Educational Technology: Week Eight

This week, we spent our time thoroughly studying computer safety and security. This subject is something that I did not know much about before reading up on it this week. I think, after reading the information, that this is something we should teach young students about from the moment that they start using computers in the classroom.

Personally, I have had two different instances where I saw a computer virus at work first-hand. My mother-in-law and my dad both had their email accoutns infected with a virus that emailed their contact lists. I received both of these emails, but I was not affected by the virus, thankfully. It is interesting, though, how frequently you hear about this and how easily they are spread. The internet is such a vast "world" that there are most likely millions of people out there creating all sorts of things.

With that being said, it is so important as an individual to make sure that all of my accounts are password protected and that all of my personal computers are heavily protected with updated anti-virus software and firewalls. I am not the most technologically-savvy person (although I am a whole lot more after this class!), so I am grateful that my husband is always on top of keeping our antiviral software current and up to date.

As a teacher, I think it is inexplicably important to make sure that your students are protected from online maliciousness.  Since young students are often not as familiar with malicious software or what it looks like, it is important to educate them when the first begin using computers at school. They need to learn about viruses, worms, and Trojan Horses so that they are aware of the different types of malicious software out there.

Though I don't have my own classroom yet, I have been in many a computer lab throughout my school career. As we talked about earlier in the semester, the school's AUP Policy is definitely helpful with what is and isn't allowed in regards to computer use in schools. I also think it is infinitely important to make sure to only use trusted sites and cut down on use of different disk drives as much as possible, since these easily spread viruses. If students are aware of the different threats, they will be less likely to click on questionable attachments or links. It is also important, as supervising teacher, to make sure that they only try and visit reputable sites so that there are less risks of malicious software involved.

I think it is also important to educate students on "netiquette" so that they learn how to conduct themselves in an online environment. This skill is going to be something that the upcoming generations of students need to hone, as they will be using them in their everyday lives for the forseeable future. As teachers of this generation, it is important that we do our best to educate them about not only about the threats and security, but also about how to "act" on the web.