TEACHER'S DESK | Strategies for Schools in the Age of the Social Web
Nancy Willard, this issue's From the Experts
columnist, has some ideas for schools as
they develop
and adapt safety strategies to address Web 2.0.
At minimum, she says, school strategies should
include:
- Clear parameters for use of computers in schools for schoolwork and education activities, including independent educational study.
- Well-prepared teachers who can lead high-quality exciting Internet-based learning activities, keeping students on-task while on the computer. This will minimize problems.
- Effective supervision and monitoring: staff should periodically and randomly request to see student history files as they are walking throughout the lab. There should be expanded use of technical monitoring tools, such as real-time remote-access monitoring tools.
- Meaningful consequences for misuse of the Internet.
- In case of accidental access to inappropriate content, all students and staff must know that if inappropriate material appears, they should quickly turn off the monitor and report the problem. Following any incident, there must be a responsible assessment of culpability, with the assumption that it could have been an accident.
- Filter overrides: The district must establish a process to quickly override Internet filter software to provide staff or students with access to sites that have been inappropriately blocked for instructional purposes—this is required by the Children's Internet Protection Act. Safe school personnel should be able to immediately gain access to material on any site to assess student and school safety!
- Special access to sites on health and well-being—including sex education sites and quality medical and social information for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender teens—is often blocked by filters, districts should ensure access to these sites.
- Internet safety and responsible use education should be provided to students and parents, as well as all staff members.
Health educators or counselors should work with librarians and educational technology staff to create and provide an integrated curriculum.
Selected Questions for Teachers
Here are some questions that school staff can discuss to assess and improve the manner in which they are addressing these issues in their building:
- Are your safe school staff and those with expertise in educational technology working together to address youth risk online issues?
- Do students and staff at your school effectively focus on appropriate educational uses of the Internet?
- If students are using the Internet for entertainment activities, what are the circumstances that are contributing to this and how can this concern be addressed?
- How well prepared are your teachers to effectively provide high quality instruction using the Internet? (In appropriate subject areas.)
- What additional resources � professional development, technical � are necessary to improve Internet-related instruction?
- Have you installed technical monitoring systems in all computer labs?
- Are there concerns that need to be addressed related to student Internet use when substitutes are in the classroom?
- How effectively is your school providing Internet safety and responsible use instruction to (1) students, (2) parents, and (3) teachers?
- What specific Internet risk concerns are impacting your school community (e.g., cyberbullying, online gangs, risky sexual behavior, addiction, plagiarism) and what initiatives are necessary to address these concerns?
- Is the district Internet use policy up-to-date?
For More Information
There are a lot of great sites out there to help schools tackle Web 2.0 interactivity�with great ideas for curriculum and lesson planning as well as safety and use policies. Here are just a few (you'll find more in the Links section of bNetS@vvy):