Internet Safety
The internet is a great tool for each of your students to use. However, it can also be damaging. There are many things that both students and parents need to know before jumping on to the internet and surfing away. The internet will be a vital tool in my class, but I want the parents and the students to be aware of the dangers that exist. This page makes available information to both students and parents. Please take the time to view the risks that are out there so that you as a student and a parent can continue to be successful throughout education and life.
Internet Safety Guidelines
- Do not give out personal information, such as your address or telephone number without your parents' consent.
- Keep your online friendships online. Do not agree to meet any strangers without your parents' permission. If you do plan do meet with an individual from online, do so in a public place with a parent/guardian.
- If someone says something to you or you see something online that makes you uncomfortable, exit out and tell a parent.
- If you do not recognize the sender of a document or email, do not open it.
- Keep your password private. Only share it with your parents.
- Do not post or send anything that is offensive to another individual.
- Do not post pictures of yourself without your parents' consent.
- Do Not Click On Ads. Just close out of them.
If you would like another source to explore as a student or parent, this link provided is a good source.
http://www.netsmartz.org/RealLifeStories
Cyber Ethics Guidelines
The internet is not dangerous by itself. We still need to take responsibility when being online. We will go over cyber ethics in our classroom. Our class will go over Ten Commandments of Cyber Ethics to learn how to operate on the web ethically.
Website Evaluation
It is important in our class to find historically accurate information. There is a lot of misleading websites so it is important that the students know how to evaluate websites. As a class we will go over the Ten C's for Evaluating Internet Sources and the first time we do research the students will need to fill out the classroom checklist.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the use of another person’s work without permission and without credit. It is passing off someone else’s work as your own and is a form of cheating. It is not only dishonest to claim someone else’s work as your own, it could also be considered stealing. In order to prevent plagiarism, students should give credit to the author of any quotations used, and paraphrase statements by putting them in your own words.
Cyberbullying
What is Cyber-bullying? “Cyber-bullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites.” Cyber-bullying is something that needs to be taken very seriously because it can lead to many awful things, including murder and suicide. Any type of bullying is terrible but Cyber-bullying takes things to a whole different level. Kids can be Cyber-bullied all hours of the day and all days of the week, it’s a behavior that is very hard to get away from. Unwanted images and messages can be posted namelessly which makes it nearly impossible to track the individual(s) whose at fault and those messages and images can be spread as quickly as wild fire anywhere and it is very difficult to delete what has been spread.
It's sad that technology, which is really something that is so great can be so bad in the wrong hands. In the reading “What is Cyber-bullying” it stated that Cyber-bullying affects kids in many ways; those kids are more likely to: skip school, receive poor grades, use alcohol and drugs, experience bullying in person, be unwilling to go to school, have lower self-esteem and more health problems. To help prevent Cyber-bullying, we all just need to be more aware and set guidelines. If you know of someone who is being Cyber-bullied you need to keep any evidence of the Cyber-bullying and report it to Internet providers, school officials or the police, depending on where and what was happening with the Cyber-bullying.
http://goanimate.com/videos/03niWnrvcFZs
Netiquette
Netiquette is just what it sounds like it should be; etiquette for the net. Just like there are certain rules for interacting with people face to face there are certain rules when interacting with people online. For example: in person it would be impolite to shout at someone while talking to them. It’s the same rule online, but some people don’t understand how this is portrayed. If you have every letter you’re typing in caps HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY? that means you are shouting at that person. When you are interacting with others in a group setting, work for example, and someone sends you an email don’t respond to every person in the company unless necessary. Just because someone might have shared a funny email with you doesn’t mean everybody does. You may also be sharing information that wasn’t meant for other people. Remember to respect other’s property. Just because you find a funny video, picture or other information online doesn’t necessarily mean it is fair game to share with others. That information might be copyright protected or the person may just not want others outside their small group to see it. Just remember when it comes to netiquette try to think of how you would react if it were an in person interaction and try to relate that to the online world.
http://goanimate.com/videos/0FGhwzsJ9iHI
Posting too much/Posting about others
Students tend to post too much about themselves on social media sites. They post pictures of them and their friends without understanding the consequences that can occur from doing so. Everything an individual posts becomes public. Several students have been suspended for creating groups assaulting teachers and peers, as well as for posting pictures of themselves or their friends drinking or smoking. Students post these things because they want to feel accepted by their peers. What they don’t understand is that it can affect their future ambitions. Quite often, colleges and employers will look at an individual’s social media sites before making a decision. If students continue to post too much or post about others on these sites, their futures will be adversely affected. In order to prevent this from happening, teachers and parents need to communicate with their students about what is expected from them and what is acceptable to post online.
http://goanimate.com/videos/0_2miPdrd5zM?utm_source=linkshare&utm_medium=li
Hacking
Hacking is the process by which one person with extensive computer program understanding is able to break into another computer or system. This person could be trying to change, steal or remove information from that program. Let’s say that a student didn’t like the grade they got in history class, they could break into a teacher’s or school’s computer and change that grade to something they liked better. In extremely serious situations the ‘hacker’ could steal millions of dollars or information from a large company, cripple a government’s network of information or many other highly illegal acts.
Intellectual property/copyright
Intellectual property is defined by the Educator’s Guide to Copyright as “Any product of a creative mind that is fixed in a tangible form of expression and, thus, is thereafter protected by patent, copyright, or trademark laws.” A tangible form of expression is any physical or digital product of creativity such as poetry, novels, essays, photographs, paintings, or recordings. Copyright law, which was established by George Washington in 1790, grants the creator of such work complete control over reproduction, distribution, and performance of their work. Some allowance is made under “fair use” law for educators, for criticism, news reporting, or scholarly research.