Resources for Online Safety

Picture taken from: shawano.uwex.edu

One of the largest concerns regarding blogging or other web 2.0 tools with young students is cyberbullying and online safety.  Cyberbullying, as defined by the Baltimore City Public School System's Acceptable Use Policy is:

"Cyberbullying is the use of any electronic communication device to convey a message in any form (text, image, audio, or video) that defames, intimidates, harasses, or is otherwise intended to harm, insult, or humiliate another in a deliberate, repeated or hostile and unwanted manner under a person's true or false identity.  In addition, any communication of this form that disrupts or prevents a safe and positive educational environment may also be considered cyberbullying."  (BCPSS, 2011)

Tips for Protecting Your Child From Cyberbullying:
1.) Talk to Your Child: Talk to your child each day.  Be aware of their in person communications as well as their online ones. Be as involved as possible in his/her every day life.

2.) Make Sure Your Child Is Informed: Make sure that your child is informed as to what appropriate online behavior is.  Just as we must teach our students how to interact with people (what's appropriate and what's not) in real life we must teach them what is appropriate online as well.  Ensure that your child knows both what is appropriate behavior for them as well as for others.  Let your child know that if they are uncomfortable with any interaction that he/she can come to you at any time.

3.) Monitor Your Child's Online Activity: Even with all of our modeling and teaching our children may still find themselves in a situation where cyberbullying occurs.  Make sure to monitor your child's online activity and communications to ensure that he/she is interacting in a safe environment. 

For more child-centered information on Cyberbullying please visit the following sites with your child.

Picture from: stopcyberbullying.org

                                                      Kids StopBullying.gov

Picture from: specialed.us

                                                        Kids Against Bullying

Picture from: en.wikipedia.org

                                                             Kids Helpline

BCPSS. (2011, December 13). Internet safety: Acceptable use of technology. Retrieved from http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/cms/lib/MD01001351/Centricity/Domain/3690/EGDRBInternet Safety Acceptable Use of TechnologyStudentsFINAL.pdf

Why Blog in Elementary School?

As a parent of young children myself I had to wonder-why blog in elementary school?  Blogging, and online social interaction, opens the door to so many potential problems (as referenced in the blog entry before this), that I had to wonder, are the benefits worth the risk?

After a bit of research my conclusion, as both a parent and an educator, is that with the right precautions and procedures put in place, absolutely.

As an educator in the No Child Left Behind era I have often, over the past decade, been frustrated by the emphasis put on testing skills.  With such a shift towards reading and Math there has been little time left over for other content areas or even some areas of the reading block, such as literature discussions or writing.  As most tested answers have required a formula type writing, writing for content and quality has been thrown by the wayside.  With the welcome shift back towards a more balanced educational system we are now beginning to recognize again the importance of these areas.  Still, time is limited and the time that should be devoted to writing is often not possible.  With the introduction of blogging, even at a primary level, we have the ability to both the time spent on writing as well as the dialogue and interaction amongst students in regards to writing.

Blogs can be used both at home and at school, thus extending the amount of time students have to work.  In addition, the online aspect allows more parental input and help as well as the ability for students to discuss their work with one another.  While we've always seen the benefit of student collaboration within the classroom, the time it takes for students to edit and discuss work can be cumbersome. 

Student collaboration is not solely limited to writing.  Through blogging students can discuss literature, work collaboratively on projects and assignments, and also get the valued input of others from other areas of the globe.  By opening up the world wide web to our students we are, with guidance, teaching them to accept and respect varying opinions and beliefs. 

The results of an elementary school case study (focusing on Southern United States 5th Graders from a Title 1 school) titled The Influence of Student Blogging on Elementary Student Writing, and published in a 2011 issue of the Journal of Research in Childhood Education, showed that when participating in ongoing blogging activities students overwhelmingly developed a stronger sense of the audience their writing was intended for, more of a sense of empowerment in their writing (as opposed to simply writing because they had to), and more of a vested interest in the process.  Students forged true relationships with those involved in the blogging project, from those blogging to those commenting, and took pride in both their work and the process of helping others.  They developed a true sense of other people's opinions and how to respect those varying beliefs and how to respond to them accordingly. (McGrail & Davis, 2011)

Our job as educators and as parents is, ultimately, to prepare our children to succeed in a technology based economy.  By exposing our children to what the web has to offer, at an early age in a guided manner, we have the ability to not only better prepare them in the technological sense but in the overall educational sense as well.

McGrail, E., & Davis, A. (2011). The influence of student blogging on elementary student writing. Journal of research in childhood education, 25, 415-435. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5a2a439a-6bcf-4020-86f2-c98d7a382a50@sessionmgr12&vid=9&hid=3

Photo From: blog.hubspot.com

Safety First: How to Keep Our Students Safe On the World Wide Web

As we begin our blogging experience questions are sure to arise in regards to internet safety.  How can we keep our students safe while interacting with others on the world wide web?

As required by the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) schools are required to both filter content that is accessible to students via the internet and to monitor student activities online. However, even with those precautions in place, we know that some inappropriate content can still get through, especially in the area of social media and weblogs.  Because there is so much value to be gained from weblogging, simply blocking large hosting sites (such as the blogger site we are using) could prevent students from engaging and participating in valuable learning experiences.  The more valuable approach is to teach our students the necessary skills to navigate the web safely.

Here are some tips to help keep our students safe on the web, both at school and at home:

 

 

 

1.) Inappropriate Content: Should a student happen to stumble upon inappropriate content we must ensure that they have the skills necessary to navigate away from it.  One of the first internet skills our students will learn is how to use both the back arrow button or the red x to navigate away from a web site immediately.  Our focus is on getting students to get out of the inappropriate site as quickly as possible without attracting attention to it from other students.

2.) Pre-Planning: As a teacher or parent (especially of younger children), it is essential to preplan and test out search terms and results in order to better guide students through their searches.  While it is important to teach students how to deal with inappropriate material, if it is possible to avoid the material in the first place, that is always the preferred course.

3.) Decide Ahead of Time How Much Information You Are Comfortable Sharing: As an educator or a parent it is important before your children engage in web 2.0 tools, to make it clear to them how much information can be shared online.  As an educator I prefer to use only first names and photos to go with their activities/assignments, but some schools will allow full names and even addresses.  As a parent you must be aware of what your school's policies are and make it known what you will or will not allow.  As an educator make sure that you have taken parent wishes into account and set up policies and procedures that all parties can be comfortable with.

4.) The Internet Is Forever: Teach students early on that anything they publish online becomes part of their lifelong web portfolio.  I always tell my students that the internet is forever.

5.) Privacy Settings: When using 23b 2.0 tools, such as blogging, make sure to check the privacy settings and consider carefully who you want to be able to view the student work, and to comment.  For the purpose of our blog, the ability to view will be by invitation only and all comments will be reviewed by the blog administrator before posting.  Likewise, as a parent, be sure to speak with your children about privacy settings (who they want to be able to view their writing, photos, etc), especially in regards to Social Media.

Photos Copyright: rahuldesai.com, ipaeducators.ning.com, military.com, twitter.com, communities.deakin.edu.au, ice.gov

 Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (3rd ed., pp. 12-15). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.