4.2 Safe, Healthy, Legal and Ethical Use
Candidates model and facilitate the safe, healthy, legal, and ethical uses of digital information and technologies. (PSC 4.2/ISTE 5b)
Artifact: Internet Safety Blog Post
During ITEC 7430, Internet Tools in the Classroom, I composed a blog post discussing the importance of teaching students safe, healthy, legal, and ethical uses of digital information and technology. Within the blog post, I discussed strategies and procedures teachers should follow to ensure all students have a positive and meaningful experience while online in the classroom.
This artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 4.2 because it demonstrates my understanding and awareness of how to model and facilitate the safe, healthy legal, and ethical uses of digital information and technologies. There are many things that teachers can do to keep students safe while using digital tools in schools. As a teacher working in a school that implemented a 1:1 laptop program five years ago, using digital tools is a daily occurrence for students in all classes. As teachers of students who are frequently using the Internet, it is our duty to teach them what is legal and ethical and what is not. Constantly monitoring what students are doing on the Internet while in the classroom is extremely important. Students need to know that we are aware of what sites they are visiting and that we can see their Internet history at any time. When my school first issued the laptops to students five years ago, students were under the impression that they could do whatever they wanted, and no one would know. There were many surprised students when they found out teachers were able to pull their history and ask them about inappropriate sites and usage. This issue has decreased somewhat over the years now that students are aware that we are monitoring their usage regularly. Another way to keep our students safe while on the Internet is to be a technology role model for them. While many of our students are tech savvy, as most have smart phones and computers at home, they may not be aware of how to use these devices in an educational setting and in a safe manner. We need to model and facilitate how to handle accidentally stumbling upon an inappropriate website, or how to handle getting an email that doesn't look right. These are all things we need to teach our students to ensure they have a safe and healthy experience.
I have learned a great deal about safe, healthy, and ethical use regarding technology. For example, I have learned that students’ Internet activity should also be tailored to their specific age group. For instance, in an elementary level class, it may be safer to give students the specific links they need to visit to complete their task. This will eliminate any issues of stumbling upon sites that may not be useful, or even contain inappropriate content. However, in a middle school level class, a general topic could be assigned, and the students’ research may be more open. Older students that have more experience with proper Internet usage should be granted more freedom in their Internet usage, to some extent. Through the completion of this artifact, I have also learned that it is essential to not only go over proper uses, but to also model and facilitate how to do these things in the educational setting. This artifact could be improved by including examples of both proper and improper forms of technology use for both students and teachers. This would give them concrete examples and provide a more solid foundation for what is considered safe and ethical usage.
This artifact had a positive impact on students because now that I have learned about proper ways to model and facilitate best practices, I can share this information with my students. This will improve their experience using technology in my classroom. Also, by modeling how to use sites legally and ethically, students will have a better idea of how to treat materials they find on the Internet. The impact of this artifact can be assessed by classroom observations, student surveys, and even giving students a test to determine their knowledge on the topic.
During ITEC 7430, Internet Tools in the Classroom, I composed a blog post discussing the importance of teaching students safe, healthy, legal, and ethical uses of digital information and technology. Within the blog post, I discussed strategies and procedures teachers should follow to ensure all students have a positive and meaningful experience while online in the classroom.
This artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 4.2 because it demonstrates my understanding and awareness of how to model and facilitate the safe, healthy legal, and ethical uses of digital information and technologies. There are many things that teachers can do to keep students safe while using digital tools in schools. As a teacher working in a school that implemented a 1:1 laptop program five years ago, using digital tools is a daily occurrence for students in all classes. As teachers of students who are frequently using the Internet, it is our duty to teach them what is legal and ethical and what is not. Constantly monitoring what students are doing on the Internet while in the classroom is extremely important. Students need to know that we are aware of what sites they are visiting and that we can see their Internet history at any time. When my school first issued the laptops to students five years ago, students were under the impression that they could do whatever they wanted, and no one would know. There were many surprised students when they found out teachers were able to pull their history and ask them about inappropriate sites and usage. This issue has decreased somewhat over the years now that students are aware that we are monitoring their usage regularly. Another way to keep our students safe while on the Internet is to be a technology role model for them. While many of our students are tech savvy, as most have smart phones and computers at home, they may not be aware of how to use these devices in an educational setting and in a safe manner. We need to model and facilitate how to handle accidentally stumbling upon an inappropriate website, or how to handle getting an email that doesn't look right. These are all things we need to teach our students to ensure they have a safe and healthy experience.
I have learned a great deal about safe, healthy, and ethical use regarding technology. For example, I have learned that students’ Internet activity should also be tailored to their specific age group. For instance, in an elementary level class, it may be safer to give students the specific links they need to visit to complete their task. This will eliminate any issues of stumbling upon sites that may not be useful, or even contain inappropriate content. However, in a middle school level class, a general topic could be assigned, and the students’ research may be more open. Older students that have more experience with proper Internet usage should be granted more freedom in their Internet usage, to some extent. Through the completion of this artifact, I have also learned that it is essential to not only go over proper uses, but to also model and facilitate how to do these things in the educational setting. This artifact could be improved by including examples of both proper and improper forms of technology use for both students and teachers. This would give them concrete examples and provide a more solid foundation for what is considered safe and ethical usage.
This artifact had a positive impact on students because now that I have learned about proper ways to model and facilitate best practices, I can share this information with my students. This will improve their experience using technology in my classroom. Also, by modeling how to use sites legally and ethically, students will have a better idea of how to treat materials they find on the Internet. The impact of this artifact can be assessed by classroom observations, student surveys, and even giving students a test to determine their knowledge on the topic.