Internet Safety

To ensure that my students are safe when using the internet for searches, I would do a mini crash course on how to be safe on the internet. First off I would look into what the schools firewall and protection policy is. Once I have done so, I would also contact the parents before doing web searches to give them information about Internet safety practices I will be going over with the students. I would also include some tips and safety tools for parents to keep in mind while their children are on the Internet at home. I would then ask the students what are some potential dangers of the Internet. E.g. Pedophiles, misleading information, advertisements etc. I would then go into some of the tips and strategies to look for while searching for web sites that may not be good ones. This will also include why it is important to safeguard student identity as well. I would also include a procedure for what to do if they stumble on a bad site, such as close the browser and learn not to click on that link again. Students will probably have some sort of background with the Internet but it is still good to review and put some procedures in line for students to follow so they remain safe. I really like the web quest idea when placing students in front of computers and the Internet for searches. The fact that teachers can select which websites students will access can keep students safe from the pitfalls of the Internet. The main idea in teaching students how to search for information on the Internet is to have students learn what are good websites, what are some signs that students are on the wrong path in the Internet, and how to look at the information appropriately and critically.