To all parents/carers with students in class 8B,
(Alison, 2016)
As I am sure you are well aware, as most of your kids
probably have electronic devices and already surf the internet, but we now live
in a society that is practically run by technology and therefore the internet.
Although the internet is a wonderful tool to source information about anything
and also now with social networking to reach out to friends anyway at any time,
us as a school community (teachers, parents and students) need to be aware of
the downfalls that are associated with it, children are accessing the internet
younger and younger and able to access and share information that might be
misleading or inappropriate. When they are laying on the couch or in their room
a week after they have just received an IPad for their birthday the search
opportunities or what they can say or send to a friend are endless. It is our
job as teachers and parents/carers to educate and train the students on the
crucial fundamentals on using ICT, so they use it safely, responsibly and
ethically.
When the students return from their mid semester break
in pairs they will be asked to research their favorite sportsperson, which will
be put into a blog and then be later presented to the class. To complete this
task the internet is going to be the main source to gather information, but it
will also be used to present the task as they have to display it on a blog. I
value this research task highly as it incorporates PE (sportsperson), English
(speaking/communicating) and ICT (research/blog) all into one task. But the
main focus upon this task is the ICT capability, as this is 1 of the 7 general capabilities
under the newly reformed Australian Curriculum, which is then divided into 5
strands investigating with ICT
Being on the
internet these days often means using some form of social networking, there are
many different forms such as Facebook, Instagram, snapchat and twitter (these
are the main ones). These sites allow for communication between any individuals
or groups of people, you may not even know the person you are speaking to on
the other end. Before commencing the research project I will make the students
look through this website http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/ and encourage you to become familiar with it
as well. This is a great website with many modules for different age groups
based around cyber bullying which is common on social media. Before you can
become experts with the websites here are some quick tips to ensure your
child/children is safe online:
-Tell your child/children to think before they post something online,
making sure it isn’t anything offensive, as taking something down can be a
difficult task in some cases, once something is online it can be permanent
-Make sure their account is private, only certain people are then able
to see their information
-Only let your child accept friend requests/followers under your
supervision as people may not be who they say they are, this will eliminate
strangers (Anon, 2016).
There are many computer hijackers/hackers out there
that try and access the personal information you have stored on your computer,
so not only do you have to make sure that your child is safe online you also
have to make sure your computer is safe too. For this to occur you need to have
a decent idea of how the internet and these hijackers work. Another website
that we will look through in class is https://esafety.gov.au this website doesn’t necessarily have pages
of written information like the first, but it has great hands on learning games
that will give you and your children that understanding once you have played.
Quick links to the resources can be found here. https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/classroom-resources/games-and-quizzes
https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/classroom-resources/budde
Creative commons
CC is an organization we need you and your children to gain a basic
understanding of, as the students will be using other people’s work from online
because it is legally theirs we need to get permission from them to use their
work. This can be a long process at times to get into contact with them. By
incorporating and understanding CC the students are able to access and use
other people’s work from online legally, there is a link below which explains
the different processes and rules associated with CC.
For further videos which cover different areas about
being online if you are a visual learner, please click the link below
Reference List
Alison, M. (2016). [image] Available
at: http://www.allsaints.qld.edu.au/Events/Pages/CYBER-SAFETY.aspx [Accessed 14
Sep. 2016].
Anon, (2016). Parents’ guide to
online safety. [online] Available at:
http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/~/media/Cybersmart/Documents/Documents/Parents_guide_to_online_safety.pdf
[Accessed 14 Sep. 2016].
Australiancurriculum.edu.au. (2016). Home
- The Australian Curriculum v8.2. [online] Available at:
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ [Accessed 9 Sep. 2016].
