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.

REFERENCES

Brumfield, 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/