Don't Talk to Strangers...and Other Online Safety Tips
There are countless websites and resources available to teachers to help teach online safety. But before instructing students on internet safety, it is important to understand a little background on our students. In a study done by the Pew Research Center on Parents, Teens & Digital Monitoring, they reported some alarming statistics and also some surprising statistics. For one, over 60% of parents have taken away teen privileges of phones and internet and 60% of parents regularly check websites and social media accounts of their teens. Also, surprising, over 90% of parents have spoken with their teenage children about appropriate sharing, online content, and media consumption. Some alarming statistics were also reported through this study, including mothers are much more likely than fathers to discuss online safety with their teens. In addition, higher income parents are less likely to have conversations with their teens about safe online use. This data is especially alarming because oftentimes, high income students are more likely to have more internet and cell phone access than their lower income peers, causing their online exposure to also be greater.
Another amazing resource I stumbled upon is actually a free course offered by Google about Digital Footprints of teens. This course offers lesson plans, student hand-outs, and teacher notes for three different courses, but the digital footprint course has the most beneficial information. This specific course has three parts (and corresponding lesson plans). The first part focuses on protection which discusses passwords and privacy. The lesson plans provide tips for strong passwords and even included an activity to do with students for practice creating strong passwords. The second part focuses specifically on digital citizenship and discusses online bullying and the "reply all" and "cc" feature of emails. This part also discusses YouTube rules and etiquette, which is a website today's students regularly use. The third part is about street smarts. The discussion focuses on safety with meeting people online and even has practice scenarios for students.
I also found a great website by the University of North Carolina's education department related to online safety and Web 2.0 tools. This website brings attention to the fact that web 2.0 tools have changed the methods both teachers and parents have to use to monitor students. There are also many more safety issues associated with web 2.0 tools and today's online classroom tools. This website stated that a great tip for teachers is to always ensure that classroom collaboration remains within password protected environments of apps and online programs. Teachers should also monitor discussions and conversations that are held within the classroom blog or discussion board and always use the comment moderation feature. Once classroom collaboration is taken outside of a password protected environment, teachers should ensure their students are using pseudonyms or just simply staying anonymous. Teachers also need to be careful to not publicly post student names or videos created by students with other students appearing in them.
After reviewing these websites, I have developed several strategies to keep my students safe online and within the classroom. The first strategy I will begin to consistently implement is only using password protected sites for my classroom. My current classroom website does require a login, but many times students are posting on online forums and creating websites that anyone else can access. Another strategy I will definitely implement is actually teaching my students how to be good digital citizens. In today's society, many students do not understand how to be safe or the repercussions of poor decisions. I especially liked the Google curriculum and would like to do at least one of those lessons with my students to start the school year next year. Being careful about student names and student work is another good strategy for improving internet safety. Many times, teachers post photos, names, even just the school name on student work and this puts their students’ privacy in jeopardy. Teachers need to be careful and use pseudonyms, or better yet, just keep public posts anonymous. A final strategy is to be sure to hold students accountable for their actions online, especially within the school, but setting clear expectations. If teachers and administration enforce these expectations with consistent discipline, students will understand their responsibilities as digital citizens and be aware of repercussions of poor choices.
To Infinity & Beyond
The future of technology and the new catch-phrase “web 3.0” is more than just learning management systems though! In the future, online resources will be much more available to students because of the BYOD learning environments that continue to grow within our schools. Because BYOD closes the gap of digital equity for students, the classroom successes across different schools will also close (Solomon & Schrum, 2014). The price of internet access and home computers is something that many families cannot afford, but the increasingly cheaper cost of cell phones with internet service is something that more and more families are purchasing. Thus, students that were once ostracized in the classroom because of a lack of access are now able to keep up with their peers.
I also see future technology in schools moving toward instructional videos, more specifically flipped classrooms and blended learning. With the use of videos, students of all abilities will benefit and learn more of the classroom content. Flipped learning enables students to learn at their own pace in an environment that is comfortable to them. Videos also enable teachers to still deliver content outside of school whether that be during snow days, breaks, or even summer vacation. STEM learning and hands-on education is also quickly becoming the norm in present-day classrooms, but I see an even bigger push toward this learning environment in the future. According to Delaney (2012), classrooms will become more student centered on student creations, rather than just teacher delivery of content.
Even with the widespread use of technology in the classroom, there are still many challenges schools and teachers will face. For one, many teachers in today’s schools are not on board with all the new technology being integrated in the classroom. For example, I know there are many teachers in my school that forbid the use of cells phones in the classroom, period, with referrals for any student caught on his or her phone, and I am sure this is a trend found in many other schools too. I know the reason for this, as I am sure the rest of you do too, and that’s management of the BYOD system. Many teachers find it hard to regulate cell phone use in the classroom and students are too tempted to use all the “fun” apps on their phone during class time. Even if the BYOD network does not all these apps to run, students will just use their data and still access all that’s going on in the social media world. So how do teachers regulate BYOD? First, a supportive administration is key whether that be for punishment of inappropriate use or support in using cell phones in the classroom in general. Second, teachers need to create a classroom policy that works for them and their teaching. Teachers may use the “phones down” approach where students must have their phones on their desks and are only allowed to use them during specific time or some teachers allow phone use during down time only where if students choose not to work, they will suffer the consequences of not getting homework complete.
Another obstacle schools must face to be successful with technology integration is making sure all teachers are learning and implementing technology on a regular basis (Delaney, 2012). Of course, schools will also need to set up ways to ensure teacher success through mentors, training programs, and basic support for teachers who struggle to learn new technology. Teachers need to not only know how to use the programs, which I think most professional learning does a decent job of teaching, but also how to properly implement the technology which is where there is a major disconnect. Teachers need to feel supported in their use of new technology, but also need time to digest what they are learning at professional development and be able to practice meaningful implementation.
Of course the advantages of technology integration far outweigh the challenges and disadvantages. For one, education becomes more streamlined throughout society as students are able to become global citizens and interact with other students and professionals from across the globe (Powers, 2014). In addition, students can communicate with professionals in many different fields and instead of researching the old-fashioned way through libraries and even Google searches, students can actually ask questions live to people with real-life experiences. This in turn, creates a more meaningful learning experience for students of all ages. One other major advantage of the technology movement in education is the cost to schools. Instead of schools having to purchase desktops and laptops for students and in some schools, enough for a 1:1 environment, many students bring their own, more preferable, technology to school instead (Solomon & Schrum, 2014). In this way, students are using technology that is more familiar to them while still being able to accomplish classroom tasks and assignments.
Anderson, M. (2016). Parents, teens and digital monitoring. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/01/07/parents-teens-and-digital-monitoring/
Delaney, M. (2012). What is web 3.0 really, and what does it mean for education? Retrieved from http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2012/10/what-web-30-really-and-what-does-it-mean-education
Ferriter, B. (2010). Keeping students digitally safe. Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/6555?ref=search
Google. (2016). Google digital literacy and citizenship curriculum. Retrieved from http://ikeepsafe. org/educators_old/more/google/
Muthler, S. (2015). Online safety: A teacher’s guide to dealing with cyberbullying, sexting, and student privacy. Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/the-teachers-guide-to-keeping-students-safe-online/
Powers, K. (2014). What is web 3.0 and how might it affect education? [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://ed4online.com/blog/what-web-30-and-how-might-it-affect-education
Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2014). Web 2.0: How to for educators. Eugene, OR: ISTE