Education, Technology, and Safety

How to create a safe, secure, and empowered Digital Universe in Schools!

     As technology gradually becomes part of every learning experience at school, educational institutions are trying to adapt. Last week in Social Media class, I read the terms of agreement for YouTube, which I never have read and can infer that is a shared experience among most YouTube. The same goes for the school I work at’s Student Rights & Responsibilities (Remote Learning Edition). I overlooked our school policies regarding how students are guided to use technology and I was surprised when reviewing the lack of positive actions it reinforced while focusing almost exclusively on the negative and punitive consequences. 

I am grateful for our school warning students against bullying and inciting hate but it should additionally outline the behavior expected by the students. The Student’s Rights reads, “Use of Cellular telephones or other information technology devices to harass, incite violence or interrupt other students participating in school activities.” It outlines the process which will occur if that happens. It also warns against hacking, stalking, and intimidating. Along with the guidelines for what not to do and the consequences that follow it could highlight positive behaviors. For example, students are expected to create a positive learning environment, ask questions, give critical feedback without diminishing the effort of a learner, and stand up and report any signs of bullying and hatred directed at their peers. As in the classroom, students need to be modeled first what is expected if we are expecting them to follow these guidelines. 

Our school also warns against, “Plagiarizing, cheating, and /or copying the work of another student or other source.” It also explains how a parent-teacher conference will be set-up if a student is found plagiarizing (a rather light response). After reviewing the Students Rights and Responsibilities of our school and comparing it to the Renton School District which states, “I agree not to reveal or post personal information belonging to myself or another person (i.e., passwords, addresses, or telephone numbers).” I noticed how the Renton School District Policies focused on student behavior but also tries to protect students from making poor decisions that may lead to detrimental consequences. 

One suggestion, is to change the Student’s Rights and Responsibilities page to advocate for students to check monthly Have I Been Pwned? This website searches for the various email addressed people use and are able to see if they are at risk of being hacked. Students need to know the internet is full of predators as well as knowledge. For example, this is a screenshot of the websites, I need to change my passwords due to this website's information: 

Source: Have I been Pwned?

In addition to our school outlining what behaviors to avoid it needs to advocate positive actions that will lead to tech safety. 

Phishing scams are also a constant threat to students and educational networks. The article, Phishing Scams: Don’t Take the Bait, discussed what schools can do to prevent phishing scams. It warns against the one-day student Professional Development to avoid Phishing scams but advocated a more continuous approach. Schools should have students back data/work to a cloud, be comfortable talking to educators about mistakes, be reminded about ways to protect themselves, and schools should use programs like Remind or School Reminders to prevent sending hundreds of external emails. These were a few of the many suggestions the article made to prevent Phishing.  

I am glad our school and most schools are trying to prevent reckless behavior on the internet. Yet, schools need to focus on why that behavior arises in the first place, advocate for the behavior they want to see, and encourage student feedback to refine positive technology use. Furthermore, schools would be wise to create active safety prevention in regards to the infinite email/data/password scams that haunt the internet. It should be within the student's Rights and Responsibility to protect themselves and become mature Digital Citizens ready to protect themselves and their loved ones against the never-ending threats that exist. 

Source: Giphy.com