Gray, R.

Internet Safety Blog Posting

4.2 Safe, Healthy, Legal & Ethical Use
Candidates model and facilitate the safe, healthy, legal, and ethical uses of digital
information and technologies.
As a future instructional technology coach and an educator who presently implements
technology in the classroom, it is imperative that I model and facilitate the safe, healthy, legal,
and ethical uses of technology. This includes teaching students the correct and wrong way to use
the internet, how to prevent and handle cyberbullying, the dangers of online predators, and the
importance of protecting private information online. I believe internet safety is important for all
students to learn. To insure that all students are actively engaged and all students have been
accommodated, I have developed three strategies for keeping students safe on the internet. These
strategies include using multimedia, role-playing, and teaching the key components of internet
safety through the use of the acronym, the 5Cs. If educators actively engaged students through
the utilization of these three strategies, they can successfully educate students on the importance
of internet safety while cultivating digital responsible citizens.
As an educator, I find that student engagement and achievement increases when
multimedia is used in the classroom. Therefore, one effective strategy for students to learn about
internet safety is using multimedia, such as videos. The website, netsmartz.org , a division of the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Kids, provides multimedia resources for educators, as
well as tips that can be adapted and customized depending on the age group of the student. The
website provides information on everything from gaming, sexting, and how to evaluating internet
sources. Videos, such as the one posted below, provide students with real life scenarios that they
can relate to as students.
Another useful strategy to teach students about internet safety is role-playing. According
to the website, Benefits of Role Play, role-playing is a useful tool to help students learn about
1

Gray, R.
Internet Safety Blog Posting
internet safety because it encourages students to use higher order thinking skills in order to make
good decisions. Educators can use the website SCS Internet Safety to find 29 scenarios on
internet safety. Although these scenarios are for group discussions, the scenarios can be used as
improvisational skits. After each performance, educators can facilitate classroom discussions,
which require students to use critical thinking skills such as comprehension, application, and
analyzation. Through these skills, students demonstrate an understanding of the scenarios by
participating in class discusses, while using supporting evidence for their arguments. Students
must also use past knowledge and experiences to identify with the characters in the scenarios and
successfully perform the scenes. Through synthesis, students can devise or develop a solution to
the problems presented in the scenarios, as well as use evaluation to evaluate the actions of the
characters.
Using critical thinking skills is essential to learning however, every student learns
differently. Therefore, as an educator I find strategies to accommodate every student. One
strategy I have found useful is the use of acronyms. I have developed the 5Cs in order help to
my students retain the information that they have learned. The 5Cs, which include Cautious,
Confidentiality, Communication, Citizenship, and Consequences, are key components to
teaching students about internet safety. These key components should be posted throughout the
classroom and should be addressed often in order to ensure that students stay safe while using the
internet.
When teaching students about internet safety, it is important to remind them to be
cautious. Students should not open emails from people they do not know, visit adult websites, or
use unreliable internet resources. More importantly, students should be cautious of online
predators. The website, Microsoft, provides valuable information that teaches students ways in

Gray, R.
Internet Safety Blog Posting
which online predators find, groom, and convince their victims to meet them offline. As a
precaution, educators are urged to monitor student activity as they use social media in the
classroom and instruct students to use well-monitored chat rooms. Students are encouraged to
never leave a public chat room to talk to anyone privately. Educators should also encourage
students to never release confidential information to strangers online. The website, Kids Rules
for Online Safety, teaches students that their real name, address, phone number, or passwords are
confidential and should never be released.
Kids Rules for Online Safety also teaches students on how to communicate with adults
when they encounter online predators. Although it is important for students to know how to
safely communicate with others online, students must also know how to communicate with
trustworthy adults, offline. If students are being targeted by online predators, have witnessed
illegal online activity, or is experiencing cyberbullying, its important for them to communicate
this information to a trustworthy adult.
Open communication among educators and students is an effective way to protect
students from cyberbullying. Although the website, Stopbullying.org, encourages parent to
establish internet rules, educators can also establish internet rules in their classroom.
Stopbullying.org believes that cyberbullying can be prevented through the proper guidance and
reporting. Educators should encourage students to report cyberbullying without consequences.
Students are also encouraged to report if they are experiencing cyberbullying, have witness
cyberbullying, or are actively participating in cyberbullying to a trustworthy adult.
It is also suggested that in order to prevent and stop Cyberbullying, educators should
teach students how to become productive digital citizens. The website Education.com suggests
that educators teach students Netiquette or internet etiquette, by instructing them to avoided

Gray, R.
Internet Safety Blog Posting
sarcasm, use appropriate language, avoid screaming in all caps, and respect the privacy of others.
Students are also encouraged to avoid posting negative information or pass along negative
information to others.
It is important for students to know that misuse of the internet can lead to serious
consequences. Misuse of the internet while on school grounds, is violation of school policy. The
consequences for doing so, varies for each school district but many include having technology
privileges taken away, as well as disciplinary actions. However, misuse of the internet can also
be criminal, which is a very serious consequence. According to PrevNet, Cyberbullying can be
addressed under civil law or criminal law, based on the situation. Therefore, educators should
encourage students that when they are in doubt about whether to post something, students should
ask themselves, Would I say this to the person face to face?, Would I want someone to post
this information about me?, or Would I like the consequences that I will receive for posting
this information? If the student can answer no to any of these questions, then students should
rethink their actions.
Since internet safety is a vital component to keeping students safe, it is important for me
to find engaging strategies to help them utilize critical thinking skills and retain information long
after they leave my classroom. Through multimedia, role-playing, and the 5Cs, educators can
engage and instruct students to use critical thinking skills while making wise decisions, as well
as facilitate ongoing communication with trustworthy adults about their online activities. If
educators use these strategies, they can not only successfully educate students on the importance
internet safety, but teach them how to become productive digital citizens as well.

Gray, R.
Internet Safety Blog Posting
References
Benefits of role play. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2014, from
http://condor.admin.ccny.cuny.edu/~mr9643/Benifits%20of%20Role%20Play.htm
Kids rules for online safety. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2014, from
http://www.safekids.com/kids-rules-for-online-safety/
Legal consequences of cyberbullying. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2014, from
http://www.prevnet.ca/bullying/cyber-bullying/legal-consequences
NetSmart workshop. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2014, from
http://www.netsmartz.org/educators
Online predators: Help minimize the risk. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2014, from http%3A
%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fsecurity%2Ffamily-safety%2Fpredators.aspx)
Prevent cyberbullying. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2014, from http://www.stopbullying.gov/
Roblyer, M., & Doering, A. (2013, July 24). Netiquette: Rules of behavior on the internet.
Retrieved November 2, 2014, from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/netiquette-rules-behavior-internet/
Scenarios for discussion - SCS internet safety. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2014, from
https://sites.google.com/a/cssu.org/scs-internet-safety-and-conduct/digitalcitizenship/scenarios-for-discussion

Additional artifacts

Gray, R.
Internet Safety Blog Posting

Copyright Assignment Link

o PDF file
o Powerpoint
Multimedia Design Project/WebQuest
o Rebeccas Journal Weebly Link