Think Before You Click: Digital Safety

         Over the last decade, the number of households using the Internet has increased dramatically. The internet is not only for adults anymore. More and more young children are being to be online, which is why practicing internet safety is important. Internet safety, also known as online safety, is being aware of the security risks to private information and property associated with using the Internet (Scheff, 2014). Practicing internet safety protects oneself, physically, emotionally and mentally. As Macia Brandt (2016) quoted from Christopher Harris, “Filter a website, and you protect a student for a day. Educate students about online safety in the real world environment, and you protect your child for a lifetime.” The quote summarized the topic I will be discussing, which is internet safety, perfectly. 

         As an educator, especially if one decides to utilize technology in the classroom, it is highly important to teach your students online safety practices and protocols. The virtual world is not always going to be friendly. Depending on how one uses the web, it can be an excellent place for resources, but also a dangerous place, especially if one are on the wrong websites. In my classroom, I will promote online safety by utilizing kid friendly search engines, like KidRex or Kiddle, when doing in-class activities. Prior to sharing any material with my class, it is important that as a teacher, I review the sites first. I have happily looked over KidRex and Kiddle, and these sites have my stamp of approval. KidRex and Kiddle are both child-safe search engines powered by Google Custom Search. The sites utilize Google SafeSearch and filters explicit or deceptive content. The sites are very user friendly as they are easy to navigate because of their larger fonts and thumbnails for easy viewing. In addition, KidRex and Kiddle are very visually appealing as KidRex includes doodles and Kiddle is more animated.

         Moreover, practicing online safety is not only limited to children, students in high school or post secondary education could always learn something new. My group did our presentation on Fair User Practice and Copyright Issues. According to Richard Stim (2010), fair use is "any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose," which include when users comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. If the users purposed qualify as a fair use, then it would not be considered an infringement. In addition, Stim also discussed copyright, where the owner legally owns their work. It is important for students, to be aware of fair use and copyright issues because the two are very much common in school, especially in English class. When a student writes and English paper and does not give credit by including a citation page, it is known as plagiarism, where one takes the work or idea of another person and pass it on as one's own. In high school, administration is a little bit more lenient with it, but in college, it could lead one into serious trouble. If one does not know if their idea is actually theirs, it is best to just cite it. It is better safe than sorry.

         In addition to my presentation, my group utilized Google Slides to do work on our presentation. My group and I prefer utilizing this online tool because it is safe and user friendly. The feature is provided with your Google account. Personally, I prefer Google Slides because one can add specific people onto the document and only those individuals have access to view and edit the document. With this feature, the work is kept confidential until one decides to share it. Another tool we utilized was Google Hangout and WhatsApp. We tried Google Hangout and I thought it was an great tool for communication because you can do a video web conference with your group mates or chat on the group chat box. However, I preferred WhatsApp due its convenience. WhatsApp does not require user to constantly sign in whenever one opens the application. Plus, I am always on the application anyways, so I quickly saw messages from my group.

         Overall, the internet is written in pen and not pencil. Think before you post because nothing ever goes away once it is posted online. I practice online safety by covering my web camera on my laptop. I once saw a movie that dealt with spies and technology. The movie showed how the web camera on laptops or computers could be hacked and people can view whatever you are doing through their side of the screen, which scared me greatly. Ever since then, I prefer to cover my camera with a sticker just to be safe. Lastly, I just want to reiterate that the internet is not always negative. I love the internet. The web hold a lot of great information and tools that I love to use, like for class presentations or if I just want to watch movies on my spare time. The internet is amazing, but as users enjoy their time online, it is good practice to be aware on internet safety.

References:

Brandt, M. (2016). References services for children and young adults. Reference and 
           Information Services: An Introduction. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.


Scheff, S. (2014). Online safety: What does it mean to you?. Huffingtonpost. Retrieved 
           from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/sue-scheff/online-safety-what-does-
           i_b_6179918.html

Stim, R. (2010). Getting permission: Using & licensing copyright-protected materials 
           online & off. USA, NOLO Trademark.