Internet Learning Resources Part 4

For the last week of this class, we addressed some of the darker issues involving the use of the Internet as a learning resource, namely copyright, privacy, and child protection issues.  The internet has always carried with it risks, and as with any new technology, some of the early adopters are people who see a way to use it to further their illegal activities.  From pornography to identity theft, part of our role as educators will be to protect our students from these risks, while still using the tolls of the internet to provide the best possible education experience.

The key in this case will be to plan in advance what internet resources will be used in class, and make sure they are safe for the students.  We have already talked about ways to use custom search engines that will only return desired results, or ways to filter results based on reading level and age group.  Teachers can also direct the class to specific research sites, rather than just letting the students search blindly and stumble across possibly hazardous sites.

We have talked in earlier classes about the need for educators to plan the resources they are going to use in advance, not just to assume that students can find appropriate information.  The risks of the Internet make this doubly important.