Technology has become a strong source of connection in the communication and the classroom fields. It has opened the doors of people's lives; education has expanded from the classroom sphere to the home and beyond. The resource has allowed all Internet participants the access to these open doors, leaving many of the young population exposed and vulnerable. As educators, our desire is to use the Internet to further extend learning, yet with this comes the threat of unprotected students. It is not our wish to allow intruders to discover the "personal information, known as their thoughts and portions of the intellectual explorations that make up their life," rather to simply have the information at our fingertips to benefit learning.
Intrusion must stop, but how? Much like all other solutions, education. We as teachers, students, and communicators must spread the word to others that todays' learners are being given a disservice to their education. As we try to expand learning outside the classroom walls, others are damaging the move. Through educating the public, on the pitfalls of internet violators, we hope that awareness will bring a change and grant education the ability to transform and the security it needs.
Works Cited: Bill, "Have Fun Explaining This to Parents as Your School Transitions to Google Apps." September, 14 2010. FunnyMonkey.com.
Lauren, I totally agree with you. Predators come in all shapes and sizes. Using technology as an educational tool, must include basic safety tips for student users.
ReplyDeleteI'm no Google Apps wizard, but it seems some apps allow for the enabling of security features. However, these measures cannot completey protect against ALL types of threats that have the potential to cause irrevocable harm to young people.
Janice