Technology+Report

Technology Report Internet security is a hot topic for any school district. Not only do we have to be concerned with information that comes into our schools, we also have to worry about information that is going out of our schools. Classroom teachers are often the last line of defense for keeping schoolchildren safe on the Internet. Although our district employs a sophisticated firewall and other software to insure that students are not accessing inappropriate material, the Internet grows at such a rapid pace that the software cannot always keep up with the plethora of information that is available to our students. Younger students can access information by mistake and older students can find ways around the firewall to access websites that are inappropriate. The classroom teacher must be responsible for monitoring students’ Internet use at school. School district policy and the parents expect no less. In “Internet Safety” (2006), the author gives a list of precautions and procedures the classroom teacher can use to guide their students on the Internet. Students need to be reminded about things like not saying anything on a discussion board they would not want repeated in public; alert students to the danger of giving out personal information like phone numbers and addresses in chat rooms; opening email from unknown sources can make the school district network vulnerable to viruses and that teachers should strictly monitor any site that requires students to register for it. With cyber-bullying becoming more prevalent in our society, teachers have to be prepared to deal with this issue. Although we cannot monitor what the students are doing on their home computers, we can give them to things to think about when they leave our monitored computer labs. The website “Stop Bullying Now” (2009) has excellent information for students, parents, teachers and coaches on how they can help kids deal with this toxic situation. The site, which is sponsored by the Health and Human Services Administration, even lists advice from teens on how to deal with cyber-bullying that classroom teachers can point their younger students to. Sometimes, kids listen more to other kids than they do to adults. Information leaving the district is also a security concern. With the explosion of social networking sites like Facebook combined with the natural inclination of younger, Digital Native teachers to want to share information with their students and the community, the school district must consider working with teachers on setting ground rules for this type of communication. Professional development sessions need to be structured around common sense, good networking etiquette and the appropriateness of Facebook content, especially when teachers allow students and parents to access their pages. In a PC World article (Lynch, 2008) the author gives numerous types about separating private information from professional. Using privacy setting correctly, filling out biography information with an eye as to who will be seeing it and other common sense considerations are areas that classroom teachers need to consider. References Lynch, C.G. (2008, November 22). Facebook etiquette: five do's and don'ts. //PC World//, Retrievedfromhttp://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/154374/facebook_e tiquette_five_dos_and_donts.html// Stop bullying now!//. (2009, January 22). Retrieved from http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/adults/default.aspx // // Internet safety. (2010). //California Dept. of Education Publication//, Retrieved from http://pubs.cde.ca.gov/tcsii/ch8/internetsafety.aspx