This is the second installment on digital security in our schools. The first article examined the two factions of thought when it came to implementing digital safety in schools.
Sometimes we look for something new, like an expensive new product, to solve our eLearning security challenges when our first efforts should be focused on the basics, like a highly comprehensive education for the key players involved in digital education. Students, parents, and teachers need to be fully conversant with their digital safety responsibilities.
As our school’s media literacy specialist, I work with students in the library and computer lab. Since I watch each class a few times a week, I find that I am best suited to teach them about their digital responsibility. At the beginning of each year, I brainstorm Internet security concerns with each class (since they differ for each grade). One site that I find very useful is BrainPop.com. They have two internet safety videos, one for younger students and one for older students. The site also contains quizzes, worksheets, and a great internet rules poster that you can build with students and hang in your classroom or computer lab.
I highly recommend that schools incorporate digital safety into their school improvement plans. As educators, we need to be diligent and ahead of the curve when it comes to digital safety; otherwise, we will face some unforeseen incidents in the future.
Here’s another way a school in the US is working to keep its students safe online: http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2009/01/21/03safety.h02.html
