Internet Saftey

In my current classroom, the students do not have loads of time on the internet. When they do, their access is somewhat limited. I am not certain on the restrictions set up on the computers. We only have two in the classroom, but there is a large group of computers in the hallway. The students in my class will sometimes have access to go on and play educational games as an optional or rotational activity.

There are rare occasions when the class has supervised time in the computer lab to work on stories or projects. I have never been observing during this time, so I do not know the rules or regulations, but regardless of safety precautions, there are still dangers when a class full of young students have access to the world wide web.

One safety concern, would be that a child would enter a site and give personal information to a stranger. This is very dangerous for the specific student who gives out the information as well as his/her peers since we do not know who he/she is truly communicating with. Another concern would be that students would accidentally stumble across bad websites. What is restricted? Are there blockers set-up? What should be blocked on a computer for young elementary students? These are all very good questions that I feel the administration of a school should agree upon so the students experience consistency in terms of internet safety standards.

Being aware of the concerns present when accessing the internet, teachers can be proactive and create an atmosphere that is safe and will create a effective learning environment.