REFLECTIONS ON INTEGRATING THE INTERNET SAFELY

AND ETHICALLY

Linda Long

IDT 7064

Fall 2014

PERSONAL PRACTICES OF USING THE INTERNET

My Internet experiences have come late in life. I

did not grow up with the technology that our kids

are using today, so in essence the learning process

has been somewhat difficult. The world has also

become a much more dangerous place to live in than

when I was a child. I don’t have any small children

whom I have to monitor while on the Internet, but

after the readings this week, I can see where it

would be very difficult for a parent trying to raise a

child these days.

PERSONAL PRACTICES OF USING THE INTERNET

When my children were little, the Internet was just beginning

and schools did not have access to all of the technology that they

do today. My children did not have cell phones until they were

15 or 16 years old, and there certainly were not any smart

phones. Children today are getting these smart phones as early

as 8 & 9 years old. I did not have a cell phone until I was about

30 years old, and it was just a year ago that I bought a smart

phone. I have always had just a regular flip-phone which did not

allow access to the Internet.

My experiences with the Internet has been mainly just looking up

information through Google, viewing my Facebook, Internet banking,

and email. I have to admit, there are parts of the Internet that has

made life a little easier. One, I can look at my bank account any time

that I want. If I need to transfer money or see if a check has cleared,

it is readily available. I also like to go on my Facebook and look at all

of my friend’s pictures. I have also found friends which I have not

seen or talked to in many years. I use Google as my search engine

because it offers so many other tools that are great for my classes. I

have experienced some problems with the Internet. Once a girl in my

office opened an email which was supposed to be from UPS, well of a

sudden, everything on my computer started disappearing. I found

out that it was a Trojan virus and it ate everything on my computer

before I could get it stopped. Needless to say, that was a hard lesson

learned. Always be careful what you open on your computer.

PRACTICES FOR SAFETY

With the dangers on the Internet today, parents, teachers, and

administrators must take responsibility for what our kids are able

to access from the Internet. I believe that we must use the best

filtering or blocking software that is available. Our children

should be taught to never give out their personal information over

the Internet. We also need to set up rules and guidelines for the

students and be prepared to punish the ones who cannot obey

them. I personally believe that limiting our children’s time on the

Internet is just as important. Kids ,nowadays, walk around with

cell phones glued to their hands. Most of them can text faster

than they can talk.

I also believe that parents need to be educated on what the possible

dangers are from using the Internet. Some parents just do not have a

clue as to what dangers are out there just waiting on their children. For

instance, three young girls were just caught in Germany after they left

their homes in Denver to join the terrorist group ISIS. The parents did

not have any idea that their children were gone until the principal called

one of the dads and told him that his daughter was late to school. The

dad called her cell phone only to be told that she was on her way to school

but was just running late. However, after discovering that two of her

friends were missing as .well, the father began looking for his daughter’s

passport and it was gone. When he checked with the other two families,

he discovered that their passports were missing also along with

$2,000.00 dollars. The parents notified the FBI and that is how their

daughters were caught in Germany. Parents should learn from this near

tragic incident and pay attention to what their kids are doing.

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

I am not currently in a school system, so I have

decided to use the Jackson Madison County School

system acceptable use policy. The website states the

following: “(JMCSS) recognizes that access to

technology in school gives students greater

opportunities to learn, engage, communicate, and

develop skills that will prepare them for work, life,

and citizenship. We are committed to helping

students develop 21st-century technology and

communication skills.”

The JMCSS has guidelines that teachers and students must adhere to:

The JMCSS network is intended for educational purposes.

All activity over the network or using district technologies may be monitored

and retained.

Access to online content via the network may be restricted in accordance

with our policies and federal regulations, such as the Children’s Internet

Protection Act (CIPA).

Students are expected to follow the same rules for good behavior and

respectful conduct online as offline.

Misuse of school resources can result in disciplinary action.

JMCSS makes a reasonable effort to ensure students’ safety and security

online, but will not be held accountable for any harm or damages that result

from use of school technologies.

Users of the district network or other technologies are expected to alert

Technology staff immediately of any concerns for safety or security.

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

The school system covers most of the areas when it comes to

using the Internet or technology in the classroom. The parents

and students have to sign an agreement stating that they will

abide by the rules and are aware of the consequences if they do

not. A list of possible punishments include:

Suspension of network, technology, or computer privileges

Notification to parents

Detention or suspension from school and school-related activities

Legal action and/or prosecution

CRITIQUE JMCSS

The JMCSS has covered the basics of using the Internet

and technology in the classroom. The website covers the

major components of Web Access, Email, Social/Web 2.0,

Mobile Devices Policy, Personally-Owned Devices Policy,

Security, Downloads, Netiquette, Plagiarism, Personal

Safety, and Cyberbullying. The website list 11 things that

the students cannot do when using the Internet or any of

these technologies. JMCSS makes it very clear that they

will not be held responsible for any situations which could

arise from the students using the Internet or technologies

from the Internet.

CRITIQUE JMCSS

I think JMCSS has done a very good job with their

acceptable use policy. The students and the parents

know exactly what is expected of them, and what will

happen if the students break any of the rules. The

only subject that this school system did not cover is

that some published website may not be true and

people online may not be who they seem to be. I

think the students need to be aware of these two

subjects as well.

STANDARD OF ETHICS

I’m not currently teaching at this time, so I will

explain what I did when I was teaching Developing

Reading at Lambuth University. When I asked my

student’s to do research, I would have them search

the databases on the Lambuth Library site. These

documents usually ended with a .edu which meant

that the source was reliable. I also encouraged them

to use .gov and .org endings because theses were

government websites and reliable also.

STANDARD OF ETHICS

There are a number of websites that a teacher can use to check

for plagiarism. www.plagiarism.org is a great website to use for

checking for plagiarism. Plagiarism Checker at

www.grammarly.com is another great website for students and

teachers to ensure that the quality of the students work is what is

expected. As far as the copyright law, images, videos, and such,

I usually encourage my students to look for technology tools that

are free. So many websites charge a fee but many of them will

give a student the basic service for free.

ANALYZE

The main thing that a teacher has to emphasize to her

students is that academic dishonesty can get a student

kicked out of school and could keep them our of college

permanently. When I was in school, we did not have to

worry about plagiarism that much. All we had was

reference books, encyclopedias, and newspapers or

journals. Today these kids have a wealth of knowledge at

their fingertips, and it is very important for them to learn

what to cite and what is not necessary to cite.

ANALYZE

According to the Academic Integrity website, the

best way to keep academic honesty is to check with

professors about their expectations for citing

sources, read the syllabus and assignment

instructions carefully, ask your professor for

permission before you share your work, plan ahead,

and make smart decisions like doing your own work,

diligently studying for exams, and writing your own

essays.

SYNTHESIZE

I think it is important to incorporate lesson on plagiarism.

Many times the professor or teacher just assumes that the

student knows what that word means, but doesn’t actually

understand the full concept of it. When I started to college, I

understood what it meant but I did not realize that you had to

put citations within your papers. I though by doing a reference

list was all that was required of students. I would start my class

by having my students write a paper on plagiarism. Then there

would be a class discussion on the importance of academic

honesty.

SYNTHESIZE

I also believe that the lesson on plagiarism should

not end after the first few days of school. That is

exactly what happens in college, and these kids just

don’t understand it. I would continue to incorporate

lessons on academic dishonesty until I felt like every

student had grasped the concept. And, I don’t think

this should be done strictly in a Freshman English

class. All the other classes which require students to

write papers should teach lessons about plagiarism.

REFERENCESBrumfield, B. (2014) Officials: 3 Denver girls played hooky

from school and tried to join ISIS. CNN News. Web.

Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/22/us/colorado-teens

syria-odyssey/

Jackson Madison County School System. (2011). Acceptable

Use Policy. Web. Retrieved from http://images.pcmac.org/SiSFiles/Schools/TN/JacksonMadisonCounty/No

rtheastMiddle/Uploads/Forms/JMCSS%20Acceptable%20Use%20Policy.pdf

Mills, S.C. (2006). Using the Internet for active teaching and

learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill

Prentice Hall. ISBN 10: 0131105469.

REFERENCES

University of Illinois Springfield. (2014). Academic

Integrity.

Web. Retrieved from http

://www.uis.edu/academicintegrity/students/integrity/