There are many reasons that privacy policies and technology policies exist in our schools including protecting our students from cyber bullying and allowing them to surf safely without being lured in to scams, but there are also positive things like exposing them to equipment that they will see in the real world and allowing them to explore their minds in a way not otherwise possible. One of my fellow classmates gives a real life example of how these policies have affected her and what she thinks about their purpose:
For an example about why they exist, I am using my high school. I was the editor of our yearbook, which meant I was able to use a different computer than everyone else so I could research different ideas and different businesses to see if they wanted to buy ads. Even though I was given certain permissions, I still had limited access on the internet. I think it is important to have regulations and policies because as a teacher, we only want our students to see positive things and do not want to show them some of the evil things that are in the world. I also think it is important because depending on what grade level you teach, you only want to show a certain amount of information about the topic you are trying to research. An example of this is if a fourth grade class is researching the terrorist attack on 9/11, you do not want them to see all of the gory pictures or the articles about the different conspiracies. However, you could probably show a high school class these things.
H. Hendrick
On a similar note, another one of my classmates had this experience in her life and, in turn, finds these effects on our future careers to be expected:
How this will effect our jobs in future is that as teachers we need to always have in mind that we need to always stay up to date with the regulations our district has set for technology and use what they have to offer our classrooms. When we were in school being able to bring your own device to school and have it out to use was not heard of and things are changing.
Privacy should always be a first priority in the classroom. In another class I have we had administrator come in and talk with us about privacy for our placement in a middle school. They way she put it was don't share any descriptive details about a student that could have them singled out if an outsider where to come in and try to figure out which student you had been talking about. Also she said that as teachers we don't have the write to use our students picture without the consent of their parents.
L. Yates
FERPA (or Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) has a webpage that provided a complete break down of the rights held by students, parents, educators, and why they are important. One thing that one we found to be interesting was the explicit inclusion of parental rights and when they expire:
"FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."" (http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html)
When you think about it though, these rights do make sense. Until a person becomes of age (18 y.o.), they are under the supervision of their parents. Even at the high school level, parents play a HUGE role in the behavior of their child and how they view the world. Keeping parents included is to be expected and encouraged.
For more ideas about how a teacher can begin educating their students on internet safety, here is a wonderful link: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/11/11/10-ways-schools-are-teaching-internet-safety/
For an example about why they exist, I am using my high school. I was the editor of our yearbook, which meant I was able to use a different computer than everyone else so I could research different ideas and different businesses to see if they wanted to buy ads. Even though I was given certain permissions, I still had limited access on the internet. I think it is important to have regulations and policies because as a teacher, we only want our students to see positive things and do not want to show them some of the evil things that are in the world. I also think it is important because depending on what grade level you teach, you only want to show a certain amount of information about the topic you are trying to research. An example of this is if a fourth grade class is researching the terrorist attack on 9/11, you do not want them to see all of the gory pictures or the articles about the different conspiracies. However, you could probably show a high school class these things.
H. Hendrick
On a similar note, another one of my classmates had this experience in her life and, in turn, finds these effects on our future careers to be expected:
How this will effect our jobs in future is that as teachers we need to always have in mind that we need to always stay up to date with the regulations our district has set for technology and use what they have to offer our classrooms. When we were in school being able to bring your own device to school and have it out to use was not heard of and things are changing.
Privacy should always be a first priority in the classroom. In another class I have we had administrator come in and talk with us about privacy for our placement in a middle school. They way she put it was don't share any descriptive details about a student that could have them singled out if an outsider where to come in and try to figure out which student you had been talking about. Also she said that as teachers we don't have the write to use our students picture without the consent of their parents.
L. Yates
FERPA (or Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) has a webpage that provided a complete break down of the rights held by students, parents, educators, and why they are important. One thing that one we found to be interesting was the explicit inclusion of parental rights and when they expire:
"FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."" (http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html)
When you think about it though, these rights do make sense. Until a person becomes of age (18 y.o.), they are under the supervision of their parents. Even at the high school level, parents play a HUGE role in the behavior of their child and how they view the world. Keeping parents included is to be expected and encouraged.
For more ideas about how a teacher can begin educating their students on internet safety, here is a wonderful link: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/11/11/10-ways-schools-are-teaching-internet-safety/