas to
better suit the multitude of the differing needs of students they teach.

Like Pinterest, TPT offers collaboration and inspiration with its free resources. The
challenge arises in the thousands of resources educators are buying and selling from and
to others. Deanna Jump, for example, a 43-year-old kindergarten and first grade teacher
at Quail Run Elementary in Warner Robins, Georgia is now a millionaire thanks to TPT.
Jump was the first to pass $1 million in sales, having amassed 17,000 followers and sold
160,000 items since joining the platform three years ago (Winter, 2012). With more
teacher-millionaires on the way, technological authorship and 21st century piracy
become a growing concern (Winter, 2012).

Are the ideas that Jump and other educators use to create and sell original lesson plans
truly theirs and theirs alone? Should educators be focused on creating catchy lesson plans
to supplement their income? Does this actually improve learning? Although Edelmans
rational that teachers would be motivated to create higher quality materials if they were
being paid seems reasonable, who is checking materials for originality and ensuring they
are of a higher quality? Many educators may in fact create higher quality materials, but
some, even non-educators (anyone can signup for a membership) may simply be trying to
create something that sells. The idea or intention behind TPT is positive, although
looking at the values and morals we want to teach students in the classroom around
digital ownership, it seems hypocritical for educators to sell lesson plans online that claim
to be original and/or catchy.

The goal of an educator is to create an environment where all students can flourish to
increase and improve learning. In the 21st century, education emphasizes critical thinking

and collaboration, alongside innovation. Like Petrina says, I too would like to side with
open knowledge initiatives. As a 21st century learner and teacher, I would like to develop
and also help students develop the necessary skills to think critically through
collaboration and to be ethical along the way, both online and in person. Educators should
empower themselves and their students through technological literacy (Petrina, 2004).
Educators especially, should be intrinsically motivated to create resources that increase
learning and authenticity, not financial gain.

References
Epsom, Rip. (2012, September). How Technology is Empowering Teachers, Minting
Millionaires, and Improving Education. Retrieved from
http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/30/how-technology-is-empowering-teachersminting-millionaires-and-improving-education/

TeachersPayTeachers. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

Petrina, S., Volk, K. and Kim, S (2004). Technology and Rights. International Journal of
Technology and Design Education, 14(3), 181-204.

Philip, K. (2005). What is a technological author? The pirate function and intellectual
property. Postcolonial Studies, 8(2), 199-218.

Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinterest

Winter, Caroline. (2012, September). How a Teacher Made $1 Million Selling Lesson
Plans. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-24/how-ateacher-made-1-million-selling-lesson-plans