Teachers must be aware of the risks that come along with their students using technology, not just in the classroom, but also in their personal lives. The first step for promoting safe, healthy, legal, and ethical uses of technology is to be aware of the dangers: invasion of student privacy, cyberbullying, sexting, plagiarism, etc. Once teachers are aware of these risks, they are able to extend this knowledge to their students. Second, teachers should be promoting healthy dialogues with their students about safety within the realm of technology, according to Sarah Muthler, author of Teacher’s Guide: Cyberbullying, Sexting, and Student Privacy. Open dialogue within the classroom is great way for students to safely explore possible scenarios they may experience. Netsmartz.org has a plethora of resources organized by age group for educators to use for these discussions. These resources include: videos, activity cards, presentations with presenter guides, safety pledges, and handouts regarding safety using technology. Another great resource to guide educators in these open classroom discussions is Christopher Pappas’s How-To Guide. Pappas guides educators through top-rated technology safety resources by providing tips for use with each resource.
These teacher-led discussions should lead to a development of strategies in which students can keep themselves safe by practicing healthy and ethical uses of technology. To encourage student participation and engagement, Muthler recommends that teachers allow students to develop their classroom’s computer-use policy. Computer-use policies should outline appropriate uses of technology within the classroom. Students, especially older students, will be able to appropriately identify acceptable online behaviors. This should be easy for students to do after their discussions or exploration of online safety resources, such as the FBI Safe Online Surfing game. Teachers can guide students in creating their classroom’s computer-use policies and have each student sign it. In addition to open classroom discussions and student-authored computer-use policies, educators should get parents informed and involved to keep our students safe, according to Robert Lucas, author of How to Keep Students Safe Online. Providing parents with tips on managing their child’s technology use will help educators achieve their goal of promoting safe, healthy, legal, and ethical uses of technology. In conclusion, educators have a great responsibility to promote safe use of technology within their student and parent population. Some strategies for educators to achieve this goal are: have open dialogue regarding risks, have students author classroom computer-use policies, and inform students and parents of ways to stay safe. Lucas, Robert. "The Teacher’s Guide to Keeping Students Safe Online - eLearning Industry." eLearning Industry. 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2016. https://elearningindustry.com/the-teacher-guide-to-keeping-students-safe-online Muthler, S. (2016). Teacher’s Guide: Cyberbullying, Sexting, and Student Privacy . Edudemic.com. Retrieved 5 November 2016, from http://www.edudemic.com/the-teachers-guide-to-keeping-students-safe-online/ Pappas, C. "The 5 Best Internet Safety Resources for Teachers - eLearning Industry." eLearning Industry. 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 5 Nov. 2016. https://elearningindustry.com/the-5-best-internet-safety-resources-for-teachers
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