Embedded Files
Levine, Alan. (3 Feb. 2010). 78 Keys. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/7Avj2x.
Pete. (26 Oct. 2018). Feeling Shelfish. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/2cm1ALU.
Copyright
Copyright
Did you take the picture you just posted? Did you write the words you are about to share? What about the handout you want to distribute? We might have a problem if your answer to any of those questions is NO. Why, though? You just need an image to help you explain yourself and so you googled "keyboard" and voilà the picture you see on the left popped up so you inserted it in to your work.
Well, there are Copyright Laws to protect original work and therefore you have to have permission to use media from the internet. If you didn't create it, you better find out how to cite it! The background photograph of this blog, for example, is a picture that I took while I was studying abroad in France. I don't need permission to use it, it's from my own camera! The ones I've included on this page, however, are properly cited because they are not my own pictures. I did not take them and therefore I cannot take credit for them being my own original work.
In being a literature and language student, I have always been cautious when using another authors' words. Plagiarism is a large problem in the academic world; whenever you use someone else's idea, you must use citations. I now realize that the same kind of care needs to be given when using media from the internet.
A great tool that makes it a bit easier to be sure you have the right to use something you find is to check to see if it has a Creative Commons license; this means that the person behind the media has signaled that you may use their media as long as you give them a proper citation. Let's teach our students about these Creative Commons licenses so that they understand the importance of gaining permission before using work they find online. So that they understand how valuable the work they create is, and so that they expect the same respect from other internet users.
The Canadian Teacher's Federation has created a resource called "Copyright Matters!" that serves as the perfect resource for teachers to be sure that they are not infringing on any Copyright Laws in their classrooms.
Cybersafety
Cybersafety
Your first instinct when you are faced with a new account on any platform is probably not the same as the average teenage student that you will have in your class. I, for example, find the privacy settings tab as a home base. I want my accounts to be as private as possible; no google searching my name and coming up with my Instagram account, no lurking my facebook pictures if you aren't on my friends list, and definitely nothing even remotely inappropriate online. The question that remains, however, is how to instill these habits in the youth we are teaching, inspiring, and wanting to keep safe.
One particular American company, The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, has created the program NetSmartz Workshop, which has in turn created a site specifically designed to helping teens make safer choices online. On their site, students and teachers alike can find a large selection of animated videos, short films, games, activity cards, and interactive comics that can be incorporated into classroom lessons.
This site can easily be added into any lesson using an online platform. Asking your students to tweet out a response to your question? Why not take the opportunity to teach them who else might find their words. Asking them to blog about their most recent projects in your class? Your students need to know how to keep their work from getting into the wrong hands. Each video has a note beside it labelled "Stuff to Know" and reminds students of important lessons such as keeping their personal information private, only adding friends they know in real life, or using privacy settings to block unwanted messages. NetSmartz Workshop focusses on all of the aspects of social media that are integral to the safety of our students in this increasingly digital era.
Social Media and Digital Citizenship
Social Media and Digital Citizenship
Social media is driven by the unwritten rules that surround it. There is no hard and fast way for anyone to determine what should or shouldn't be posted online, but we sure can all do our part in keeping ourselves and those around us safe.
Here is a starting point, a diving block, of five suggestions to keep in mind as important for digital citizens to consider about their use of social media:
- Protect what is important to you. Remember the Internet is permanent, vast and always listening. Think critically before you post, don't post anything when you are feeling strong emotions, don't reveal any personal information about yourself or others, and become familiar with privacy settings.
- Use passwords. Sharing your passwords is not a good idea, nor is using the same password for every account. Stolen phone? Suddenly someone has access to a lot more than just your friends' phone numbers.
- Be selective with friend requests. If you don't know the person, don't add them. If you've never met the person in real life, it's not a good idea to agree to getting together. You never know who is behind the other computer screen.
- Use caution when clicking links. If it doesn't look like it would come from whoever it says it's from, don't open it. If it seems out of place, no need to click. You never know what is hiding on the other side, and often it is safer left untouched.
- Don’t measure your own life based on what others post. People typically post happy photos and stories online, highlight reel, and they don’t usually share their worst moments or unflattering photos. Don’t assume that others have better lives than you based on what they post.
Blogtrepreneur. (26 July 2016). Social Media Mixed Icons - Banner. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/JFS53E.
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