Despite the improved filters of today students still need instruction on internet safety. Filters are imperfect and students will still stumble upon inappropriate content now and then. We need to teach students responsible and appropriate internet use and common sense (Richardson, 2010). They need to know how to react appropriately by closing the window and reporting it to the teacher. With the increased use of social websites and email accounts being used by minors, new threats have arisen. Cyberbullying, risks to individual privacy, untruthful solicitations, spyware, and viruses are concerns that need to be discussed (Moreno, 2013). Students are setting up email accounts with no knowledge of how to spot potentially harmful messages, ones that could give strangers personal information which could be used to rob or otherwise hurt the students. They may unwittingly open messages which could destroy their computers and send this destruction to all their contacts.
Schools need to be especially vigilant in protecting the identity of their students. In our district, every student is required to have parental permission before their images can be put on the web. Internet permission forms must be signed by both the students and parents before they are allowed a personal login on our network. In the early grades, teachers may need to preview every search or website before allowing students to use it. Steps can be taken to protect individual privacy: pseudonyms, numbers, or first names only can be substituted for the student full name (Richardson, 2010). Avatars can be created in place of photos.
There is some debate as to when students should be allowed unfiltered access to the internet. CIPA mandates the filters remain in place through high school, but Yan (2009) conducted a study comparing internet use among high school students who had the CIPA filters in place at school, but not at home, and college students who had no filters. This survey study revealed that most high school students did not have filters in place at home and that CIPA had little influence on student knowledge of internet safety. The survey showed that a small percentage of teachers actually taught internet safety to their students which is a concern for every parent and educator.
References
Moreno, M. A., Egan, K. G., Bare, K., Young, H. N., & Cox, E. D. (2013). Internet safety education for youth: stakeholder perspectives. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-6. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-543
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Yan, Z. (2009). Differences in high school and college students' basic knowledge and perceived education of Internet safety: Do high school students really benefit from the Children's Internet Protection Act?. Journal Of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30(3), 209-217. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2008.10.007