Maintaining safety - and protecting children from inappropriate data- on the net is undoubtedly an important issue. Suddenly, your living room, or classroom, is inundated with gory sites and unsuitable web pages for those wishing to search for them. The same curiosity we wish to preserve in children can place them in uncomfortable situations. Although perhaps helpful in a school setting with 30 children's joint inquisitiveness, I doubt the department's current censorship is the answer. Rather we need to nip it in the bud and explicitly inform and instruct on how to act and partake safely on the web.
However, this in not entirely the teacher's role - each child's home structure shares this responsibility, where parents have to take an active role in what they believe is appropriate use of the Internet and teach their children the pitfalls. The current censorship at DET schools, where websites are blocked, will limit the possibilities for teachers to develop their student's true understanding for the dangers on-line.
Clearly this is an area identified as important to elaborate on. Plenty of resources has been developed to assist teachers and parents in creating a safe on-line presence. Cybersmart has a range of these resources that can be used in the classroom.
Highlighting etiquette on the web is another area that needs attention, discussing cyber-bullying and how to address it. Similar to the angry feedback sheet handed in at the end of a course, the feeling of being anonymous on the web can result in an individual's comfort in expressing themselves, which obviously can be hurtful to others. I believe an openness to discuss - and confront - is the key to combatting cyberbullying. The web is after all just another area - alongside the schoolyard - for these actions to take place.
I agree, blocking doesn't work because even at home or elsewhere, students will still be exposed to online dangers. I can see how parents have a role to play in education about privacy/safety issues. But what can be done if this guidance is not being given at home? For example, I came across a situation where a family had recently arrived in Australia. The mother did not know how to use a computer, let alone was "tech savvy". So here it does come back to the teacher being largely responsible for offering that education.
ReplyDeleteI like your voki
ReplyDeleteYou raise an interesting point that I've commented on before - how much responsibility is there with the parents and online use/abuse? I think it is beyond the realms of the classroom teacher to sort out on their own an issue between two students that arises at home on facebook. The teacher should be aware of the issue, in case it has the potential to disrupt the class, but I feel that if something goes wrong during home hours then it is the parent's responsibility and if a teacher does need to be brought in, then it shouldn't be the sole responsibility of the teacher to solve the problem. I worry that teachers sometimes become punching bags, with parents confronting them about every issue their child has. I also think parents are too pre-disposed to state their child's case, labelling their child as something to the teacher, which is then a stigma attached to that child throughout the school (e.g. my child has ADD and I give him/her ritalin) - does this child now have a chance since they've been labelled? I'm not a parent so I may be way off-base, but this is something I've noticed at school and through swimming teaching.
ReplyDeleteYes Matt, I agree. There is a danger that teachers get involved in too much and your statement about being aware in case it disrupts the class/day is spot on! there is no doubt though, parents do play a role in the day to day class room whether you want it or not and it is worth to do what you can to involve them. In the long run it would make your day easier.
ReplyDeleteWhere possible, it's good to establish a partnership between parents and schools. It's interesting to note that a number of schools now run computer training sessions for parents (as you might remember from the second excursion), so that they can find out what it is their kids are doing online. Of course, parents will only attend such classes if they're interested in the first place; I know of cases where such sessions have been offered by schools, but very few parents have turned up.
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