Internet Safety

I strongly believe that we should use the Internet in education. Face it—the internet has become a large part of our lives and we all use it for our own schooling, so why deny it to the next generation? With the internet comes a vast potential for gathering and sharing information, despite the dangers that go along with it.

We should evaluate the sites we use, however, to ensure that they are not giving us false information. Take the two sample sites Doc Waters gave us. They were both bogus sites, one obviously and the other not so obvious unless you know a lot about science. We need to know that the information we are getting is accurate and up-to-date, so evaluating the sites we visit is invaluable.

Questions to ask yourself
1. Is the site a well-known and trusted site?
2. Are there significant dates listed on the site/page, such as the last update, and when the page was created?
3. Who is the author of the page/site? Can they be contacted, how, and are their others that can be contacted as well?
4. Is the site accessible at all times of the day? If not, why?
5. How current is the information on the site and when was the site created?
6. What is the purpose of this site?
7. Did the author list their sources? If so, double check a few.

You can keep your students safe by educating them in the dangers of the online world, as well as telling them ways to get help if they come across information or pictures that make them feel uncomfortable or scared. Keeping a close eye on the sites a child uses is also a must. Internet blocks, browsers that only allow children to visit approved sites, and curriculum-based websites are important tools to help teachers and parents keep their children safe.

Video

I liked how this video went back over many of the rules that saw throughout this lesson. The pictures didn’t have much to do with the rules, but they were fun to look at, especially since none of the kids looked like they were having an overly good time (lol). The repeated change in music and the way the video switched the way in which the rules were shown was also a bit distracting. But overall, a good video, especially if you were showing it to elementary school kids.