Thursday, July 17, 2008

Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools, Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Online Safety and Security in Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools covers more than just safety and security. It also discusses some legal and ethic issues that must be taught to students. Students need to understand about copyright and how to behave ethical in an online environment.


Understanding copyright laws is perplexing but must be understood by educators so we can pass along the information to our students. We also need to be able to provide information to parents so they can assist their children in understanding copyright. Hall Davidson, who I saw present at NECC in Philadelphia, has a several good resources and suggestions that can be used in any school. His copyright chart is something I plan to post in my library.


Understanding copyright issues can help students learn ethical behavior for the online environment. There is more to ethical behavior than copyright and the information on pages 147-148 in the text can help guide in teaching students. They four major items outlined are “seek truth and express it, minimize harm, be accountable, and respect information and its infrastructure.”


Of course with the information age protecting our students is always an issue. We must teach internet safety to our students and seek parental involvement so students are also protected at home. The survey on pages 141-143 that was created by Deer Park Elementary School in Fairfax, Virginia is an excellent resource to use to start a discussion on being safe online.

1 comment:

Ann said...

Safety is always a critical issue but it has to be balanced with access. And I always have the question - more pertinent to HS I know - of how much responsibility does the student have for being safe? Sometimes I feel like we are trying to smother them in protection, when some of that needs to be their responsibility. My friend and team teacher April used to say, "Never do for the student what the student should do for themselves".

Ann