Cybersafety

The article Cybersafety in the Classroom by Kevin Butler was very interesting.  Right off the bat, the article stated that we need to teach web usage education as soon as students are on the computer.  I have always believed that students are never too young to learn how to use computers and how to keep themselves safe while using them.  I begin teaching 1^st and 2^nd graders computer safety in general by explaining that they shouldn’t believe everything they see or hear when they are on the computer.  As the article states, we can teach students this young about passwords and why we need to keep them safe.  This is always the easiest way for me to begin teaching my students about being safe on the computer.  I usually say something to the affect that they wouldn’t give another student their lunch number because they don’t want other students using their number to buy their lunch.  I explain that a password is the same thing.  They don’t want to share their computer password with other students because they want their projects to be kept safe, and they don’t want other students to do bad things on the computer using their password.

As stated in the article, and I also see it at the school I teach in, teachers don’t feel comfortable teaching Internet Safety to their students because they don’t know enough about the topic.  Also, due to test requirements and limited time, most teachers don’t teach anything to their students that aren’t going to be on a state test.  I think that teaching computer skills and Internet safety should be a shared responsibility among all school staff members, a lot of times teachers and administrators forget that their school librarians are able to teach these skills to students.  Technology and Internet safety are things that most librarians these days know about and are able to teach as well.  My feeling is that even if technology changes at a rapid pace, if I can at least teach my students the basics of using computers and protecting themselves then they will be able to use these skills regardless of how computers and the Internet change.  I also hope that by trying to inform my co-workers about the latest Internet Safety tips and ways that computers are changing, they can incorporate this information into their lessons with students.  If the whole school community is involved in teaching Internet safety, it will be easier for students to understand.  Also, students will see that all their teachers are on the same page when it comes to Internet safety.

All in all, the Cybersafety article is one that I agree with.  Everything stated in the article are things that I have always thought to be true.