The father's solution? Ban the internet at school. For high school students.
The internet is attractive. Computer screens suck student attention away from a teacher. In a perfect world I would have my lessons structured so well that the students are lead by their own curiosity to discover nuggets of wisdom for themselves. In this flawed world, I have the student close their laptops or I turn off the daisy chain of monitor power cords whenever I need to model an activity.
But banning the internet altogether? There has go to be a better way.
At the Maryland Google in Education summit last June, I go to hear Holly Clark speak. She had a very interesting perspective. She feels that the reason that students rebel against Acceptable Usage Policies and other such rules is because these rules are dictated to them - the students have no choice and are told what to do and what not to do. She feels
Digital citizenship is not a one time discussion. It is an ongoing process that needs to be taught to all grade levels and to all stakeholders. The problem is that things are changing so rapidly that it is difficult for everyone to keep up to date with the trends. Everyone has to be educated and develop an understanding of the role digital citizenship plays in our everyday lives. There is so much that goes into being a digital citizen; from taking photos of others to knowing when it is appropriate to share something online. (Clark, 2013)Clark suggests that the students have a voice in the AUP. If the students have a role in reasoning out why these rules should be in place, the students might be more likely to follow these rules. Clark is also of the opinion that schools should not use content filters, but, instead, should teach the student how to search smart and how to deal with inappropriate items when they appear. I see her point on giving the students a voice, but am not completely sold on doing away with the content filter. Enough sneaks past our best efforts to allow us to teach students how to handle issues without making it an every day occurrence.
I have noticed though, that the students at my school who are the ones who are guilty of the worst transgressions tend to have the parents who say, "Well, you should not have allowed my child to....." The students who get caught in mild transgressions have parents who talk to their child about their behavior. There is only so much a school can do. We encourage kids to be smart and innovative. If we don't (with the parents' help) teach them to also be honest, conscientious and responsible, that innovation will be used in ways that will be less than admirable.
As I read your post I couldn't do anything but laugh! I talked about AUPs as well. Hahahahahaaaaa! I just finished an assignment in EDTC 630 where I had to critique an AUP and in my suggestions I said that the students should have a say in what is included in the AUP, thus giving them a voice. I chose to talk about AUPs because I don't think that we pay enough attention to what they say nor do we teach our students to pay attention either. I even addressed how to help get the information out to parents. I personally feel that in this day and age AUPs should be a lesson at the beginning of the year. I feel that students should really be made aware of the expectations, their responsibility, and the consequences. In the same respect the parents should be informed as well. Even beyond AUPs there should be a discussion on Netiquette. I feel that the two go hand in hand. I agree with the statement posted about digital citizenship and how rapidly things are moving. Because of this we must move just as rapidly. If we are to prepare these students for the world they are about to encounter, then all stakeholders, parents, community, and schools alike must be on the same page and on one accord.
ReplyDeleteUsually the Acceptable Usage Policy sets a base level for Netiquette, doesn't it? It doesn't cover "shouting" or watching tone, but it usually has a start.
DeleteI agree that students should have some say in the acceptable use policies implemented in their schools, but I do emphasize SOME. I believe that this would be more appropriate at the high school level because they are a little more mature and aware of the content and dangers of mis-using technology and putting others at risk. This can include visiting inappropriate sites, cyber bullying, personal use during instruction time, and the list could go on. I do believe that students are becoming aware of content that is out there at younger ages, but can these students process the dangers? I know at my school, which is elementary level, parents are given an AUP paper to sign with their child and return back to school and I'm certain there are parents that just sign the paper and do not discuss the expectations and policies with their child/children before signing the paper and turning it in.
ReplyDeleteI can recall last year when I taught third grade some students were logging on to Twitter in the computer lab and tweeting one another when they were suppose to be working on their science project. I told them they were breaking the rules of using the computers and one of them said "I didn't know we couldn't get on Twitter." So when I showed the signed paper with their names, most of them said their parents just told them to sign, but they did not know what was on the paper. I do not think it is a good choice to ban internet use in school, but limitations and expectations should be set and discussed among students at the beginning of each school year.
For the younger students, I really like NetSmartz Kids. I think it provides an easy conduit for talking to kids (although parts have the animated kids acting bratty to strange adults - we have a conversation about how you can be respectful and stand up for yourself at the same time.) I always review the AUP at the beginning of each year and make the joke "This is just review, because I KNOW you all read the whole thing and discussed it with your parents before you signed it. You would NEVER sign something without reading it, right?"
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