Topic 8 – Web Awareness I

I really connected to this topic and have already alluded to it in previous posts in regards to the topic of cyberbullying and privacy issues and safety when using online tools, like web-conferencing or chat rooms. I think this might be in part due to the way I was educated about the Internet; while the Internet was always advocated as a helpful tool, I was taught that using it required responsibility and self-awareness due to the less savory aspects of this technology, such as predators and harassment, Internet fraud, phishing scams, spyware, and viruses (which I have fallen victim to a few times).

Watching the videos and listening to Dr. Mary Dyck and Dr. Robin Bright discuss their study was very interesting. I really like the concept of digital citizenship and teaching students to be aware and responsible for what they do online while recognizing that the Internet community deserves as much of the respect that they have for their real-life ones. One of the things that really resonated with me was their mention of the “cut and paste” mentality that seems to exist regarding information found on the Internet and the idea that these materials are fair-game to be presented as the student’s own work instead of acknowledging where this content really came from, which is otherwise known as plagiarism. The issue of plagiarism was one I unfortunately had to deal with in PSII with my grade elevens. I had discussed with them what plagiarism was and how to avoid it, yet I still found plagiarized papers being turned into me. I found the whole situation to be really disappointing and I wondered if there was a way to communicate this topic better to my students to better educate them about this topic. I actually discovered that Turnitin.com sponsored a week for education of this topic and that there is actually a website devoted to this topic, Plagiarism.org, which explains clearly what plagiarism is, the different kinds of plagiarism and strategies and resources for avoiding plagiarism. This is something that I wish I had discovered before PSII, because I know that this is not a topic that can be covered in one or two classes and then call it a day; it is part of an on-going education of how to use the Internet responsibly.

School is actually a really big part in helping to develop character in students. As both Mary Dyck and Robin Bright commented, we are teaching students how to act in society and part of that is modeling behavior. This is no surprise, since it is part of Alberta Bandura’s social learning theory that individuals learn by “observing others’ behavior, attitudes and outcomes of those behaviors” (Learning Theories, 2012). I saw a really good example of this in the school I completed my PSI in; every classroom had a chart of good manners in it, and every week over the intercom, the principal would announce which manner they would be paying extra attention to and practicing. All of the teachers and staff clearly modeled this behavior and the students followed their lead.

I think it is important for teachers to model this behavior because it lends credibility to both the teacher and the importance of said behavior. Sometimes actions speak louder than words; the teachers at my PSI school could have just said, “This week, remember to open doors for people,” and left it at that. Instead, they made a huge show to go out of their way to open doors for others and to clearly and pleasantly say, “Your welcome,” or “Thank you!” when a student was polite enough to do the same for them. Like Dr. Dyck and Dr. Bright said in the video, it is about being able to “walk-the-walk” so to speak.

For that reason, I do thing that “no cell phone use” should also mean “no cell phone use” for teachers. If we want students to respect rules, then we as teachers need to demonstrate the same level of respect and professionalism and set a good example for our students. I was volunteering in a grade nine classroom a few months ago when the teacher started performing “technology checks” at the door, ordering students to put their phones, iPods, and other MP3 players back into their lockers before they even got into the room. The students were more or less disgruntled when she explained that the faculty at the school felt that students were abusing this technology during class time, distracting not only themselves, but also their fellow classmates and their teachers. She reminded them that they did not have the right to use their phones during class time and asked, “Do you see me pulling out my smart phone in the middle of class to answer a text message or check Facebook?” All of the students shook their heads no, which was a testament to their respect for her and her degree of professionalism in acting as a role model for her students. They understood her reasoning and respected her for holding to the same standards expected of them.

My position on filtering Internet content in schools has me split right down the middle. I understand the reasoning for it and agree that it can be helpful in protecting students, but at the same time, such filters usually walk the line of being too effective or unable to catch some of the questionable content that slips through the filter by constantly changing its key words before the filter can adapt accordingly. I remember that my high school used Internet filters, which drove the entire student body nuts. For starters, we could not use Google Images at all, and some of the most benign topics were blocked off because of one key word taken out of context.

When I consider the issue of filtering, I cannot help but view it in the terms of censorship. While censorship can help shield students from the harsher realities and unsavory aspects of technology, filtering it completely might be hindering the student’s “ability to grow and learn at the same time” (LifeScript, 2007). There is a fine line between innocence and ignorance, and I would also argue there is a very distinct difference between protection and education; our first mandate as teachers is educate our students. That does not mean throwing them out to sea and saying, “Good luck,” from the shore, but teaching them about personal safety, the development of ethical digital citizens, and standards for responsible use of the Internet. I think that filters would be best used in elementary level classrooms, where students are still discovering how to use the Internet. Then, as students begin to develop critical thinking skills and show that they can use the Internet wisely, then I think it would make sense to remove the filters as students become older. It is a process of scaffolding, of giving students information and freedom that they can handle as well as growing room, but doing so in stages.

References:

N. A. (2007, July 5). Censorship in schools and the effects on our children. In LifeScript. Retrieved from www.lifescript.com

Social learning theory (Bandura). (2012). Retrieved from http://www.learning-theories.com/social-learning-theory-bandura.html

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