A search of internet ethics for students provides a slue of information that is both informative and a times a bit overwhelming. The thought of teaching class alone, for an up and coming teacher is a big undertaking in and of itself. Now with technology growing in leaps and bounds, and computers being the choice device for communication, teachers must include computer ethics to the list of highly important topics students must learn. That being said, the sites I reviewed pointed out the importance of understanding the ethical issues students are facing today. We must first understand, if we are to teach! I feel the following site reviews were informative for any teacher, parent, or adult trying to teach students or kids how to use the internet safely.
On the website, https://study.com/, one of the major points made was how important it is to teach internet ethics to students in much the same fashion as you do manners. Teachers need to take the time to teach these ethics in a face to face manner to make sure students are able to understand without the distraction of their computer. The biggest ethical issues of concern to students are academic honesty, electronic communications, cyberbullying and confidentiality. As stated in the ISTE standards we need to take the time to teach are students acceptable internet behavior and teach them how to engage safely and appropriately when on the internet. It is of utmost importance that we take the time to outline the rules for using technology and take the time to explain why these rules are needed. Teachers need to create clear boundaries for computer use in the classroom.
In an article on http://www.educationworld.com about proper internet use, Jerry Crystal, a technology coordinator at Carmen Arace Middle School in Connecticut, discusses how all teachers need to provide lessons on ethical computer use. As he sees it there does not need to be a separate curriculum on cyber ethics, but rather cyber ethics need to be embedded in with teaching. This to me is an important point as we are moving to classroom where technology is used throughout the day in all classes. He states that the best defense to misuse is to create a culture that incorporates proper technology use. He further suggested that we need to make sure we make the issues relevant to our students and make the issues true to life. We, as teachers, can not expect students to understand the importance of ethical technology use without making it pertinent to them. As teachers we cannot protect students from all evils on the internet, but we can instill in them the understanding and knowledge to use the internet safely.
Resources
https://study.com/blog/ethical-issues-with-using-technology-in-the-classroom.html
Mandy’s Rant 