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I was browsing the West Australian online and stumbled upon the article 'Monitor Internet use, warns Keneally'. This reminded me that I still have my weekly blog to update! This weeks topic - Online DANGERS.
While warning children that there are predators on the net is essential, there are many more day to day dangers of using the Internet that must be highlighted to students. Mr Rothberg on the website www.concernedparentsonline.com sums up the dangers with a powerful analogy.
When I speak with students about posting information on-line to social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace or any other site, I tell them that it is like getting a tattoo. Most people do not believe that there is anything inherently wrong with getting a tattoo but you have to realize that you will have it forever and there will be people who will see it who you don't want to see it and that could end up hurting you in some way. If you're not prepared to have an employer, police officer, college admissions counselor, insurance company, future spouse, etc. see your dirt, then don't post it on-line anywhere.
This permanency of posting on the Internet is a point that we must re-enforce to our students. They are young, experimental and often naive but hopefully with adequate Internet awareness, are private in their actions!
Val's favourite channel, Teachers TV, has an interesting video on on-line safety. It is 27 minutes so i haven't embeded it on here. Make your popcorn, get a glass of wine then click HERE to watch the video.
Yes, Jeff Hancock makes the same point about a digital tattoo - it's a good image to convey the permanence of material that's posted online.
ReplyDeleteThe 'tattoo' is a great way of looking at what we want to be available in the public domain. This makes me think about FB photos. In the end, we don't have complete control over what information gets out there (eg. someone tags a photo, you untag, but it's still out there somewhere!). How do we best teach internet awareness when it seems we're still learning ourselves about how to control our online presence?
ReplyDeleteAgree, the tattoo analogy is a good one, but kids also see tattoos as "cool". Maybe we could add it is like having the information about you tattooed on your forehead, "out there" for everyone to see. You cannot hide it like tattoos you choose to hide.
ReplyDeleteOr show the children the teflon advert with the old lady and her tattoo. I love that advert!
ReplyDeleteAgreed Ness, we are still learning and I only increased my privacy and tried to remove inapproriate picture when I was applying for jobs. It can be so far in the future for the kids that they consider it irrelevant.
To echo what Ross and Vanessa have said - the fact that we're only just learning how to handle social media ourselves certainly makes it more complex to teach our students about what to do. In a recent essay, danah boyd argues, for example, that our notions of private and public are currently in a state of transition.
ReplyDeleteOn the positive side, certain key rules are quickly becoming evident - I guess that's where we need to start! The rest is up for discussion ... literally, in the sense that opening discussions with students is probably the way to go.