Kristin’s Blogs

Blog #2 Web 2.0 and Acceptable Use Policy2

   When I first thought about this topic, I thought to myself, I do not know very much about what is and is not allowed at our school. I will try to get some answers on all of that this week. I did check our acceptable use policy which I had read through at the beginning of the year when I had to sign it. Most of it was about teachers using the internet correctly, but it did state, “The staff of Dorchester County Public schools will be responsible for a. Teaching students the Dorchester County Public Schools Policy and Procedures for system and network services and b. Supervising and guiding students access to system and network servies to ensure that each student adheres to the appropriate use guidelines” (http://www.dcps.k12.md.us/pdfs/I_policy07.pdf). It also talked about the filtering network that we have on our computers, which does not allow us to access anything remotely illegal.

     Speaking of our filtering network, I know that one is needed, but it sometimes holds you back from a site that you may really need to get to.  Something as small as an advertisement could keep you from a very valuable educational site, and nothing makes me more upset than that. We also can not download anything on our computers such as advertisement blockers. This would be a help if we didn’t do it, but if there were one of our techs who could come in and find some way to make the advertisements go away, so that the rest of the site could be accessible. I do not know if this is possible or not, but it would be great.

    I think it is our responsibility as teachers, as it is stated in our county’s policy, to educate students about appropriate use of the internet. In other countries, such as Finland, which I have read previously in an article by Weinstock, they do not even have to use internet blockers because students are responsible enough to know what sites they can and can not navigate. If we could take the time to teach students about internet safety, maybe this could become a reality here. I just do not know how to fit it into our already crammed schedules. I guess we would have to combine it with some sort of educational activity and figure out a lesson based around a particular educational site.

  Gisele seems to have the same thoughts, as I read in her “Web 2.0 and Acceptable Use Policy” blog. If kids know what the outcome is going to be before they break the rules, they usually think twice about doing it. This is what we need to be teaching here in the United States as well. I also agree with Gisele as she talks about students facing the same types of dangers offline as they do online. I never really though about it that way. Students are just as easily peer pressured or feel the need to do things such as lie about things like their age offline just like they do online. Maybe we just need to teach some good old safety to the students about how to conduct themselves around strangers online and offline, like we do in elementary schools. It could not hurt to do it in the upper grades either since that is where lots of these things seem to be happening. Maybe if we take the time to do this, they would see the horrible things that have happened in the past and not make the same mistakes as the people they learn about.

  I have spoken to a couple of my peers and they feel the same way. We do not know when to incorporate these things into our curriculum. We are so short on time already, but if there were a way to do this while accomplishing educational activities, then we could definitely give it a try. It just seems like we are always trying to fit too much into one day. I would love for someone to come to our schools and train us on internet safety and how to teach it to young children, such as kids in first grade, which I teach, without scaring them to death.

   The experts are saying that you just need to train children how to use the internet appropriately. My problem is, there will always be those couple of children who want to just try to do something they are told not to do. The time issue also plays a role in this issue as well. When do people have time to do this? One way I thought of is during the children’s media specials. Maybe librarians could be trained how to teach students acceptable use of the internet and we could get rid of the filtering or at least cut it back to not be as restrictive. This would not cut into our class time, and would let the librarians still teach computing skills, but with something much more meaningful than just basic typing skills.

    In my research, I did not find any information about schools having e-mail accounts for students. I did however find an article that is very recent. In the article titled “Department of Education Set to Give Kids and Parents E-mail Addresses”, it talks about New York and how the  “City public school kids and their parents could soon be getting their own free e-mail accounts from the Department of Education. The city hopes the e-mail, which could be available as early as fall, will make it easier for principals and teachers to keep in contact with families”.(http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/01/18/2009-01-18_department_of_education_set_to_give_kids.html). I think this could be a great idea. In my school it may not work because of the lack of parents’ and students’ access to the internet and e-mail on a regular basis, but it could be a great idea for keeping in touch with parents and students if they have a question about their homwork at night or on the weekend, or about a project that is due. I also found an article titled, “New feature:  Classroom accounts for students without e-mail addresses” which states “Today, we’re happy to announce a new feature, Classroom Accounts, which will let you add users without email addresses. In consultation with dozens of educators, we’ve created a system that makes it unbelievably easy to add your students to your 2.0 educational wiki” (http://blog.pbwiki.com/2008/08/12/new-feature-classroom-accounts-for-students-without-email-addresses/0). Students could then access your wiki page, which many teachers are using for a communication tool, or for assigning work to students to complete. Usually an e-mail address is required, but with this new tool, it could be a great asset for students if they do not have an e-mail account.

   I also researched some other Web 2.0 tools and the acceptability of their use in the classroom. The two horror stories about Rob and Katie in the article given to us by Dr. Royer titled, “Safety and Social Networking ” are too much of a reality for many people today. This is something we as teachers need to be aware of before we even begin to think of using tools such as facebook and Myspace in and out of our classrooms. We have to remember what goes on the internet is usually there to stay. As for using these tools in the classroom, I do not think that I would go that route. I am too nervous about the outcomes of these things. I would be afraid that once I showed kids how to use them, they may use them uncautiously and something could happen to them. I could never, ever forgive myself if something were to happen to them. Even if I were to teach them the correct ways and the safety of their uses, I would be nervous that once they got home to use these things, they may not be as safe there. At school, they are protected by our filters and monitored, but at home, it could be a different story for some students, which just makes me nervous. I also read the article titled “Don’t Tell Your Parents: Schools Embrace MySpace”  by Robert Andrews, which states, “Some schools ban social networks for wasting classroom time or to protect students from weirdos. But, as part of a wider trend toward less top-down teaching, other institutions are putting tools like MySpace, Bebo and Facebook on the curriculum — and teachers are saying: “Thanks for the add.” It pretty much talks about how students use these tools outside of class so much, that it may be a great way for them to stay on top of their learning as well. A lot of online discussion communities are being formed this way in schools now.  I feel that this may be okay for high school, possibly middle school students, but it is a little much for elementary schools. I am just really concerned about their safety and who could hack into their accounts. I thought it was also interesting how parents feel about online discussion groups in the article “Social Networking in Schools Gets a Boost from NSBA”. They state “In fact, 76% of parents expect social networking will improve their children’s reading and writing skills, or help them express themselves more clearly, according to the study, and parents and communities “expect schools to take advantage of potentially powerful educational tools, including new technology.” I agree that it probably does get students to read and write more than they would outside of school. It is much more educational than just talking on the phone to your friends at night. As long as students are being monitored in the classrooms, I do not see where this would be an issue in schools either. It is outside of schools where I worry about the children as I stated before. You hear all of these horror stories about innocent children becoming victims of child predators and falling for their awful tricks. I just do not want to be responsible for teaching children how to use these tools which they will then be able to use outside of schools. I know it is a great learning opportunity, but I just feel that school is not the place to learn these types of things, at least not in elementary schools as I stated before. There are many other useful things we could teach children with the internet, such as just searching the internet for information or using learning games to enhance their learning, or using a Webquest. I really do not think that most schools are allowed to use social networking because of these ramifications. I would not even try to use it in our county as I have heard of teachers in other schools being suspended because of their inappropriate internet use. It is just too much of a risk for me. We have also heard rumors about gang related activity as Andrea stated in one of her earlier discussions. It is just another way that they could be linked with other people in these types of affiliations.

   To sum up, I feel that there are pros and cons of using Web 2.0 tools, social networking and e-mail in the classroom. As for the pros, they are great ways for students to be communicating other than just talking face to face or on the phone. They are also great ways to share ideas and links to the internet. I also feel that it does probably help children with their reading and writing skills, but sometimes they are probably using “text talk” which defeats that purpose.  It also is a great way for teachers to be able to introduce using the internet appropriately and safely. The cons, on the other hand, are that the teacher is then responsible for introducing some kids to this new way of connecting with other people, possibly dangerous ones. There are also always those students who just have to try what they are told not to try. It may not happen at school, but it could happen in a place where the students are not as closely monitored which is a scary thought to me. I feel that access to online videos is probably pretty safe as long as teachers are showing them a site such as United Streaming or TeacherTube and not YouTube. Our schools in our county do allow access to TeacherTube and United Streaming which can be very helpful for showing real events that have already happened, giving children a great idea of what happened rather than just reading about it. I know lots of teachers are using Wikispace now as a tool in their classrooms, but I still think about all of the children in my district who would not be able to access this from home and feel left out. This is why I have not attempted this yet. I think it is important for kids to be able to access these types of things on the internet, but not at the age that I teach, which again is first grade.

   Acceptable use policies that I looked at all seem to have the same requirements, telling teachers what is and is not allowed, and showing the students how to conduct themselves on the internet as well. I read one article titled, “Developing a School Acceptable Use Policy” which even talked about sending home a letter to parents telling what is and is not appropriate use of the internet. I feel that this is a great idea, so that if students are caught doing something that they shouldn’t, then parents are already aware that it was not acceptable. Making sure you include, “definition of the school districts’ stance on what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate materials or resources” in the letter to the parent and in the AUP would be something that would need to be considered as well, as stated in the “Developing a School Acceptable Use Policy” article. Students should also be trained on what sites are appropriate and what sites are not, because there could be a malfunction with the filtering system and students should be notified beforehand of the consequences of visiting inappropriate sites.This article also says, “AUPs should be drafted by teams involving board members, teachers, parents, and others in the community”. This way, there are lots of ideas coming from different people from different perspectives and they can all come to a conclusion about what is best for the students. If there were something about Web 2.o tools, and social networking added to these AUPs I feel that parents should definitely have a strong say in the issue as well as teachers who feel that they are able to teach these things in a safe manner. The AUP should include that there must be training for teachers before they are allowed to teach anything on the internet and that they have to teach children safety first. Ultimately, the safety of the children needs to be the priority, not the educational purposes, when there have already been so many victims of social networking sites. The parents and teachers seem to always say they had no idea that the child was in contact with these people, or that they have talked to their children about appropriate internet use, but sometimes it just does not make the children think it could happen to them. This is something we need to keep in mind. Next, I feel that there should be something in the policy about bullying and harrassing others as well as notifying someone if you know of someone being bullied or harrassed, including yourself. I have heard stories about students being bullied to the point of suicide by other students and sometimes even parents. It is just sick and I think that needs to be a major part of the training students receive before they are even allowed to blog and participate in social networking. I do not know if there is a way to do the next thing I thought of , but maybe there is a way that you can only be allowed to be friends with people in the same school. This would solve a lot of problems with predators.  Plagiarism and copyright infringement should be a part of the students’ training before they are allowed on also, as stated in the document “Critiquing Acceptable Use Policies” by Dave Kinnamon. Students should also be told that their computer use is being monitored ahead of time, which may eliminate a lot of problems, as this was also mentioned in “Critiquing Acceptable Use Policies”. Finally, I feel that the children should be trained on how to leave positive feedback for people, even constructive criticism for assignments if this is what they are talking about on these sites. Kinnamon put this as “ to encourage polite and civil communication” which I could not have stated better myself. They should not be allowed on the computers or these types of Web 2.0 and social networking sites until they can show that they are ready to comply with these rules.

   In all, my final thought is that I do not feel comfortable enough teaching students how to navigate Web 2.0 sites or social networking sites. If this were to happen, I would need a lot more training which is a possible solution for my fear of introducing students to these things. If our county could have someone come and train us and let us try, with parent permission, then I may feel more comfortable with these types of tools. I just do not want to think about all of the ramifications that this could cause. I also do not think first grade is the place to teach these things, maybe in high or even middle school would be better. If the librarians could start teaching these things in their class times, then it would give children a jump start on learning about the safe ways to use the internet. This means that they would have to get some sort of training for this as well. This would probably not be a possibility at the moment though because of the money issues education is facing today, but possibly in the near future. I feel that we do need to show students how to research things on the internet and how to find useful information, but these types of things may be a bit too much for students.

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