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Student Safety Using Web 2.0 Tools

Overview : toc Many teachers are not familiar with Web 2.0 and all of the valuable resources that it presents. Those who are familiar, may be apprehensive about using these tools due to the safety of students on the internet. This is a legitimate concern. However, these concerns can be addressed with collaboration from districts, teachers, parents, and students themselves. Each group has responsibilities to make learning safe, engaging, and enjoyable using Web 2.0 tools.

District Responsibilities:
School district superintendents and other district leaders need have a role in creating a safe environment on the web for students to learn. This is a process that starts at the top. The following are some responsibilities that districts can take to move forward in using Web 2.0 tools safely in classrooms:
 * create a district technology committee that is responsible for writing an effective internet usage policy for the district (Marion Local School District AUP)
 * require all students to take an internet safety and security course in elementary, middle, and high school (Butler, 2010)
 * train teachers on internet safety so they can teach and monitor their students (Butler, 2010)
 * offer parent workshops on internet safety (Butler 2010)
 * learn the benefits of Web 2.0 tools and provide resources for teachers to use them in their classroom

Please view this video titled, "Internet Safety" from the multimedia kit for the book, "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms" by Will Richardson. The video was embedded from Youtube.com. A school official discusses ways that her district is preparing students to be safe on the internet. media type="youtube" key="YFZfTYgb5LM?rel=0" height="258" width="317"

Teacher Responsibilities:
//As teachers we have a responsibility to our students to teach and prepare them to use computers, learn skills and tools associated with computers/internet which they will need for the 21st century, and teach them about safety and negative issues associated when exploring the internet with these tools. Web 2.0 tools are already incorporated into businesses and corporations across the entire world! The sooner we teach these skills and how to incorporate internet tools within the workplace the sooner our students can enter real world competition for jobs in the workplace! We, as educators, must also teach our students responsibility to use the internet and its tools in a manner that will not hurt others or themselves. We have an obligation to teach our students right from wrong on the usage of the internet and its tools that are associated with this unique modem of acquiring information and establishing communication which has been handed to us by technological advances in science. Our responsibility, as educators, is to teach our students skills with Web 2.0 tools, to insure the safety of our students from predators found on the internet, to teach them internet responsibility for using this technology, to allow them to grow, learn, and to collaborate with others for exchange of data and information.//

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities:
Although students may learn how to use different Web 2.0 tools at school, parents/guardians should still influence and monitor the use of these tools at home. Although children may be more knowledgeable about technology, that doesn't mean that parents/guardians should have a hands off approach. Parents/Guardians should realize that there are very valuable resources with Web 2.0 and on the internet, but that there can also be some danger for their children. In order to make Web 2.0 tools and the internet safe for children parents just need to be aware of what is out there and set expectations for their children.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) gave some warning signs as to look for to see if children are at risk on-line. Keeping a look out for these signs could help protect children on the i﻿nternet.


 * 1) Your child spends large amounts of time on-line, especially at night.
 * 2) You find pornography on your child's computer.
 * 3) Your child receives phone calls from men you don't know or is making calls, sometimes long distance, to numbers you don't recognize.
 * 4) Your child receives mail, gifts, or packages from someone you don't know.
 * 5) Your child turns the computer monitor off or quickly changes the screen on the monitor when you come into the room.
 * 6) Your child becomes withdrawn from the family.
 * 7) Your child is using an on-line account belonging to someone else.

To see more information from the FBI please visit this site [|FBI] where the above information was obtained.

Check out the links below for some tips on keeping your children safe on the internet, for myths about using the internet, and information about potential dangers for children.

> ﻿[|Guidelines for Parents of Teens]

> Guidelines for Parents of Preteens

> Web 2.0 Safety Myths

> Internet Safety

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Student Responsibilities:

 * After looking at various high schools, colleges and university rules for student conduct for on-line work/classes, most basically have the same rules. Students have to assume the responsibility of their actions when engaged in on-line work at their respective schools. Many of the schools I looked at had a code-of-conduct that students had to follow for working on-line. Some student responsibilities were clearly defined such as: **

**1)** No cyber-bullying **2)** Stay away from inappropriate web sites **3)** Do not download/transmit a virus, worms or other programs that would disrupt or cause the school’s computer network to crash or other computer networks. **4)** Always use appropriate conduct when using the internet **5)** Cheating **6)** Always use Netiquette ( proper spelling, punctuation & grammar) There were some variations as to the responsibilities of students, but most centered around the above 6 items. Please check out these 3 web sites for more information:

[|Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct]

[|Student Rules and Responsibilities for On-Line Safety]

[|Student Responsibilities and Acceptable Use Policies]

References:
Butler, Kevin, "[|Cybersafety In The Classroom]," District Administration. June 2010 Eisele-Dyrli, Kurt, "[|Online Resources to Help Teach Cybersafety]," District Administration, June 2010

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