Is it more unethical to allow threats to students/schools (see list above) or to deny students/teachers access to instructionally-relevant Web-based tools and content
You never want to limit the education of a student; however you want to protect the quality of education. I believe that it ethical to deny students and teachers access to instructionally-relevant Web-based tools.” The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)” decreeing that public school libraries wishing to take advantage of the federal Internet must have internet safety policy and filtering technology in place (Kelsey, 2007). It is the right of the school district to uphold this law and to ensure that our students are surfing the internet safely. The use of the internet is a privilege and I believe that teachers and students should respect the guidelines that are set. It is our job as an educator to protect our students from harmful materials that is on the internet. I find it quite difficult to monitor a class of eighteen in a computer lab, while working with other students in the classroom. I feel that this generation of digital students can find a way to access certain restricted websites that are blocked. There are websites like eHow.com that can teach students on how to maneuver around all around the county firewalls.
Some teachers may feel that it is unethical to deny students/teachers access to relevant-Websites. But I feel that teachers can access resources on alternative websites. Instead of using YouTube, you can use teacher tube. I don’t believe that YouTube do not have enough relevant sources to be utilize in the classroom. It would also be a distraction for students especially if they came across an inappropriate source. Over the years of my teaching career, I have found great educational sources like googlescholar.com to gather appropriate resources to utilize in my lessons. I feel that the district have the right to deny access to our students because it’s our job to keep our students safe from inappropriate materials. In this week reading, I came across a key point to our question. Teachers and parents need to ensure that children understand that inappropriate materials exist on the internet (Shelly, 6th edition). I feel that teachers have a responsibility to teach their students the necessary skills they will need to use on the internet.
Source:
Kelsey, M., (2007). Are We Lucky for the First Amendment? A Brief History of Student’s Right to Read.
Knowledge Quest, pp. 26-29
Shelly, G.B.; (2010). Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom. 6th Edition. Shelly Cashman Series, pp. 492
Hi,
ReplyDeleteYou commented, you find it quite difficult to monitor a class of eighteen in a computer lab, while working with other students in the classroom. You feel that this generation of digital students can find a way to access certain restricted websites that are blocked. I agree with this statement. It is extremely difficult to monitor a large group of students on the computer all at once. We as educators can only educate our students in hopes that they will adhere to the rules.
Hi Carrene,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote,
"I feel that teachers can access resources on alternative websites. Instead of using YouTube, you can use teacher tube. I don’t believe that YouTube do not have enough relevant sources to be utilize in the classroom."
I agree with you. While I LOVE YouTube personally, I don't really think that it belongs in the classroom. It wasn't created as an educational tool, and while some areas are educational, the cons outweigh the pros in this area, I think. There are ways to download YouTube videos easily, if the video is that spectacular, so that you can show the video in class. YouTube was created for entertainment, so as teachers, we have to truly analyze WHY we are showing the video - is it for educational reasons - to help explain content or is it to entertain our students?
I also empathize with you about monitoring all those students in the computer lab or in your classroom. Kids can be sneaky, and can easily minimize their windows, so it would seem to me that it would be impossible to observe what every student is doing on every computer at the same time - and you only have 18 students - what about in a class of 30 students? if we, the teachers, cannot manage to watch all those kids, then we certainly need software in place that CAN "watch" them.
Thanks for posting.
~ Christi S
Carrene,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you took the same stance I did. I believe that as teachers we must utilize our resourceful by thinking outside of the box and finding ways to integrate technology through sites that are appropriate for school. There are so many ways to allow students to use the web in a safe environment.
"I feel that teachers have a responsibility to teach their students the necessary skills they will need to use on the internet." I agree with this statement that you posted in your blog. We are a role model to our students and our students look to us for guidance. Unfortunately, our a lot of our students go home to an unsupervised home after school and have the ability to surf the internet freely. If we can teach them at an early age what is safe and how to access the web properly, maybe we can prevent our students being exposed to inappropriate material.
I absolutely agree that it is our responsibility as teachers to uphold these policies, meant to protect our students. As I stated before, the best way to monitor is one on one. That leaves that parent as the key to the learning process. Of course we can’t monitor 18 or more students that are in a class. That’s why the filters monitor for us. At home the parents must monitor students, but realistically, they feel if there in the same house, that their kid never does anything wrong. The truth is would we be able to know if we were next to them if they were being malicious? Also some parents don’t put forth the effort or have different standards than other, this is where the problem lies.
ReplyDeleteFor these reasons the hardware and software versions of firewalls, filtering, parent controls, ect. are being utilized. The fact is there are many great resources out here and with more effort on the educator’s part, we can find appropriate tools for the classroom. But it seems back to an earlier question convenience over quality resurfaces. It is easier to use a huge corporate site, but there are reasons why sites are block. This is from our bosses’ advisors and it’s just better to use the alternate teacher friendly sites then run into an oops moment that is now being taken very seriously.
Your comment on not being able to monitor a class of 18 students all at the same time demonstrates one of the reasons it is necessary to have internet policies and filtering systems in place. Without these there would be no way for teachers to assure that students are not viewing inappropriate and irrelevant material. While this may block some sites that would be useful, you make a valid point of just looking for another internet source that will give you the same or similar information. I agree with you that the safety of the students far more important than any inconvenience that blocked sites may cause teachers.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your post,
Leslie Webb