I
finished reading lol…OMG this week,
and this book has been a real eye opener.
As some of us have discussed in previous posts, a lot of the information
is or at least seems to be common sense, but the information and advice Matt
Ivester offers is not always something we consider. Throughout the text, he emphasizes the
importance of keeping a positive online image and offers lots of information explaining
how people can manage and monitor their online reputation. He recommends that people google themselves,
clean up accounts, update privacy settings, ask for content to be removed,
strengthen passwords, set up a google alert and register their names. I have never thought of doing half these
things, which makes me wonder what kind of information about me is out there
lurking on the web. I never even heard
of Spokeo or Intelius which Ivester states are good sites to do people searches
on. I am overwhelmed by a lot of the
information Ivester mentions, but he does explain that there are professional
sites that can help people manage their content. One site is Repuation.com and there is
another one for students. I think it is
good to provide this same service to students who need this information just as
much, if not more, than other people.
While
reading, I have truly realized that I do need to keep better track of my online
information. I use Facebook, and I know
that when the site changed last year, the privacy settings changed, too. I found this out the hard way when I had a
student "friend" me. When the
site changed, the privacy settings made my profile "public" again. Although I did not have anything
incriminating, it still made me uncomfortable knowing some of my information
was accessible to students. This is a
prime example of why, as Ivester suggests, to update privacy settings. As teachers we unfortunately have to be even
more careful about our private lives. It
is a lot easier than we think for students to access our picture or posts.
Of
course, we do not only have to be concerned about what we post, but what other
people post about us. Of course, this is
impossible to control, and what others post can be cruel and damaging to our reputations. These types of issues occur a lot among high
school and college students, and the problem is getting worse. People think it is okay to post things about others
no matter how hurtful it may be. I think
about the college student who killed himself over the Twitter video, and I
cannot wrap my head around it. What
makes people think it is okay to post things about others? If you do not have permission, do not do it. People should not use each other's personal
lives or business for their own amusement.
Cyberbullying
is a growing issue among high school students.
When teenagers are online, they often lose sight of what is right and
wrong and do not think about the consequences of what they do. Mocking or insulting someone in person is
much different than doing it online. When
it is done online, the bully is so detached from the situation. It is so quick and easy to post something
that one does not think twice about it.
They also do not see the person(s) reactions (at least not right away),
so it does not seem as bad. Online,
people feel invisible-they feel they can do anything and get away with it. They do not feel accountable for what they
post.
As
a high school teacher, I see, firsthand, instances of cyberbullying, and it is
an issue that will not go away on its own.
I am pleased that my school is doing something about this issue. Next week John Halligan is coming in to speak
to Windsor High School students. John
Halligan's son, Ryan, who was bullied and tormented by his classmates both in
school and online, committed suicide in 2003.
John Halligan is going to come in and share his son's story and inform
students of the effects of bullying. Another
way my school addresses these issues of bullying is during Advisory
sessions. During these sessions, pairs of
teachers meet with their group of students and discuss all different life,
academic, and personal issues. These
sessions give students and teachers the opportunity to form relationships and
shows kids that they have another trusting adult to talk to.
I
think we as educators have a responsibility to teach students to reflect and be
aware of what they do online. Also, we
need to develop curricula that deal directly with these issues that happen
online. We need to teach responsible
internet use. Some of this seems like
common sense, but I know my little impulsive students are not thinking about
these things. They act in the moment,
and like anyone at their age, they are too self-centered to be thinking of the
effects of their actions. This again,
reiterates the need to embed digital citizenship into high school
curricula. One way we can do this is
create lessons and activities that relate to digital citizenship. One activity that I think would be cool and
engaging for students is to let the kids make commercials or public service
announcements about digital citizenship and air them during the morning announcements. This would be a great way to send the message
to all students. Also, students could
create skits and/or mini plays about digital citizenship. This is something I could even do in my
English classes. I could have the
students collaborate and write scripts for these skits and then create
props and costumes and put on these skits for the students in the elementary and
middle schools This way students at a much younger age can learn about issues
of bullying and the responsibilities of the internet and technology and how to
use these tools in a positive, appropriate and responsible way. This even ties into the standards. Students will be using collaboration and
communication to create these plays and share their new learning of digital citizenship by informing others.
3 comments:
Nicole- I couldn't agree with you more! I think that as educators we know that technology is important, therefore making the skills needed to utilize technology essential. We are shifting to computer based testing, and encourage our students to explore technology all the time. Why not develop curricula that is student centered that teaches students the appropriate ways to utilize technology. I think that schools should start teaching students about digital citizenship at a young age. When we were young, we were taught about the dangers of talking to strangers, and what we should do/how to respond to a bad situation. Why not teach students how to appropriately use technology- and how to respond to bad situations online. I think if we start educating students at a younger age- some of the problems we are currently seeing will decrease over time.
After reading Nicole's post I went to Spokeo entered my name and my address, a photo of my home, and a phone number was provided. If I wanted to join the site I could pay a bit more money to get more information. This is very scary to me. All of the information is public record, but the fact that it is so easily accessible makes me weary. I then went on Facebook and checked all of my account settings... Thanks for the reminder Nicole! Complete strangers can learn what we look like, who our friends are, where we live, etc... Students need to be aware of the pros and cons of social media. It provides amazing opportunities for people to learn and network. However, social media can also facilitate negative and dangerous outcomes.
Cassie, I can only assume that curricula will soon be developed for proper technology use. I think it is essential. We should start at the younger grades and be proactive. Let's not wait until it is too late and the digital footprint has already been made.
Nicole, you are so right about the need to include online etiquette in our curriculum. It should begin in the elementary grades. I'm thinking that it should start with the parents demonstrating proper internet behavior the same way parents teach their children how to behave in the library, for instance. That good behavior then gets reinforced in the classroom. But what does the instruction look like? Maybe we could talk more about this during our next class on Thursday.
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