Online Safety and Security
"Keeping students and data safe and secure are important- ethically and legally."
The Internet can offer a teacher so many possibilities that the classroom did not have available before. However, with the all new tools, there must be precautions in place to protect those new, unfamiliar, or under the legal age. As teachers, it is our duty to not only practice legal and ethical Internet usage but also to protect those (especially minors) who access the Internet, especially when in our care.
Legal Requirements
"School districts have to do everything in their power to prevent problems before they start."
~Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools by G. Solomon & L. Schrum (2007)
There are legal actions in place to protect our children when using the Internet. "Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliance means that district must install filtering or blocking technology on every Internet-connected computer, whether used by students or adults" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). Often times I find myself getting frustrated with the restrictions of the firewalls when working online in my classroom. However, I must remind myself of need to protect our users, especially in school system with children who rely on Google searches for everything.
Before we allow our student to "go online" we must make them aware of the policies and procedures that our school systems have in place. These policies are not there to restrict our students but to protect our students. "Districts have to implement a comprehensive Internet safety policy" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). In my school district, our students must sign a contract which accompanies the safety policy as well as participate in a course called "Internet Cyber Safety" prior to logging on to our parish network.
Copyright and Intellectual Property
Currently, teaching and enforcing copyrighting is a very frustrating and challenging objective for me. "In addition to the issues of music and video downloading, there's an even more complex area, especially for schools- students use of some else's intellectual property to illustrate points within their own work" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). My students have the same misconception that many other students and adults have, "If it is online, it is free to take." I have had to make an example of this by taking a student's work of their own and putting my name on it. In doing this, I was able to demonstrate the frustration one feels when their work is taken and claimed by someone without giving credit where credit is due. Many may disagree with my way of demonstrating this concept to my high school students but I can firmly state that it got the point across.
The issue that my mentor and I have concluded is that our students are brought up in a school swamped with technology and Web 2.0 intergration however they are not proper exposed to the ethical process of use of information available. Some may say this is because it has become a case of the blind leading the blind. "Many of the adults who guide them are equally as confused" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). If adults are unsure of copyright regulations, how can we model proper use to our audience?
Security Solutions
"Awareness education programs, acceptable use policies (AUP), student ethical conduct reviews, administrative restrictions, and parental involvement help, but sometimes policies that include a stronger approach such as blocking with or without alternatives are necessary- for practical and legal reasons and for peace of mind." (Solomon & Schrum, 2007)
Awareness Programs
"Students do not always realize the dangers that are lurking online and having frank discussions is effective in preventing problems for students at school and at home" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). I try to remind my students how public the Internet is and that we must always remember that our posts reflect on who we are not only virtually but physically as well.
Acceptable Use Policies (AUP)
"These policies outline the guidelines, procedures, and responsibilities for using school technology" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). The Calcasieu Parish School System has use a parish AUP that our students receive at the start of school. Each school has the option to create their own school district's AUP to meet the needs of their faculty and student community. (Refer to page 17 for the AUP)
Ethical Behavior
There is a major misconception of the what is considered ethical behavior when working online. "Many people seem to believe that (ethical behavior) because they are physically able to copy or download files, it is OK to go ahead and do it. Teenagers too might come to the conclusion that availability equals permission" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007).
Administrative Restrictions
Though many tools offer many possibilities for schools, administrators may have their own personal restrictions of particular Web 2.0 use in the classroom. Teachers should get approval from their administrator(s) prior to allowing students to use these tools.
Parental Involvement
A survey conducted by Cable in the Classroom in July 2006 identified that "71% of parents believe that a major portion of the responsibility for ensuring children's safety on the internet falls to schools.Our parents must be educated and reminded of the necessary precautions for our students to follow when using the Internet to ensure their safety when away from the classroom.
Blocking
There are options for parents and educators who want to expose students to the Web but want to protect them from the risks involved with search engines. netTrekker is a search engined designed with students, K-12, in mind. This site is useful for searches that students conduct daily while providing access to more than 180,000 online resources selected by educators as well as an image database that is safe from children use.
"Schools have to be more vigilant than ever. They want to provide access to the vast amounts of reliable, accurate information online, but they must worry about students finding correct data, pornography, and predators along the way."
~Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools by G. Solomon & L. Schrum (2007)
"Knotty Problems"
There are many other Web possibilities out there that Solomon and Schrum provide us information with but many of these come with as many "cons" as they provide "pros" for use.
- Instant Messaging
- Social Networking (Myspace, Facebook, Twitter)
- Image Sharing (Flickr, YouTube)
Other Alternatives
The text also provides example of avenues to take if the great tools of the Web are blocked from your access (like in many Louisiana school systems).
- Class Blogs (Class Blogmeister)
- Elgg -provides an environment for students to create their own learning space and connect to others, forming their own learning communities.
- Web 2.0 tools on Intranets so they are behind the district firewalls (Socialtext and TWiki)
- BlackBoard for school's private use (my own personal site- Ms. Bertrand's BlackBoard)
National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Teachers
All classroom teachers should be prepared to meet the following standards and performance indicators.
6. Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues
Teachers understand the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools and apply the understanding in practice. Teachers:
1. model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use.
2. apply technology resources to enable and empower learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and ability.
3. identify and use technology resources that affirm diversity.
4. promote safe and healthy use of technology resources.
5. facilitate equitable access to technology resources for all students.
Citations
Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0, new tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: Intl Society for Technology in educ.
