Module 11 Internet Safety Blog Post
I get asked pretty frequently about Internet safety. Generally my colleague’s questions pertain somehow to their child’s iOS devices, or YouTube restrictions, or safe search engines. Internet safety is of the utmost importance to me and is a daily priority when teaching five to seven year olds in the computer lab setting. I utilize a few different strategies, techniques, and resources when lesson planning and creating my own web tours for class. In the computer lab, I rely upon a lot of interactive Flash games and streaming media for instruction. A few pitfalls of using these types of resources are extraneous toolbars or navigation and also unwanted or inappropriate advertising. As Richardson (2010) points out, responsible teachers create, “web tours beforehand and limit the amount of freedom students have to surf.” (p.13). The first strategy I use to eradicate these unnecessary elements is to hyperlink from my class wiki directly to the interactive Flash game’s .swf file. This can easily be accomplished using the inspect element feature of the Chrome Internet browser. By hyperlinking directly to the .swf file, one can very quickly and easily strip away most unnecessary and unwanted elements.
Interactive Flash games are only a fraction of the equation regarding Internet safety in the computer lab. My other chief concern is removing unwanted or inappropriate advertisements from streaming media clips. One of the great advantages of being a computer lab teacher is being able to expose students to lots of rich streaming media clips about topics that are learned about in their homeroom. A great resource that I was recently made aware of is a service called SafeShare.TV. This service acts in much the same way a URL shortener would, but instead of shortening the hyperlink it removes unwanted advertisements from your YouTube clip. This is a terrific service and I suggest those reading this to investigate it further.
Often when educating colleagues and parents about Internet safety, I argue that the term “safe search” is a misnomer. In my opinion, there is no “safe search” only “safer search” and there are always risks involved with young learners and the Internet. Concerning Internet Safety, Richardson (2010) points out, these “risks can be greatly reduced by having the appropriate information in hand and by planning” (p.12). I use a few different strategies when planning to handle searching and mobile device restrictions and often I relay these same tools to parents and colleagues. First, my favorite kid friendly search engine that I use in the classroom is a site called KidRex. In a past professional development class, I taught colleagues about the range of “safer search” options available. Those resources are available in the wiki from that session. Also, my colleagues often inquire about how to enable restrictions on their child’s iOS device. First, I suggest enabling restrictions and determining age appropriate settings. This inadvertently leads to discussions about YouTube and I then typically suggest reading Common Sense Media’s “A Parents Ultimate Guide to YouTube”. For colleagues with older children or teens wanting to monitor mobile activity, I typically suggest they read Jean Dumais’ wonderful blog called Be Web Smart and consider creating a technology contract with their child. In fact, for those reading this post, I suggest immediately signing up for email updates from Be Web Smart. I have to agree with Richardson that good information and planning can allow for some good peace of mind when creating safe lessons, home networks, or surfing experiences.
As Instructional Technology Coaches, it is often our responsibility to educate colleagues, parents, and the community about appropriate safety and the Internet. Another strategy and suggestion I have for ITCs is to think globally when searching for information about Internet safety, digital literacy, and digital legacies. Australia and the UK have some pretty excellent resources about cyberbullying, digital literacy, and the Internet safety. Cyber(smart:) is Australia’s wonderful national program targeting cybersafety and cybersecurity in the educational setting. The other side of that is to also think locally. Our own government has a slew of resources available at the Child Online Protection page of DigitalLiteracy.gov. Be creative and vigilant in the quest to secure and ensure the online safety of the young learners in your school and community. I suggest looking into all of the resources that were mentioned. Finally, I am excited to see the many perspectives on this subject that our class section will have. Class, what are some of your favorite tools or resources to ensure Internet safety in your classroom or school?
References
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oak, California: Corwin.
I get asked pretty frequently about Internet safety. Generally my colleague’s questions pertain somehow to their child’s iOS devices, or YouTube restrictions, or safe search engines. Internet safety is of the utmost importance to me and is a daily priority when teaching five to seven year olds in the computer lab setting. I utilize a few different strategies, techniques, and resources when lesson planning and creating my own web tours for class. In the computer lab, I rely upon a lot of interactive Flash games and streaming media for instruction. A few pitfalls of using these types of resources are extraneous toolbars or navigation and also unwanted or inappropriate advertising. As Richardson (2010) points out, responsible teachers create, “web tours beforehand and limit the amount of freedom students have to surf.” (p.13). The first strategy I use to eradicate these unnecessary elements is to hyperlink from my class wiki directly to the interactive Flash game’s .swf file. This can easily be accomplished using the inspect element feature of the Chrome Internet browser. By hyperlinking directly to the .swf file, one can very quickly and easily strip away most unnecessary and unwanted elements.
Interactive Flash games are only a fraction of the equation regarding Internet safety in the computer lab. My other chief concern is removing unwanted or inappropriate advertisements from streaming media clips. One of the great advantages of being a computer lab teacher is being able to expose students to lots of rich streaming media clips about topics that are learned about in their homeroom. A great resource that I was recently made aware of is a service called SafeShare.TV. This service acts in much the same way a URL shortener would, but instead of shortening the hyperlink it removes unwanted advertisements from your YouTube clip. This is a terrific service and I suggest those reading this to investigate it further.
Often when educating colleagues and parents about Internet safety, I argue that the term “safe search” is a misnomer. In my opinion, there is no “safe search” only “safer search” and there are always risks involved with young learners and the Internet. Concerning Internet Safety, Richardson (2010) points out, these “risks can be greatly reduced by having the appropriate information in hand and by planning” (p.12). I use a few different strategies when planning to handle searching and mobile device restrictions and often I relay these same tools to parents and colleagues. First, my favorite kid friendly search engine that I use in the classroom is a site called KidRex. In a past professional development class, I taught colleagues about the range of “safer search” options available. Those resources are available in the wiki from that session. Also, my colleagues often inquire about how to enable restrictions on their child’s iOS device. First, I suggest enabling restrictions and determining age appropriate settings. This inadvertently leads to discussions about YouTube and I then typically suggest reading Common Sense Media’s “A Parents Ultimate Guide to YouTube”. For colleagues with older children or teens wanting to monitor mobile activity, I typically suggest they read Jean Dumais’ wonderful blog called Be Web Smart and consider creating a technology contract with their child. In fact, for those reading this post, I suggest immediately signing up for email updates from Be Web Smart. I have to agree with Richardson that good information and planning can allow for some good peace of mind when creating safe lessons, home networks, or surfing experiences.
As Instructional Technology Coaches, it is often our responsibility to educate colleagues, parents, and the community about appropriate safety and the Internet. Another strategy and suggestion I have for ITCs is to think globally when searching for information about Internet safety, digital literacy, and digital legacies. Australia and the UK have some pretty excellent resources about cyberbullying, digital literacy, and the Internet safety. Cyber(smart:) is Australia’s wonderful national program targeting cybersafety and cybersecurity in the educational setting. The other side of that is to also think locally. Our own government has a slew of resources available at the Child Online Protection page of DigitalLiteracy.gov. Be creative and vigilant in the quest to secure and ensure the online safety of the young learners in your school and community. I suggest looking into all of the resources that were mentioned. Finally, I am excited to see the many perspectives on this subject that our class section will have. Class, what are some of your favorite tools or resources to ensure Internet safety in your classroom or school?
References
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oak, California: Corwin.