| Internet | |
| Safety |
"Most people who use online services have mainly positive experiences. But, like any endeavor - traveling, cooking, or attending school - there are some risks. The online world, like the rest of society, is made up of a wide array of people. Most are decent and respectful, but some may be rude, obnoxious, insulting, or even mean and exploitative." (Child Safety on the Information Highway," National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
As parents, teachers, and responsible caring adults,
we must be as intentional about teaching and modeling online safety
as we are about everyday safety. Primary concerns surrounding
student use of the Internet are: 1) the ability to access inappropriate
material, and 2) the potential risk to personal safety when "meeting"
someone online. In this chapter we will look at actions you can
take to minimize the risk and maximize the ultimate benefit to
teaching and learning which the Internet offers. We will explore:
- Acceptable Use Policies for home and school;
- supervising and directing students' online experiences;
- filtering programs which screen out inappropriate materials.
Acceptable Use Policies
Discussions and instruction relating to the safe
use of the Internet must begin right away. Whether your students
have already been online or are about to do so for the first time,
talk with them about Internet Safety - and then keep talking about
it!
One of the most important areas to discuss is meeting
people online. Students must be taught that the same "Stranger
Danger" rules they follow in their daily lives also apply
to strangers they meet through e-mail or an Internet conversation
group. They should not divulge personal information about themselves
or their family - name, age, address, school, etc. - nor should
they arrange to meet in person someone they have met online...even
if they have corresponded with them for a period of time. Remember
that e-mail offers a false sense of security and anonymity which
can be exploited.
One way to continually reinforce online safety issues
in both the classroom and the home is to develop an Acceptable
Use Policy (AUP) which incorporates these and other cautions and
can serve as guidelines for children regarding their use of the
Internet. These "rules of the road" should be developed
with the students, written down, signed by students, parents,
and teachers, and prominently posted near the computer. Like
any rule, these guidelines must also carry penalties for violation
of the policy.
The
National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children offers the following example:
Additional examples of Acceptable Use Policies may
be found at:
Supervising / Directing Online Time
Student use of the Internet should always be supervised
by a parent, teacher, or other responsible adult. On those special
occasions when independent use of the Internet might be permissible,
take into consideration the student's age, behavior, work habits,
and familiarity with your Accepted Use Policy before making a
decision. Independent use of the Internet should be given thoughtful
consideration before being allowed.
Directed activities are also important in the safe
use of the Internet. "Surfing" (ambiguous searching)
of the Internet is not a directed activity and presents the opportunity
for students to find inappropriate material. Give your students
a specific purpose and plan when going online to help ensure a
positive learning experience.
The Children's Partnership's
online document, The
Parent's Guide to the Information Superhighway: Rules and Tools
for Families Online, provides adults with basic information
about the Internet as well as Handy Tips on age-appropriate computer
activities for kids.
There are an increasing number of sites which provide
links which are advertised as being "safe" for kids.
Inserting these sites as "bookmarks" on the students'
computers will give them access to good educational sites without
their having to surf the Internet.
World Kids Network
provides information, games, and activities that are of interest
to students.
NetParents
provides an extensive listing of other sites containing information
appropriate for kids.
American Library Association's Guide to CyberSpace for Parents and Kids
offers 50+ good sites.
Several companies now offer filtering programs
which block student access to certain adult materials on the Internet.
Some of the programs match the requested URL against a list of
forbidden sites - others screen the words contained in the URL
and deny access to those which suggest obscene or pornographic
material. Some allow teachers or parents to customize the filters.
When looking at these programs, realize that not all programs
work on all browsers - and some programs are more easily bypassed
by inventive students!
In addition, virtually all of the major commercial
online service providers and numerous Internet Service Providers
(ISP's) offer customers the ability to configure their system
to control children's access to inappropriate material online.
The following sites contain information on ways to
filter students' access while online:
The Computer Network
tests filtering programs and posts the results on their Web site.
NetParents
provides information on blocking software as well as information
on the Internet Service Providers who are offering this service
free or at a low cost to their members.
Another approach to producing a protected environment
for students is called "contouring." While such sites
may contain extensive links to other sites, access by the user
is limited to only this list of approved sites. Once students
enter a site, they may freely roam within the parameters that
the provider has defined as "safe."
Bonus.com
is an example of such a program.
The challenge with any filtering program is to be
restrictive enough to limit access to undesirable material while
being open enough to allow students to get the most from being
online. Remember that, while filtering can help, the best advice
is to supervise children when they are online.
The Computer Network
offers the following perspective:
"Software is no substitute for parental guidance.
Most products can be defeated; those that can't are so restrictive
that kids may be prevented from getting the most from their online
experience. Our advice: supervise your children when they're
online, just as you do during other activities. Software, the
government, standards, organizations, the V-chip - none can replace
Mom or Dad as co-pilot."
For more information on Internet Safety, downloadable
Internet Safety Screensavers, and a "Get Net Smart" Internet Safety quiz,
visit the TECH CORPS site at
http://techcorps.org/resources/internetsafety.