Cybersafety in the classroom is a growing concern and a highly prioritized conversation amongst teachers, administrators and parents. Whose responsibility is it to assure that our children are practicing safe surfing? What can we do to make sure that our children do not slip through the cyber cracks at school or at home? What age, do we begin teaching our children about Internet safety? Should we incorporate cyber safety into the curriculum and mandate teacher training in cyber safety?
Without a doubt, these questions have most certainly been asked before, but there are no consistent answers being given. While most teachers and parents want the best for our children, they do not always agree on boundaries. That is, what should be taught to children, when it should be taught (age wise), and who should be the first to teach it?
Butler (2010) voices his opinion about cybersafety. He provides insight and some of the answers to questions noted above. Do you agree or disagree with his answers on cybersafety? Why or Why not? What, do you believe, is the best possible way to handle this matter: book reading, mandatory teacher training, Professional Development activities, routine student presentations, more parental training and classroom involvement, curricular mandates, etc.? How are you handling and/or how would you handle the matter of cybersafety in your classroom?
Voice your opinion about Cyber safety after reading this article. Answer one or all of the questions posed in this paragraph.
Butler, K. (June 2010). Cyber safety in the classroom. District Administration, vol 46, (6), p.53-57. Retrieved September 26, 2011 from the Education Research Complete database.
Hello, You pose the question: whose responsibility is it to assure that our children are practicing safe surfing? I think it is the responsibility of everyone who plays a significant part in the child's education. This includes parents, teachers, administrators, friends, extended family, etc.
ReplyDeleteI would like to point out an associated problem that is often overlooked in this situation. Sometimes the adults in these situations do not know much about cyber-safety themselves so they are not able to properly instruct others on the topic. If someone is in a position where they are responsible for a student accessing the internet, their first step should be to educate themselves on cyber-safety.
I know it may seem funny to think that an adult might not know much about cyber-safety, but just thinking about what some of my adult friends, who have kids, think is ok to post on the internet verifies for me that my original statement is to often the case. I actually had to inform my Aunt once that it was probably not a good idea for her teenage son to post his cell phone number on his publically accessible Facebook wall.
I agree with Melanie’s comment that cyber-safety should be taught at all levels. The first thing I thought of after reading this posting was the old phrase “it takes a village to raise a child.” I think that holds true for cyber-safety. It should definitely start at home but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be addressed at school as well. We start teaching stranger danger practically at birth anymore and I think cyber-safety definitely has to be taught early as well. With the number of young individuals with access to the internet anymore it is important that this issue is addressed early. I know many schools, including mine, have addressed this issue by simply blocking many websites and having students sign an internet contract. However I think it also goes beyond just blocking websites on school computers. As Melanie pointed out even many adults don’t always know the safest web policies so how can we expect our students to?
ReplyDeleteI think that students need supervised in-school experiences actually using a variety of sites. Teaching about cyber-safety is fine, but without having lots of experiences using the internet for searching, blogging, using wikis, etc. The lessons may not make sense. Students need teacher- guided experiences.
ReplyDeleteDawn
You ask a lot of questions about when to start training and who should start/do the training. I am normally a progressive thinker, but this is one issue that human nature and the old tried-and-true needs to be considered. I like the African proverb “It takes a village” when it comes to teaching children, and each other as far as that goes.
ReplyDeleteWho teaches a child to not run into the street without looking? The parents say it, others repeat it, everyone models it— crossing guards, teachers on field trips, etc.;
Who teaches a child to not wander off in crowded places? Parents say it, others repeat it, everyone else models it—teachers, chaperones, club leaders, etc.
Who teachers a child to listen to that inner voice when someone or something feels wrong? Parents say it, others repeat it, everyone models it—teachers, club leaders, police, etc.
Who should teach the child about cyber safety? Parents say it (more about that later), others repeat it, everyone models it—teachers, librarians, etc.
Unfortunately, we are still in that awkward stage where some parents have little or no knowledge about cybersecurity. At the same time, we still have some school officials and teachers who feel that the initial (or maybe all) training on the matter should be done by the parents. That leaves us with some children, too many children, who are self-taught. These are the ones we need to worry about.