Ch. 7 Online Safety and Security

Student safety and security should be the number one priority of any teacher who ever teaches in a school district.  This applies not only to physical safety in the classroom but also online safety on the computer.  Teachers today face a daunting task of educating students on safe and appropriate uses of technology and they are seeking assistance from their school administrators and IT support teams.

School districts who receive E-Rate funds are required to follow the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) which mandates that schools install filtering or blocking technology on every computer with Internet access.  As a teacher in the business education classroom this really limits the technology that we can apply for our learning.  Business is a global topic that incorporates current media more than any other subject being taught.  In fact, I recently taught a lesson on social media in a marketing class and it was rather difficult to get proper access for my students.  I can see the point of blocking sites to protect students, however, I believe there is a fine line and school districts may be preventing some forms of learning. 

On page 139 in the book it talked about how to avoid copyright issues.  The book talked about first creating and implementing a technology code of ethics and then reviewing it with the students, teachers, and parents.  Schools should also hire a technology manager to conduct audits and ensure that copyright use is being followed.  In addition, schools should teach ethical and legal behavior for this technology use.  I feel that copyright infringement is a very important issue for schools to handle.  Stealing is not appropriate in any form and I really feel students need extra guidance in this area of learning. 

The book also talked about a website called Think.com which allows teachers to design collaborative projects online that is restricted for only the educational community.  I believe this is a good strategy for schools to take in keeping students safe but yet taking advantage of new technology features that are available to students. 

Internet ethics and safety are important but the main priority of schools should be to teach how to use it responsibly.  Upon graduation students will have access to many things they did not have in high school.  This brings about huge temptations at both the collegiate level and on the job.  If students were denied access all these years without a proper education on why do you really think they will not use them once they do have access?  That is why as teachers we should not block everything but guide our students along and teach them appropriate use along the way.