Internet Safety

What?-
This week we did an in class assignment on Internet safety. We discussed Internet safety that included topics such as Internet bullying, sexting and other cyber ethics. We also were briefly introduced to a future assignment that will have us produce our own cyber ethics pamphlet.

So What?-
I feel as though this was a very important subject to cover in our class because so much of education is handled and produced through the Internet and using computers. We need to set boundaries and rules for our students so that we can avoid problems and inappropriate behavior on the Internet. I feel like creating a pamphlet for our students and their parents will be very beneficial when it comes to future lab visits. If students know their boundaries and expectations while in the lab, than they cannot pull any excuses on breaking these boundaries and expectations that have been set before hand.

Now What?-
One of my biggest worries as a rookie educator is classroom management and discipline. It is hard to go from a free college classroom to a restricted high school classroom because I just naturally think that students can make good decisions because as college students we are mature and independent... I realize now, after being back in the high school scene, that high school students usually cannot make good decisions on their own. Therefore, since I will be forced to enforce strict rules and babysit my students every decision, I think that thinking through my cyber ethics and lab rules will also set standards for myself as the teacher to follow and only help me to realize how much I need to be alert. Another advantage to having set standards is that it will make our time in the computer lab more productive. If my students spend less time off track and have guidelines to keep them on track during our lab hours, it is only going to make them more effective workers. Even though I am in the classroom now co-teaching, I know that I still need to develop my own classroom rules and management techniques, this is one of the assignments I know I will continue to use and build on throughout my career and those are the assignments I value most.