If I allow my students to use technology, will it get me fired?

Upon the completion of class this week and the aftermath that ensued, I discovered I have even more questions now than I did in the previous week. The questions have also grown more complex. Whereas before most of my questions were techinical- what does this term mean?, what is this tool used for?, is this applicable to my course?- the questions now are broader and more complex. Most of my questions now fall under the umbrella of one overarching question, "What are we trying to accomplish?" Are we trying to make our own lives easier, our students lives easier, enrich our students' learning, or simply save time?

As far as incorporating technology into my classroom goes, I am beginning to see the double-edged sword that surfaces with this integration. In class last week, we were introduced to a Web 2.0 tool that enabled us to give polls via text messaging. I decided to incorporate this into one of my classes this week. The benefits were astonishing. The kids were excited, feedback was instantaneous, and we had one of the best discussions of the year as a result of the exercise. However (you knew this was coming), there were problems associated with the polling.

The main issue came to my attention during the last class of the day. As I was giving the directions for the poll and the discussion started, I began to notice everyone turning to look at one particular student. After class, I found out the student had taken a picture of himself doing the poll in class, posted it to his Facebook wall, commented that class was 'so awesome', and shared this with his friends in my classroom via their Facebook profiles. All this was done in less than 30 seconds. While the student still participated. These guys are good.

Besides learning about unique polling opportunities, we also discussed unique presentation tools such as Prezi or Wordle. Not only are these presentation tools easy to use, but they are also visually stunning and effective. Take for instance my Wordle developed from my M.Ed final project:




It looks great, and the main points of my paper are highlighted- the more something was used, the larger it appears in the Wordle.

All these presentation tools are beneficial in some way or other, but there are so many questions that come with them. What is the best way to use these tools? How do we regulate the usage of these tools in our classrooms? Is this really going to benefit our students? Until these questions can be answered, the only viable option in my opinion is to introduce these tools into the classroom and determine through experience what works and what does not. I just hope I keep my job and don't end up on the streets as a result of one of my student's Facebook posts.