Technology ePortfolio

           Throughout the ED609 course I postponed using a website builder as a way to display my assignments. For example, it would have been really nice if I had created a website to display my ASSURE Multimedia Lesson Plan, but instead I resorted to posting it on this blog. Knowing that I did not have much time to complete assignments as I was taking two summer classes and that I am a perfectionist when it comes to formatting (PowerPoint presentations, creating movies in iMovie), creating a website would have been a time consuming, overwhelming task that I was not yet prepared for. It was especially daunting as I had never created a website before; simply choosing a template was difficult enough for me! As my ePortfolio assignment required that I build a website, I thought it would be best to save this learning experience for this particular assignment. After 19 hours of working on my ePortfolio website, starting at 12pm on Sunday afternoon, then pulling an all-nighter and not sleeping until the next morning at 8am, I am proud to say that my Technology ePortfolio is the best that I could possibly imagine it to be. I welcome you to view and peruse my website by clicking on the following link: 

Katrina Quinata - Technology ePortfolio

Importance of Online Safety

          More and more children at younger and younger ages are being exposed to the World Wide Web and its immense amount of information and tools. In a survey that asked participants what Internet devices they used most often, smart phones, tablets and laptops ranked highest among young people (Bridgestock, 2013). From YouTube to Instagram to a web browser on a smartphone, tablet or laptop, accessing the Internet has become second nature to this next generation of students. Although being knowledgeable and capable of navigating through such technology tools are necessary skills for this day and age’s reliance on technology, the familiarity can cause students to be unaware of certain dangers when using the Internet. Students should be educated of certain dangers on the Internet through appropriately chosen discussion and integration of their school’s classroom.
          When on the Internet students can be both the victim as well as the offender of online dangers. Online dangers students need to be aware of include the Fair Use Policy (FUP), Copyright Law, cyber bullying, textual harassment, sexting, pharming and phishing. It is important for students to know about the FUP and Copyright Law as everything on the Internet can easily be downloaded, saved, modified, copied, pasted, uploaded and shared without the proper permission or credit given where due. It is important for students to know the definition, laws and consequences of cyber bullying, textual harassment and sexting as they can play the role of the bully or the victim. It is important for students to know about phishing and pharming as students learn just how informative they should be of personal information and how to validate a website.
          In terms of the FUP and Copyright Law, students are so accustomed to right clicking, saving, highlighting, copying and pasting work on the Internet without giving a second thought about whose work they are using. As students use the Internet more and more as their research tool than an actual library and are being required to do research and presentations, it is important they understand that information on the Internet is the intellectual property of someone somewhere in the world. Just the same way taking something physical from someone else is wrong, taking someone else’s literary works, musical works, dramatic works, choreographic works, pantomimes works, pictorial works, graphical works, sculptural works, motion pictures, other audiovisual works, sound recordings or architectural works from the Internet is just as wrong (U.S. Copyright Law, 2011). Just as teaching students how to cite is important, students should also be taught how to ask for permission when wanting to use something found on the Internet or know when it is acceptable and how to use it without asking for permission.
          With the introduction of the Internet and mobile devices, name calling and teasing that was once isolated to a school courtyard has transformed to name calling and teasing on social media sites and through text messages. With cyber bullying, textual harassment, and sexting, victims have no way of escaping their torment as it follows them home. Bullies may not understand that by putting their hurtful words and posts in digital writing that can go viral so quickly and last forever, can have a more devastating effect on their victims than a name calling in the hallway. Students need to know when they are being bullied or when they are bullying so that both individuals of the situation can receive the necessary help they need.
          In regards to phishing and pharming, students may not be the main targets of such a danger online, but it is always safer for students to be informed. The knowledge they learn in school can be brought home to educate their parents who might not be as technologically educated. The generation of kids today is considered to be in an “over sharing” mode with their constant updates of locations, activities, and interests. Also, with almost everything and anything being purchasable online, it is quite probable that students are borrowing parents’ credit cards to make such purchases. Being too giving of personal information and not being careful if websites are valid when making a payment can place these students in danger of being a victim of identity theft. By being informed of what phishing and pharming are, students can avoid such a danger.
          With all these online dangers, the integration of technology in the classroom is ever important to serve as an opportunity of discussion. To focus on the danger of sexting amongst our students, a possible lesson in a mathematics classroom could include students taking a poll of how many of their peers know what sexting is, creating and analyzing a bar graph that includes variables such as gender and grade, and researching the topic using an electronic device and laptop. I could introduce the poll using an online survey of their responses and demonstrate how to create and analyze a bar graph based on their data using the technology tools they would use. Although middle school students might be considered young for such a discussion, I believe it is better for them to be informed of such a danger before rather than after, especially with the extent of the consequences.
          As students and classrooms increase their use of technology and the Internet, it is increasingly important that teachers discuss the dangers of online behavior whenever integrating technology in the classroom. As educators we must model the behavior we expect from our students, both in class and online. As much as possible while still teaching our content, educators must teach their students about how to ask for permission before taking what is not theirs, to do onto others as they would want them do onto them, and to not be too forthcoming with personal information when online. By doing so, educators are helping to develop their students in being more knowledgeable navigators and consumers of the World Wide Web.

References 

Bridgestock, L. (2013, April 24). Most popular Internet devices for students [Web log post].
          Retrieved from http://www.topuniversities.com/blog/most-popular-internet-devices-students
U.S. Copyright Law, 17 U.S.C. §102 (2011). Retrieved from http://www.copyright.gov/title17
          /92chap1.html#102

Note: Images are Public Domain

Technical Katrina