Risks involved in integrating the Internet into the K-12 curriculum
Risk #1: Objectionable or inappropriate material:
Here we are talking about sites devoted to pornography (however that may be
defined), hate groups, and other inappropriate subject matter whose content may
be considered unsuitable for children at various stages of maturity. The
following "solutions" to this problem are not ranked in any particular order.
Each is important.
Solution #1:
Acceptable Use Policies:
Jeff Johnson, Technology Coordinator for the Glendale-River Hills School
District, in Glendale, Wisconsin prefers to call these "Responsible Use
Policies" because he "expects students (and staff) to be responsible school
citizens." Check out the links that follow to see some examples of both good and
poor acceptable use policies. As
Nancy Willard,
writer of acceptable use policies for her school district, observed, "Be sure to
include due process information in your policy. This is something that is
blatantly missing from most policies."
AUP (and other useful
forms) for school districts in the State of Indiana
Information Age Consultants
have developed this web page with links to comprehensive AUP resources for
libraries, schools, and school districts
With regard to due process, it's no longer a good idea to punish students by
denying them access to digital technology for irresponsible use. Here is what
Alix Pleshette, Coordinator for Instructional Technology and Visual and
Performing Arts at Placer County Office of Education, in Auburn, California, has
to say on this subject: "What really needs to change is how administrators are
trained to deal with digital infractions. The old way of looking at
technology use as an optional activity is no longer valid. ... punishing a
student by restricting their digital access is like taking the textbook away in
a math, social studies or English lit class. Technology access is now
crucial to the daily school experience for students."
Solution #2: Discuss these issues with the kids:
Nancy Willard is among the most recognized spokespersons for responsible use of
the Internet and has written a great deal on the subject. Her website at
http://www.csriu.org/index.html,
The Center for Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet
is dedicated to promoting the safe and responsible use of the Internet.
Amongst her many recommendations is the importance of education, of making
children aware of "effective strategies for acquiring knowledge, decision-making
skills, motivation, and self-control to behave in a safe, responsible, and legal
manner when using the Internet and other information technologies." Early
in the year, teachers should talk with their students about the need for
responsible use of the resources available through the Web. A good idea,
perhaps, would be to have the students visit the
Internet Do's and Don'ts
website of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the
Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice
Solution #3: Be proactive (i.e. vigilant) as a teacher:
Teachers are charged with maintaining a safe environment in their classrooms.
Students (and their parents) expect the teacher to provide protection from
exposure to danger of any kind. While the students are working online in a
classroom/lab environment, the teacher should be alert and in a position always
to know what the kids are up to at their stations. Students won't try to
get away with things if they know they're likely to get caught!
Net Nanny and
Cyber Patrol are
industry leaders in filtering software for home, school, and business
Altavista's
multimedia and general web search engine includes a password protected Family
Filter, which can be turned on or off for multimedia materials for All
searches conducted using Altavista. The same is true for
Google.
Yahooligans is
Yahoo's web search guide for kids
AskJeeves for Kids
is AskJeeves' neat, and safe, search tool for kids
ChildBlock Software:
Delivers a web browser which is safe for kids. Filters out adult content and
presents children with child safe sites.
Clean Surf:
FamilyConnect.com's internet filter
Risk #2: CyberBullying--According
to
www.cyberbully.org,
"Cyberbullying is sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the
Internet or other digital communication devices."
cyberbully.org
is devoted to mobilizing educators, parents, students, and others to combat
online social cruelty. For more information, check out
http://www.cyberbullying.ca/ and
http://www.cyberbullying.us/.
Risk #3: Online Predators--Here's
what Donna Rice Hughes, on her website
ProtectKids.com
devoted to protecting kids in cyberspace, has to say about this problem facing
children today: "One of the attractions of the Internet is the anonymity of the
user, and this is why it can be so dangerous. A child doesn't always know with
whom he or she is interacting. Children may think they know, but unless it's a
school friend or a relative, they really can't be sure. Often we think of
pedophiles as having access to children out on the playground and other places,
but because of the way the Internet works, children can actually be interacting
on their home computers with adults who pretend to be children." Visit
Donna's website at
http://www.protectkids.com/index.html to learn more about this and
other dangers faced by children online.
Risk #4:
Invasion of Privacy--cookies
are not as innocent as they sound. Plus, anyone can read your e-mail or
your chat or your instant messages.... They can also track everything you
download from, or upload to, the Web... Here's an interesting article
about
Privacy Thieves
that you should check out. If you care about this sort of thing, you might
want to check out
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy),
too
Risk # 5: Inaccurate or biased information--There
are plenty of
questionable sites on the
web. Information literacy helps one develop a "nose" for
dubious or downright false information.
Risk #6: Information overload--here's
an online article by Paul Krill on
Overcoming Information
Overload
Risk #7: Garbage--not
objectionable material, just useless content, which all contributes to....
Risk #8: Wasted time--Many
teachers are not well prepared to integrate the internet into instruction,
sometimes allowing their students to roam the web at will. Nancy Willard
points out that this leads to an "excessive
amount of time spent on entertainment and other popular culture sites as
compared to a significant lack of time spent on high quality sites.” When
it comes to children and learning, well-trained teachers should be "bundled"
with the Web, as Dr. Netiva Caftori, Professor of Computer Science at North
Eastern Illinois University likes to put it. Teachers are guides at the side,
preparing quality learning experiences for the children in their care.
What are some other risks are children exposed to on the internet? Your feedback on this article would be very much appreciated (poole@pitt.edu).
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© Bernie Poole,1996-2009, All rights reserved / poole@pitt.edu / (814) 269-2923 / Revised Saturday February 28, 2009