4.2 - Safe, Healthy, Legal & Ethical Use
Candidates model and facilitate the safe, healthy, legal, and ethical uses of digital information and technologies. (PSC 4.2/ISTE 5b)
Artifact: ITEC 7460 - Internet Safety Blog Post
Blog Project Parent Letter
Reflection:
This blog entry, Internet Safety, was about students using digital tools to publish content on the web. In this class assignment, we were asked to discuss the potential dangers students may face when publishing content on the web and research and recommend various strategies for keeping students safe. This blog was completed as an individual class assignment. The second artifact, the Blog Project Parent Letter, is a letter sent to parents prior to beginning a project which discusses the guidelines for students to safely use the blog.
Standard 4.2, Safe, Healthy, Ethical, and Legal Use, asks that candidates demonstrate the ability to “model and facilitate the safe, healthy, legal, and ethical uses of digital information and technologies” (PSC 4.2/ISTE 5b). These two artifacts are evidence of my ability to do this. In authoring the blog, I was asked to investigate possible strategies to address potential dangers and drawbacks of students publishing their work on an online forum. Investigating ways that students can be safe, healthy, legal, and ethical when publishing online is the first step in modeling and facilitating the proper use of digital information and technologies. Various strategies I stated in the blog were creating an open dialogue with administrators about what the project goals were, teaching students about how to properly conduct themselves when faced with various situations, communicating to parents how the technology is going to be used, and by modeling safe and ethical behavior so that students have a role model to follow. The Blog Project Parent Letter is an example of how I modeled and facilitated safe, healthy, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technologies. In this parent letter, I explained to parents what the purpose of the assignment was and what type of digital tool we would be using to accomplish our learning goals. I also explained why I chose that particular tool: the website allowed me, as a teacher, to monitor and moderate posts and comments and it did not require personal information from students to create an account. Moderating the posts and comments of all users was a key way for me to facilitate a safe, healthy, legal, and ethical use of the digital technology. In addition, I defined five guidelines for blogging that permitted students to take control of their own behavior and learn the responsible way to use digital information and technology.
The authoring of the Internet Safety blog proved to be a very valuable learning experience for me because it led to the Blog Project Parent Letter, which was very beneficial when implementing the blog project. Parents were very appreciative of the information and supportive of the project, especially since it offered them a unique window into the classroom. If given the opportunity, I would rewrite the blog or perhaps do a more in-depth blog for each group discussed in the post (administration, student, parent, and teacher) on how they could address these issues.
The impact on student learning could be assessed by interviewing students about the responsible ways to use digital information and technology and by examining their blogs and comments to see if they were using them properly. The impact on faculty development and school improvement could be assessed by examining how school leadership and individual teachers are conducting themselves online, since they are setting an example of proper use of digital information and technology. It would be worth assessing their current knowledge and then having them complete professional development. From there, a school leader could assess the impact on faculty development and school improvement.
This blog entry, Internet Safety, was about students using digital tools to publish content on the web. In this class assignment, we were asked to discuss the potential dangers students may face when publishing content on the web and research and recommend various strategies for keeping students safe. This blog was completed as an individual class assignment. The second artifact, the Blog Project Parent Letter, is a letter sent to parents prior to beginning a project which discusses the guidelines for students to safely use the blog.
Standard 4.2, Safe, Healthy, Ethical, and Legal Use, asks that candidates demonstrate the ability to “model and facilitate the safe, healthy, legal, and ethical uses of digital information and technologies” (PSC 4.2/ISTE 5b). These two artifacts are evidence of my ability to do this. In authoring the blog, I was asked to investigate possible strategies to address potential dangers and drawbacks of students publishing their work on an online forum. Investigating ways that students can be safe, healthy, legal, and ethical when publishing online is the first step in modeling and facilitating the proper use of digital information and technologies. Various strategies I stated in the blog were creating an open dialogue with administrators about what the project goals were, teaching students about how to properly conduct themselves when faced with various situations, communicating to parents how the technology is going to be used, and by modeling safe and ethical behavior so that students have a role model to follow. The Blog Project Parent Letter is an example of how I modeled and facilitated safe, healthy, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technologies. In this parent letter, I explained to parents what the purpose of the assignment was and what type of digital tool we would be using to accomplish our learning goals. I also explained why I chose that particular tool: the website allowed me, as a teacher, to monitor and moderate posts and comments and it did not require personal information from students to create an account. Moderating the posts and comments of all users was a key way for me to facilitate a safe, healthy, legal, and ethical use of the digital technology. In addition, I defined five guidelines for blogging that permitted students to take control of their own behavior and learn the responsible way to use digital information and technology.
The authoring of the Internet Safety blog proved to be a very valuable learning experience for me because it led to the Blog Project Parent Letter, which was very beneficial when implementing the blog project. Parents were very appreciative of the information and supportive of the project, especially since it offered them a unique window into the classroom. If given the opportunity, I would rewrite the blog or perhaps do a more in-depth blog for each group discussed in the post (administration, student, parent, and teacher) on how they could address these issues.
The impact on student learning could be assessed by interviewing students about the responsible ways to use digital information and technology and by examining their blogs and comments to see if they were using them properly. The impact on faculty development and school improvement could be assessed by examining how school leadership and individual teachers are conducting themselves online, since they are setting an example of proper use of digital information and technology. It would be worth assessing their current knowledge and then having them complete professional development. From there, a school leader could assess the impact on faculty development and school improvement.