Online Safety and Your Responsibilites

Online safety is a very important issue not only as an individual, but as a teacher. It is our responsibility to educate our students to be responsible citizens, and part of that is being aware of our surroundings and making changes as necessary. Our Technology Applications for Educators course looked at four topics: Fair User Practices (FUP) and Copyright Issues, Cyberbullying, Textual Harrassent and Sexting and Pharming and Phishing. In such the correlation is the responsible usage of technology. Looking at all four of these topics it was evident that the lesson for the class was online safety and establishing a responsible online presence. By analyzing each component separately we were able to study each subject in depth and piece together our own thoughts and opinions on the matter while relying on peer reviewed data to support our theories. All the topics were great and I would include the Digital Safety and Privacy as originally planned as well, however one aspect I would be sure to incorporate was the ramifications of all these topics as adolescents tend to not take information in unless they understand how they will be affected by it.

When it comes time to teach my students this information as a social studies teacher I think that I will utilize a similar method, grouping the class in a random order and having them do research and present upon the topic. I would have them utilize differing methods of digital technology to present and no group could use a different groups platform. (One thing that we ran into as a group when creating this presentation was the lack of physical interaction, therefore we utilized Google Apps to collaborate, therefore I think it's important for students to find some means of online collaboration to utilize) Once presentations are complete I would have them also write a reflection both explaining the importance of being responsible online but summarizing the issues as I have done below. I have had a fantastic experience with this assignment and I have learned a lot, I have offered a recap on the information I have learned on each topic below while utilizing the presentations of the groups to enhance my written piece. I hope you enjoy.

Copyright Issues and FUP: 

Copyright Issues and FUP are prevalent within the education system. Many teacher's don't know that they are violating aspects of the law by passing out information the way that they are. According to the United States government, "Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works" ("Copyright in General (FAQ) | U.S. Copyright Office") Therefore, as educators we should be cognizant of what information we disseminate to our students, whether it's a book, worksheet, pictures, etc. they are covered under copyright and as such we should respect the law and educate our students on the matter. However, as educators we are able to utilize certain portions and amounts of copyrighted works for educational purposes. According to Stim (2010), "fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work" (Stim, "What Is Fair Use?"). Therefore we as educators can utilize copyrighted works but in a limited capacity, ensuring that it meets the balanced application of the four criteria as outlined by the Copyright Advisory Office:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. ("What Is Fair Use?")

Once we have established that these criteria have been met we are free to utilize the work. 

Cyberbullying:

Cyberbullying has been on the rise over the years and has had an increasing presence in the classroom. As teacher's we need to be on the look out for signs that our students are either the aggressor or the victim of such activities. According to Menensini (2012), cyberbullying is the:

[v]oluntary and repeated assaults against a person through electronic means. These attacks can be: offensive e-mails or text messages; insults through chat rooms or instant messaging; photos or videos on mobile or web; exclusion from social networks or appropriation of others’ credentials or identity information” (Menesini, 2012, p.163)

There are many types of cyberbullying and women have a statistical higher chance to be the aggressor in this instance of bullying than males. The differing forms of cyberbullying according to Cowie (2013) are:  Flaming, Harrassment, Cyberstalking, Denigration, Masquerading, Outing, and Exclusion.  As educators we need to adopt a policy of educating not only our students but their parents as well on the effects of cyberbullying, and according to Poland (2010), we should implement the following strategies to combat cyberbullying in our schools:

1. Clearly define cyberbullying and its consequences in the school handbook
2. Provide training to all school staff and parents about cyberbullying
3. Encourage students not to forward cyberbullying messages but instead support the victim
4. Develop a school violence and anti-bullying contract or pledge that applies to both in-school and outside behavior
5. Restrict students’ use of cell phones and other electronic devices while at school (Poland, 2010, p. 55)

Should we adopt these policies and be on the lookout we can effectively combat cyberbullying in our classrooms, school, and society. 

Textual Harrassment & Sexting:

Textual Harassment is the unwanted or unsolicited  receipt of text messaging from parties either known or unknown to the individual. This is increasing in our schools and can be considered a form of cyberbullying. Whereas sexting according to Ringrose (2012) is “the exchange of sexual messages or images and the creating, sharing and forwarding of sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images through mobile devices and the Internet" (Ringrose, 2012). Both of these are concerns as educators because they can be both distracting in the classroom and school environment, but more importantly, they have potentially severe psychological ramifications for the individual involved if they information gets into the hands of the wrong individuals. Like cyberbullying, it is our job as educators to teach our students the ramifications of sexting and textual harassment as well as collaborate with the local community at large to get positive support against this movement.

Pharming & Phishing:  

Pharming and Phishing are two methods of obtaining a users information for malicious intent. According to Intuit, the manufacturers of programs such as Quickbooks and Quicken, phishing is the:

criminal activity that attempts to fraudulently obtain sensitive information. There are several ways a scam artist will try to obtain sensitive information such as your social security number, driver's license, credit card information, or bank account information. Sometimes a scam artist will first send you a benign email (think of this as the bait) to lure you into a conversation and then follow that up with a phishing email. At other times, the scam artist will just send one phishing email ("Phishing, pharming, vishing and smishing").

While they define pharming as "another scam where a hacker installs malicious code on a personal computer or server. This code then redirects clicks you make on a Web site to another fraudulent Web site without your consent or knowledge" ("Phishing, pharming, vishing and smishing"). Both phishing and pharming pose a very large risk in the community and require a large degree of vigilance to remain victim free. One such method to utilize is the KRESV test to see if the link or website is legitimate. We as educators should teach our students and community members methods such as the KRESV test to ensure that we are all safer and more responsible. Victims of pharming and phishing often lose their entire savings and often have little to no protection offered to them as a result. Their lives are often ruined.

Conclusion:

As a social studies educator my students will be spending a lot of time online doing research for papers or projects.Therefore it is important for me to teach my students to have a responsible online presence. With this generation being so technologically dependent it is important they have an accute understanding of not only the risks but the ramifications of actions. I hope that by demonstrating I have a clear understanding of these topics I am able to impart this information to my students next year. I have thoroughly enjoyed this assignment and learned a lot. I don't think anything should be changed in regards to the formatting or delivery when taught next as it was highly effective for me.

I hope you enjoyed reading my Blog, have a wonderful Summer!

References:

Brown, S., Gorman, M., Quinata, K., & Mijares, M. (n.d.). Group D: Textual Harassment & Sexting. Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://textualharassmentandsexting.weebly.com/

Calvo, A., Roepke, W., Mendoza, R., & Billany-Santos, T. (n.d.). Phishing and Pharmin... Retrieved July 5, 2015, from https://www.emaze.com/@ALZTZWFQ/phishing-and-pharming 

Copyright in General (FAQ) | U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.). Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what 

Cowie, H. (2013). Cyberbullying and its impact on young people’s emotional health and well-being. The Psychiatrist, 37(5), 167-170.

Fielder, J., West, D., Barcinas, L., & Quinata, J. (n.d.). Cyberbullying. Retrieved July 5, 2015, from https://app.emaze.com/@ALZFCFFW/cyber-bullying 

Menesini, E., & Spiel, C. (2012). Introduction: Cyberbullying: Development, consequences, risk and protective factors. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 9(2), 163-167. doi:10.1080/17405629.2011.652833

New, M. (2014, October 1). Online Safety. Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/safebasics/internet_safety.html 

Ringrose, J., Gili, R., Livingstone, S., & Harvey, L. (2012).  A Qualitative Study of Children, Young People + ‘Sexting.’  A Report Written for NSPCC, 5-76 NSPCC Study

Phishing, pharming, vishing and smishing. (n.d.). Retrieved July 5, 2015, from https://security.intuit.com/phishing.html

Poland, S. (2010). Cyberbullying continues to challenge educators. District Administration, 46(5), 55.

Soll, E., Macaluso, D., Bascon, M., & Palacios, A. (n.d.). Fair Use Policies (FUP) & Copyright Issues. Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://prezi.com/sjaprf9nd-tr/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share 

Stim, R. (2013, April 4). What Is Fair Use? Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/ 

What Is Fair Use? (n.d.). Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/