Internet safety

Internet safety is a hot topic and a big concern for schools and districts. Many middle grades students go online every day through computers, cell phones, personal digital assistants, and even video game consoles that allow players to compete with and to instantly chat with competitors from around the world. Much of the time, online excursions in the cyberspace community are safe. However, it is important to remember that, like any community, there are some people and places that should be approached with caution and others that should be avoided entirely. Even though many students believe themselves to be technology experts and often feel that they know more about cyberspace than their parents or teachers, they need to be made aware of potential dangers.

Schools have a legal obligation to make Internet use as safe as possible for students. In 2000, Congress enacted the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) (Outside Source), a federal law to address concerns about access to offensive content over the Internet on school and library computers. Schools and libraries must comply with CIPA requirements to receive federal funding support for Internet access or internal connections from the federal E-rate program. CIPA requirements for schools and libraries include:

Having software installed to block or filter Internet access to sites that might be “harmful” to minors
Implementing an acceptable use policy (AUP) that addresses online safety concerns (e.g., monitoring online activities of minors, unauthorized access, and unauthorized dissemination of personal information)

In 2006, California enacted legislation (Education Code Section 51871.5) requiring schools to educate pupils and teachers on the appropriate and ethical use of education technology in the classroom. State-approved technology plans that meet certain criteria must be in place before federal funding for technology may be secured by a school district. Education Code Section 51871.5 requires the addition of a component to educate students and teachers on Internet safety, among other topics.

In addition to the responsibilities of the school, there are several ways teachers can help students stay safe online. For example, teachers can collaborate with the school’s library/media teacher to teach information literacy skills (refer to Information literacy in Recommendation 1, Rigor) related to Web site evaluation. Teachers can help students determine the appropriateness of sites. Even with these skills, it is still incumbent upon the teacher to monitor students’ Internet use. Some aspects of information literacy/Internet safety include the following:

Teach students to use extra vigilance when participating in threaded discussions, newsgroups, or other forms of Internet communication to ensure their safety. Students should understand that the Internet is an open forum so they should not communicate anything over the Internet that they would not want to say in public.
Alert students to the danger of sharing their personal information, including phone numbers, address, photos, etc.
Strictly monitor (or block) Web sites that require registration or sharing of personal information. Teach student to be aware that contests or pop-up ads promising “free” goods or services often sell personal information. However, many newspapers and other free, information-rich sites also require registration. If students use these sites, they should be cautioned against giving out any authentic personal information (i.e., home address, phone numbers, birth date) as it may be used or sold to other entities.
Warn students of the danger of using personalized e-mail addresses that provide information about their age, gender, or interests (e.g., AptosGirl 13). Instead, a combination of numbers and letters can be used to help mask the identity of the individual.
Teach students that they should never share their passwords or agree to meet someone “F2F” (face-to-face) if they know only the online persona of the individual.
Alert students to the fact that, when opening e-mail message attachments from unknown senders, they might unknowingly allow unwanted programs (also known as computer viruses) to infect their computers. These viruses can cause many problems ranging from slowing the computer’s speed to damaging or deleting existing files. Teachers can help students refrain from unwittingly opening malicious files by providing information related to identifying the message sender.
Teach students to exercise caution if they do not recognize the sender, or if the subject line is misspelled or appears to be put together from randomly generated words. If students receive messages that are belligerent or threatening or contain material that is inappropriate, such messages should be reported to the school district as well as to the Internet service provider for investigation. If students receive material that appears to be illegal (i.e., evidence of crimes, threats to life or safety, etc.), the incident may be reported to CyberTipline (Outside Source) (affiliated with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) for referral to the appropriate law-enforcement agency. Reports may be made online at any time during the day or week or by calling (800) 843-5678.

As students become more familiar with technology and the power of the Internet, one of the unfortunate outcomes has been cyber-bullying, the sending or posting of harmful or cruel text or images on the Internet or other digital communication devices. According to researchers, cyber-bullying has increased in recent years. For example, in nationally representative surveys of ten- to seventeen-year-olds, twice as many children and youths indicated that they had been victims and perpetrators of online harassment in 2005 compared with 1999/2000.1

Teachers, parents, and students should be aware of cyber-bullying and the harm it can do to others. Prevention of cyber-bullying may include the following measures:

Specific policies to address cyber-bullying in the district’s acceptable use policy (AUP)
Monitoring of students’ computer use at school by teachers and at home by parents
Use of filtering or tracking software
Following up actively on any reports of cyber-bullying
Identifying victims of cyber-bullying and following up with school counselors and parents
Following up with police or other authorities as warranted.

Taking Center Stage – Act II (TCSII)

A Portal for Middle Grades Educators

Internet safety

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