Month: September 2016

eLearning – Learn safely online

eLearning – Learn safely online

eLearning – Learn safely online

Greetings Students and Parents of my Year 8-10 health classes!

If you haven’t already clicked play on this short clip below, check it out now before scrolling down!

 

As we all know learning starts from home. Parents, as well as teachers, have an important role in the educative process of safe Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use with their children. As you are aware, we now live in a society where the internet can provide continuous access to learning and information. It is our responsibility as teachers, students and parents to make sure we understand how to use ICT safely, responsibility and ethically at home, school and anywhere we may be.

Throughout this blog post I will discuss important information from the “general capabilities” in the Australian Curriculum for Applying Social and Ethical Protocols and Practices (2016). It is our role as educators and parents to provide engaging and safe learning.  Accordingly, students must have an awareness about 4 key features in relation to the Australian Curriculum protocols and practices. These features are:

 

  • to recognise intellectual property;
  • to apply digital information security practice;
  • to apply personal security protocols; and
  • to identify the impacts of ICT in society.
(“Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability – Key ideas – The Australian Curriculum v8.2”, 2016)

The above 4 features are an imperative part of Health Education. As a health teacher to the year 8-10 students, I believe it is necessary to address what we can do at school and home to ensure we are using safe technology and internet practices. Various health topics discussed in the school forum can be quite sensitive. It is therefore imperative that we adopt the correct protocols and practices to keep your child safe online. At some point over your child’s time in my classroom they will be asked to use technology and the internet either at school or at home. Therefore if I can guide you through some safe  practices and protocols within this blog it should assist all parents in safeguarding your child’s digital footprint.

Recognising Intellectual Property

By the time our students reach year 10 they should have an understanding and ability to be able to identify and describe ethical dilemmas and consciously apply practices that protect intellectual property. To be able to do this they need to understand that material on the internet, in text and music, among other things, are protected by copyright laws. Various forms of literature, websites, songs and so on are all content that may be owned by different people and cannot be presented as the student’s own work. There are appropriate ways to use the material of other’s to help students develop their own ideas or to add content to assignments or tasks. Schools can ask for permission or can indicate through Creative Commons Licencing under the fair dealing, flexible dealing, educational and other statutory exceptions. Copyright exceptions or through paid licence agreements are other options. For further information have a look at the below websites:

Creative CommonsCopyright ExceptionsEducation Licences

Crumpled copyright symbols. Copyright concept.
http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/shared/pics/i_000017499131_600.jpg

Apply Digital Information Security Practices and Personal Security Protocols

As individuals it is important to protect your personal identity, especially online. Your personal information that should be kept safe includes: – your full name, address, phone numbers, school, date of birth, email address(es), usernames, passwords and bank details.

If you are ever in doubt about the legitimacy of a website you should call the organisation it claims to represent, or head to SCAM watch, which may provide further advice on how to identify and report potential scams.

All teachers, parents and students should remember and understand that information shared online can be permanent. Users may not have control over who sees or accesses this information. Here are some do’s and don’ts to protect your security: –

Do

  • make passwords at least eight characters in length;
  • combine letters, numbers and upper and lower-case letters;
  • change your password regularly.

Don’t

  • use pet names, birthdates, family or friends’ names;
  • share passwords with others, even with friends;
  • store them on the device.

It is important as a teacher that students follow correct protocols and procedures for using the internet and technology at school. It is essential for students to understand that schools put in place protocols for internet use for their own protection. As a teacher, I feel it is wise to not discourage social networking, as it is a valuable tool which can prove useful to assist in both student and parent connection.

Identify the Impacts of ICT in Society

ICT has certainly had an enormous impact on our society. Whether it has had a positive or negative impact, however, is still yet to be seen, but there is clearly no denying that we are becoming more and more reliant on these advancements in technology. We now have increased access to the internet from parts all over the World, convenient online tools such as online shopping, banking and social media, and not to mention entertaining cat videos on YouTube.  So, instead of trying to fight against these ‘new gadgets and toys’ by trying to shelter our children / students from the ‘dangerous’ online world, we must work towards teaching these young minds to act responsibly and appropriately when using ICT.

I hope that by writing this blog today it has given you many helpful hints and links to be able to keep you up-to-date with what your child should (and should not) be doing while on a computer, tablet or phone. Please feel free to look through all of the links provided below for ICT information and also access to online help regarding health education and what you can do, as a parent, to make a difference.

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Sourced from: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent/online-safeguards/parental-controls

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