Computers
continue to evolve rapidly and in the end its how we use it. As Bill Gates once said, “I
think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering
tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of
creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.” We must always take heed to the dangers that using
computer may come with. Digital safety is a common practice that most of us
should be informed and aware of when using the world wide web. It is often
common for most of us to forget about the dangers of the internet. The fact
that someone could be behind a computer simply does not mean that they are
safe.
The digital
safety topics that were presented did appeal to me. One topic that was especially
important was, Pharming and Phishing. I
thought it was interesting to know that people can get into your computer and
just pull information based on what you provide on certain sites. I think that
this would be a good presentation to give to high school students. It would
inform them to be careful about the information that they put on certain sites.
The
presentation on digital safety and privacy was more tailored for students in
the elementary grade levels. The group gave a lot of information on what
students in that grade level should be aware of and what parents should watch
out for. The group could have also included some common sense rules for parents
and how they should model digital safety for their children (Perle, 2009). In
any case, I believe that parents should always be monitoring their child when
they are online.
The topic that my group presented on
was, textual harassment and sexting. I thought that the laws for doing any of
these weren’t that strict. I learned that it is a common thing among students
and some of them do it without realizing the dangers of it.
The fair use practices and copyright
issues was also a great topic to hear from. There were many things that I
learned that I will definitely use in my
classroom. I think that many people today don’t realize that there are
copyright laws. I learned that just about anything can have a copyright on it. I
did know, and most people should as well, that we must recognize the original
creator of whatever we might be using that could be mistaken for our own.
I believe the topic on cyber - bullying
is appropriate for all grade levels. I think that all students should know
about it and the dangers that it could bring about. They should also know that
it happens or could happen to peers around them. There is a possibility that
they could be a part of it and not realize it.
If I decided that I wanted to teach
my students a way of being safe on the internet, I would probably start out
with having them do a survey on some of the sites that they often use. I would also ask if their parents monitor them
when they are online, do they have a specific time when they are allowed
online, do their parents limit the amount of time that they are allowed to be
online, are there only certain sites that they are allowed to visit, do they
have an online profile on a social network such as, facebook or myspace, and
what information is on that. Based on what is answered and placed in the survey
this would give me an idea what they know about digital safety and it would
also give me an idea on the top things that I should do a lesson on. I would
also teach them more about the dangers of putting personal information online.
I believe that many people don’t believe that when they put certain things online
that anyone can access it. Some people may not get physically hurt but, there might be some information that you
share and someone you don’t know can automatically know so much about you. It is quite terrifying and at the same time
people need to be more aware this. I
would have them go through introductions on certain topics maybe show them a
video or act out a skit that explains what are some of the things that could
happen should they not follow some of these digital safety tips.
On doing this project my group and I at the beginning
started researching about this topic. We found lots of information that we
could share. When it came down to videos we wanted to create something
different from the ones that we had seen on YouTube. The making of the video
was fairly easy and the ideas came about quickly. It was quite interesting because
all we used to record was the camera on a Iphone. We then used the program Imovie
on the MAC to create the video and add audio. We didn’t need to spend much time
meeting online. Our schedules were somewhat flexible. We used Wiggio at the
start of this project but, there was so much confusion while using it. We couldn’t
tell when one of our group members would be online and the messages would fill
up our inboxes. Also, at times the site would lag and we would receive messages
late. I’m think that maybe we didn’t give it much a chance but, it was worth a
try. We stuck to using google docs only because it worked for us the first
time. It so much easier to upload the information that we needed and edit any
ideas on one document. We are also able to post URLs and leave messages for our
group members when we couldn’t all be on at the same time. I believe that we
spent most of our time meeting and discussing as a group. I believe that this assignment was helpful in
learning about digital safety. It is very important for a teacher to know the
information that was shared. In the classroom students will most likely be
using computers and the sharing of digital safety information would useful to
them.
References:
Perle, Liz. (November 4,
2009). Rules of the Road for Parents in a Digital Age. In Common
Sense Media.
Retrieved April 27, 2012, from
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/bill_gates.html
