Chapter 7: Online Safety and Security

The “Acceptable Use” internet agreement that the Anchorage School District requires that every student sign is wholly ineffective. Well, from the district’s standpoint, it is very effective in absolving them from any kind of legal responsibility, if a student were to breach the contract. But with very few exceptions, the students who sign these internet-use agreements neither know what the agreement says, nor what they are agreeing to. Furthermore, the internet-use agreement does nothing to gauge or raise the students’ awareness of online threats. With technology being such an integral part of society, and the internet serving as our primary source for information, it is vital that students be informed about potential internet dangers, and accordingly, legal matters concerning the internet such as copyright laws.

I am of the very strong opinion that schools need to place a much heavier emphasis on not only incorporating technology in the classroom, but teaching technology as well. Inevitably, all things scholastic will at some point become digital. This is evidenced already by the number of online classes available at every level of education. Textbooks, lessons, assignments -- they can, and will, all be done electronically. In light of this, it is imperative that some curriculum time be set aside to introduce students to the technology they will be using. Accordingly, students must then be educated about online safety and security. With time being devoted to using the technology itself, time too, must be devoted to teaching things like cyber-safety, copyright law, appropriate use, etc.

The biggest impediment that I can foresee is that as educational technology is further incorporated into the classroom, either the school day/year is going to require an extension, or existing curricula are necessarily going to need to be replaced. While there will likely be a public outcry against lengthening the amount of time in the classroom, school districts nationwide will no doubt struggle to decide which areas of current educational model are outdated and need to take a backseat to technology.