This short essay is for one of my online classes, Issues and Trends in Educational Computing. The focus on this unit is on Internet safety in my teaching context. A few websites and resources were given to students, from which we were to surmise some themes and work toward answering these three questions:
- Which aspects of WEB safety are of most concern in your teaching institution?
- How do teachers better effect positive change in students who routinely access knowledge and fact through the use of computer and when conveying information?
- What is a useful method that could improve the handling of WEB safety or the values (ala text readings) in your profession and in your school?
Here are my answers:
1. Which aspects of WEB safety are of most concern in your teaching institution?
While I assumed that phishing and online bullying would be concerns for my students, when asked, they had different answers. One cited loss of control over who sees their personal information on social networking websites. Another was worried about viruses and only viruses, while a third responded that he was concerned about hackers breaking into unsecured servers and accessing their personal data. This third student cited several instances over the past few years in which hackers breached security measures and stole the personal information of two thirds of the population (35 of 50 million people). Because until recently, Korean law demanded real-name identification to register for a website, which included the use of citizens’ personal identity numbers, this was a massive breach. This student was concerned that his identity could then be used to access websites that he himself would not use, and gave adult video websites as an example.
The students in school today are referred to as “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001), Selwyn (2009) notes that proponents of this idea may be short-selling the dangers this always-on generation faces, both to their person and their intellect. In addition to the physical, social and sexual harm that may come from unfettered, unguided access to the Internet, students may also suffer from a “dumbing-down” that results from how they interact with information (Selwyn). To this end, determining the quality of information found online is a skill students may not have unless they have previously learnt it. Selwyn goes on to note that students, far from being digital natives, constructing their reality in digital form, are more passive consumers of entertainment rather than active in the creation of content. All of these play into the issues students bring with them in their access to information on the Internet that teachers can assist with.
2. How do teachers better effect positive change in students who routinely access knowledge and fact through the use of computer and when conveying information?
Keeping in mind the concerns of their students, it is important for teachers to evaluate the technology they require their students to use. For my situation, ensuring that the terms of service and privacy structures of the website, service or software do not violate the rights of their students to personal privacy and safety. Whereas my students are ESL/EFL students and often struggle with simple registration processes in the use of online technology, they cannot be expected to read, let alone understand the Terms of Service they agree to when they register. Additionally, if they are required to participate in class via this medium, then the onus is even more heavily on the teacher or administration to ensure their students are protected; if the online work is a required part of the students’ grades, the power in the relationship is entirely in the hands of the teachers and thus their responsibility to manage ethically.
Part of effecting the change is to help students learn how to be safe, smart digital citizens. We as teachers need to be cautious to scaffold appropriately and not assume students are able to do things that they have not yet learned to do. Online and blended learning software, such as the Moodle LMS, lean heavily on constructivist pedagogy (Foster, 2012), but if the generation is accustomed to consumption over production, there may be a gap between how students expect to use the Internet and how their teachers envision their engagement (Selwyn, 2009). This includes how to protect their own safety and privacy when engaging with the Internet and online services. Working with students to raise their knowledge and awareness of safety and processes online is a necessary responsibility for teachers at all levels. Additionally, it is important to teach students the same critical thinking required to establish the authority of a source, be it on the internet or in an analogue or other format.
Teaching these kinds of personal and social responsibility will better prepare students to be safe, healthy and smart digital citizens of the future, native or otherwise.
3. What is a useful method that could improve the handling of WEB safety or the values (ala text readings) in your profession and in your school?
My school has, along with others across the country, jumped on the blended learning wagon. While I am not privy to every discussion and decision, it does not appear that much attention has been given to any of the student needs listed above. Rather, it appears that the decision to engage in blended learning has been more for the reputation of the school than for the educational benefit of the students.
To improve, there are many things that could be done. First, a new course in digital citizenry should be developed. It doesn’t need to be for credit or last a full semester, but an introductory semester covering online research, responsibility, safety and other concerns could greatly benefit the students. Secondly, greater concern with finding technology that does not present barriers to student learning with technical glitches abounding. Anecdotally, I probably spend as much time managing and troubleshooting technology with my students as I do assisting them with the content of the course.
Finally, it may be of greatest benefit for the school to find an in-house solution for their educational needs, rather than relying on outside providers. These outside providers do not have our students’ best educational interests at heart, and do not create products (and they are for sale, and as such are truly products) that specifically meet the needs of our students at our school. Rather, this product is intended to be as broadly applicable as possible to obtain the greatest return on investment possible.
As a teacher, I need to ensure my students have true understanding of how to use the technology requirements of the course. As I am working in a second language with them (either theirs, or mine when I engage them in their L1), many details get lost in translation. I have set them up for on-demand help from me via phone chats, which they use regularly. Having patience when things go wrong, providing extra help when the technology fails, and being prepared to extend deadlines as per the cultural norms all play into success with the students. I’m honestly not sure if the language or the technology is a greater hurdle for my students; I wish neither were the case.
References
Foster, H. (2 February 2012). Moodle Documentation: Philosophy. Retrieved from http://docs.moodle.org/23/en/Philosophy
McCurry, J. (2010, July 13). Internet addiction driving South Koreans into realms of fantasy. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/13/internet-addiction-south-korea
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Innovate: Online Journal of Online Education, 5(3). Retrieved from http://www.innovateonline.info/pdf/vol5_issue3/H._Sapiens_Digital-__From_Digital_Immigrants_and_Digital_Natives_to_Digital_Wisdom.pdf
Selwyn, N. (2009). The digital native – myth and reality. Aslib Proceedings, 61(4), 364–379. doi:10.1108/00012530910973776
Yonhap News Service (2012, July 22). High-speed wireless internet distribution tops 100%. The Korea Times. Retrieved from http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2012/07/123_115610.html
