Internet Safety
Constantly monitoring what students are doing on the Internet while in the classroom is extremely important. As suggested in Maryland School Mental Health Alliance’s Internet Safety in Children and Adolescents Information for Teachers, “By taking an active role in your student’s internet activities… you will be ensuring that he/she can benefit from the wealth of valuable information that the Internet has to offer, while lessening their chance of being exposed to any potential dangers” (p. 1). 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, they 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 definitely decreased now that students are aware that we are monitoring their usage regularly.
Another Internet safety site that I discovered was a blog from Edutopia written by Mary Beth Hertz. She explains to her readers how she taught Internet Safety to kindergarten students. She starts the lesson off with a class discussion about strangers and then asks guiding questions that lead up to online strangers. I think middle school students would benefit from this type discussion as well. So many times, my students are caught believing everything and everyone on the Internet can be trusted. She continues her lesson by showing a video on Internet Safety, and has students create a journal on their thoughts. Allowing students to communicate their thoughts instead of telling them what they should do will help increase the meaning of Internet safety to students.
Students’ internet activity should also be tailored to their specific age group. As stated in the Virginia Department of Education’s Guidelines and Resources for Internet Safety in Schools(2007), “Students’ varying developmental stages and Internet skills will produce different issues and problems for each age group.” (p. 13). 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 may 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.
The Future of Web 2.0
Schoology is an excellent LMS program that allows students to view presentations, videos, notes, etc. in one location. Schoology is a very effective tool for managing my classroom and helping my students stay organized. One of the greatest tools Schoology offers my students is a calendar that shows all upcoming assignments and due dates. Because Schoology looks like Facebook in many ways, I think students are more comfortable and confident in using this program. Many students, especially my middle school students, struggle with keeping up with assignments and staying organized, but with Schoology my students have become much more organized since I place all of their class materials into folders for each unit.
There are many advantages to using Learning Management Systems in the classroom. I believe the primary advantage is the organization these programs provide to students. Other advantages include being able to submit work online and teachers being able to easily provide feedback to students, as well as students having instant access to all notes, presentations, and other materials presented in class. In terms of disadvantages, students who do not have internet access at home may not be able to access important class information posted to Schoology. Another disadvantage for my students is our county is still new to using Schoology, and while many teachers are on board and learning the new LMS, some teachers are not as enthusiastic about it and therefore are not utilizing it as they should in order to help their students.
Learning Management Systems like Schoology are great for students who need help with organization and who like being able to access course materials in one designated place. These programs prepare students for online learning, which is becoming more and more widely used not only in college classes, but high school classes as well.