Thursday, July 23, 2009

Thing #11 - Digital Citizenship

1. All student should be required to sign an AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) before using school computers. This should spell out exactly when they are allowed to use computers, for what reason, what they can or cannot do while on the computer and also copyright infringement &/or plagarism. I feel that this doesn't really happen. Students are forced to sign one, but they are not necessarily explained well enough to them. Also consquences should be addressed.
2. I feel we have a responsibility of keeping our students safe. If elementary or middle school students are allowed to access such sites as My Space or Facebook, they could be circumventing parental rules. They could be possiblity be opening themselves up to online predators. So a lesson about online safetly is crucial!
3. Credibility of data is also something that doesn't seem to be taught to students. They are not able to tell the difference between a credible site and one that isn't.
4. We also need to make sure students understand copyright. Many students copy and paste, thus infringing upon copyright all the time. They are under the false misunderstanding that because it is posted on the internet it is available to anyone that wants it! Especially using pictures from Google!
5. I also feel that students should understand that using a computer at school is a privilege, not a necessity. If district or class guidelines are not followed, then the student needs to have definite consequences. It is not really any different than any discipline issue in the classroom. Although teachers seem on the whole not able to know how to handle such computer misuses! Certainly losing the computer privilege is a just consequence!

2 comments:

LauraAnn said...

I'm curious about your comments that computers are a privilege, not a necessity. These Library2play lessons have me more and more convinced that computers are indeed a necessity, so that brings up another issue.

Presuming (if you will for a moment)that computers are a necessity with the same importance as a textbook, can we really threaten to restrict the students access to them? It is a real pickle, isn't it?

It seems like there needs to be a culture of respect regarding the computers' role in the educational process. If a students violates the AUP, he is not only "in trouble", but he has also limited his own educational experiences, etc.

Omi Ford said...

Thanks for checking in on my blog. I am continuing to learn and it looks like this summer experience has proven to be good for brain exercise! I work while baby naps, so I've gone back and changed my post. It's helpful to know that anyone cares! THANKS!