Although the internet presents
innumerable opportunities to transform learning and provides a veritable
treasure trove of information, it also poses legal, ethical and safety issues.
As in so many other areas of
teaching, I think the best outcomes are achieved through a two-pronged approach
where the teacher models appropriate behaviour as well as explicitly teaches students how to behave appropriately online.
Legal/Ethical Issues
As in most other arenas, the
internet is subject to legal restrictions on the publication, use
and sharing of materials. Normal copyright restrictions apply online and permission
should be sought to use copyright restricted material.
While working online, it is
important to evidence due consideration for the intellectual copyright of
others by referencing appropriately.
Students and their privacy are
protected under the Child Protection Act 1999. The policy/guidelines of
the individual school and Education Queensland should be adhered to. As a
teacher, it is important to be mindful of the ethical implications of sharing
information online. In particular, teachers should be conscious of obtaining
parental and student consent before identifying students by name online or
publishing photographs.
In order to
meet their ‘duty of care’, teachers must exercise the degree of skill and care
which a reasonable teacher in the same situation would exercise to care for,
control and supervise young people (Queensland Teachers Union, 2011).
Safety Issues
The website of the Queensland
Department of Education, Training and Employment provides a number of
guidelines and resources relating to cybersafety.
There are
several safety issues associated with online environments (e.g. physical
danger, cyber bullying, exposure to offensive, violent, illegal or
age-inappropriate material, privacy). Unfortunately, children tend to be
particularly at risk, due to their inexperience, naivity and immaturity.
As a
teacher I think it is important to:
- model safe behaviour to children when establishing and/or working in online environments (use of avatars instead of student photos, use of nickname or first name only, no personal information;
- make children aware of online safety issues;
- establish procedures/practices to facilitate safe use of the internet at school (e.g. students working in pairs to monitor each other’s internet use, report suspicious or inappropriate behaviour to teachers); and
- suggest procedures/practices to facilitate safe use of the internet in out-of-school environments (e.g. internet filters, report suspicious or inappropriate behaviour to parents).
There
are a vast array of resources available to raise awareness about cybersafety.
Some examples include:
- NetAlert; and
- Internet Industry Australia’s codes of practice.
I think it’s important (particularly with young children) to strike a balance between raising
awareness about the potential dangers associated with the internet and creating
unncessary fear. Those resources which use familiar genres (e.g. online
videos/games) to teach cybersafety lessons are especially useful in this context.
References
Queensland
Teachers Union (2011). Teachers’ liability in negligence to students – Queensland
Government schools, April 11. Retrieved from www.qtu.asn.au/index.php/download_file/view/558/506/
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