Students have changed in the ways they communicate with the world and we should adapt to this as educators.
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Monday, October 12, 2009
Safety and the Internet
Safety and the Internet
When looking at the positive aspects of the internet it is not hard to forget about the safety concerns that may come with its use. The internet provides a widow for students into the real world. It hold an immeasurable mass of information and opportunities. However the internet can also be dangerous if not respected.
Information can be found in an instant and can also be passed in an instant. Students need to be educated on what is safe and what is not safe. From discussion I have had in my own class I find that students think that only their friends are looking at the posts the create in the various forums that they belong too. When I asked students in my class how many of them had facebook account there was only one student that didn’t put up there hand. I proceeded to ask students what kind of information they had about themselves on the website. Most of the students had everything imaginable on their facebook page from phone numbers, addresses, pictures, and full names. Most of the students also didn’t mind that there information was in open forums which meant that anyone had access to that information.
I feel that students in my class are extremely naive. They do not realizes the dangers of having their information public for all to see. I think that it is important to share the dangers of posting too much information on the internet.
Over the last couple of years I’ve found that there are more and more internet related problems in my classroom. Cyber bullying has become a problem at my school and we’ve had to get the help of the police to help show students the implications of it. Last year there were some students in my class who created a hate page for another student. This hate page provided an opportunity for students to communicate some hurtful things about another individual. The students who created the web page although understood the impacts that the page may have had on the individual student the page was directed towards did not have a clue of the consequences that could have came to the individuals that created the page. Students did not know that they could have been charged for harassment. Somehow students felt that because they were not directly talking to the individuals they could not get into trouble for what they were saying.
Our school now has the police come into our school at the beginning of each year to talk about cyber bullying the consequences that may result from it. We also have a link on our school web page that will direct students to a online help and report page for cyber bullying.
I think that as a educator it is really important to talk about the specific things that are not acceptable with students regarding the internet. Students need clear guidelines indicating what is and is not appropriate. We can’t assume that they understand nor can we assume that they understand the consequences of posting too much information or of acting in inappropriate ways with the internet.
Edublogging: What's out there?
After searching the Internet in hopes of finding fantastic teaching ideas I immediately found that hunt would overturn much more then expected. Beginning the search with the key word “edublogging” found more then half a million google hits. I had no idea of the numbers of educational blogs or education related blogs on the internet. There are thousands upon thousands of excellent blogs featuring information on everything classroom and education related. I found the amount of information completely overwhelming. There was so much information that I could not manage it. One great idea would lead me to another fantastic find. The more I read the more I was bombarded with new ideas and new searches. I had uncovered so much information that I could not contain my search.
Due to the vastness and variety of educational blogs I found a couple websites very important for categorizing and ranking the educational blogs. The first site I found useful was http://oedb.org. The online education database has several categories that rank blog sites according to subjects. Some of the categories include E-Learning, Educational News, Educational Policy, Internet Culture, Learning, Library and Research, Specialty, Teaching and Technology.
The second site I found was a blog that had ranked educational blogs. http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/2009/01/13/determining-the-top-education-blogs/ I found that Jason Falls, the site host, put together an excellent list of 50 fantastic blogs that educators, parents, administrators and even students would enjoy and learn from.
Before I starting the edublogging assignment I had never really spent any amount of time on a blog. I had relied on websites for information and ideas only. I know see the huge amounts of information I was dismissing.
Each year in my classroom I have always wanted to put together a classroom website to list homework, assignments, important dates and create another communication link to parents. After exploring blogs I think that they will do a better job with even more features.
Blogs offer some many positive things for a classroom. They offer a medium to post materials and resources. Each year our school spends a huge amount of it’s budget on paper. If using a blog to post things will eliminate some of the paper use we can use some of that budget money for better things.
A blog offers an excellent host for discussions. Not all students are comfortable with talking in front of a classroom. I know when I was a child I didn’t like to ask questions and speak my mind sharing my ideas in front of other students. I was worried that my ideas were not equal to others or that maybe I would say the wrong things and look silly in front of my friends. I was always more comfortable writing my ideas on paper and sharing them that way because I could think longer on the words and ideas I had and make sure it was just right before I handed them in. I think that blogs offer this unique opportunities for students to choose the right words and expand their ideas before posting them on a website.
I think that blogs are an excellent way to create a classroom publication. Who needs a newsletter when you have an easily adaptable online newsletter that everyone can contribute to. Parents want to know what goes on in the classroom. Why not share with them then ins and outs of the classroom through a blog. Video clips, photographs, examples of work, calendars, and homework boards can all be created and easily posted on a blog. If a student is away, why not provide them with the resources they missed on the blog. They can print notes and worksheets while finding readings and day plans to get caught up on.
I think that there are a infinite number of functions that a classroom blog can be used for. I think with good supervision, clear expectations, and some creativity a student run classroom blog will only add to the educational classroom community.
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