We've all heard the horror stories. The news headlines about children on chat sites who've been targetted by predators, the problems with online bullying, and sites like myspace,nexopia, and facebook.
Like many people, I'd like to brush it off as simply paranoia, but it's a pervasive danger that is a constant threat, especially to children, and that I can't ignore. I think it's a teacher's duty to educate their students on safe practices when using the internet. I am an advocate of class discussions, making students aware of the dangers, and discussing with them techniques to minimize such risks, like sticking to assigned sites when on the computer, staying away from social networking sites, keeping personal information private, and being respectful of others when online. I think its important to teach students to be critical consumers of information. The internet is like a supermarket, and it's important to know if the things you're buying are healthy - or at least, not harmful.
I also think reminding students of safe practices before allowing them on the internet, or supplying them with a checklist is an important part of keeping them safe, because it refreshes their memory.
Through all this, I think the teacher should be actively monitoring student activity, and be aware of things like instant messaging software, which can lead to online bullying.
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