Though most schools have special filters to keep kids safe when using the Internet, sometimes these filters do not catch every thing. As a classroom teacher, student safety is critical. In the past it was more obvious how to monitor the safety of students in the classroom. Teachers have to ensure that no one acts out, leaves the room, fights or yells, etc., but now with students at a desk and online, it is difficult to monitor their activity and safety online.
Once being a teacher I understand the different malicious attack methods and scams kids can encounter online and the importance in keeping students safe when using the Internet. This means not only knowing about the problems, but also to keep up with new trends as well.
Luckily there are a few websites that are provided for the Internet safety of the child that can also be used as professional development. These sites are actually aimed directly to kids and offer educational information and games about staying safe when online. There are also sites that are aimed at teachers and are concerned only with lesson plans, but there are few that teach teachers about various aspects of technology and also involve online safety.
Educational Technology Clearinghouse is one of the websites that offers teachers integration of technology at various stages. The section on Internet Safety has relevant links and information for teachers that educate them about network, filtering and virus issues affecting the class.
The other site used for the purpose of professional development is A Technology Society. The purpose of this site is to offer a collection of articles and a method to contact technology experts that are concerned with the safe usage of technology and its affect on society. This also includes the explanation of many terms that filter into common language like malware and cloud computing and how this affects the kids.
Teachers can monitor students when they are using the computer in a lab setting, but just keeping an eye on students is not sufficient and hence it is necessary for the teachers to learn about such technologies to help their students and keep them safe.
