Internet Safety Reflection

Although the internet can be a dangerous place, we should definitely us it in education. One reason we need to use the internet in education is because of this technological age we live in. Our students know the internet and are comfortable with it. We need to use it if we want to stay with the times. We also should use the internet in education because it offers so many great resources for us as educators. We just need to learn where to find it. The internet should also be used as a way to differentiate the learning for your students.

We need to evaluate the sites that we use for educational purposes. Just like in the reading about the boy named Zack who wrote the paper on the Holocaust, we may think a source is reputable when in all actuality it is not. If we do not evaluate the sites we use then the material we are presenting could be a wrong and a waste of time. Evaluating websites is something we must do for each website we intend to use in instruction or for research purposes.

Questions to ask when visiting a website you want to use for teaching:

1) Did you link to this site from a site you trust?

2) What is the author's authority?

3) Does the site include the date created and last updated?

4) Is the site easy to navigate?

5) Are sources documented?

6) Is this site as credible and useful as the resources available in print or online through the library?

7) Is the information factual or opinion?

The best way to keep your students safe on the internet is to teach them about internet safety. Play games, watch videos, or read about how to be safe on the internet. It is our responsibility as educators to make sure our students know how to be safe on the internet before we just throw them on the computers. It is also good to set rules and guidelines for proper internet use and to monitor our students as they are using the internet in our classes. It is also a good idea to let your students know that if they come across anything that makes them feel uncomfortable or that they know is inappropriate that they can tell us.

Video:

I thought this video was informative. Most of the stuff I already knew. One thing I did learn though was that even if you delete information you posted on the internet, someone could have copied it and put it somewhere else. Make sure you are comfortable with posting something because it may be on the internet forever. I also liked that it reminded parents to watch their kids on the internet. I think a lot of parents just assume their kids will be on a safe site and don't really pay attention. With one click a kid can be somewhere completely different than where a parent may have intended they be. I think this video would be good for parents and students to see.