With the internet being so broad and vast, there are many things that parents, and educators can do to increase awareness of digital safety amongst children/students. Phishing and Pharming, Sexting and Textual Harassment, Copyright and Fair Use, Cyber bullying, and Digital Safety (in general) are amongst the most important issues. Although each issue is different, I feel that it is crucial and necessary to educate students on this as a whole. Additionally, I would include the topic Parental Controls. Parents play a big role in ensuring that any type of technological activity their children engage in is properly monitored.
As a future educator, I would design a lesson or activity around digital safety as a collective unit that focuses on awareness. I would encourage my students to come up with necessary and effective approaches in dealing with and reporting digital safety issues. One of the things I would require or have my students do is come up with a class-wide/school-wide plan that explains steps in dealing with digital safety issues. Because these issues are becoming increasingly prevalent amongst school children, I would have my class organize a "Digital Safety Fair" in which they could showcase their work/presentations to the public.
In the process of creating our group's digital safety issue on Cyber bullying, one of the tools we used was Wiggio . Wiggio is an online digital tool that makes working in groups easier it also allows for group members to reply directly through email without having to log back in. (Wiggio.com). Because of our hectic schedules, it was difficult for our group to meet on a daily basis. With the use of Wiggio, we were able to communicate frequently and consistently via messaging. Not only did this tool allow for maximum participation amongst all group members, it also provided a way for our group to keep track of our progress. I felt that the absence of this tool would have caused our group to work with a crammed schedule. Another tool that I have used for previous classes that I would suggest is a face-to face video-calling over the internet called ooVoo. ooVoo enables face to face video calling as well as instant messaging.This tool does require a webcam but a participant who does not have a webcam can still see other participants (ooVoo.com).
Overall, digital safety is a serious issue in today's society. It is important that we as future educators take the initiative in increasing awareness through projects such as this.
References
ooVoo. What is ooVoo?.
Retrieved April 10, 2012 from http://www.oovoo.com/Help.aspx?pname=HelpFAQ#{1}
Wiggio. Frequently asked Questions.Retrieved April 10, 2012 from http://wiggio.com/faq.html
Photo retrieved from:
http://digimumsni.com/blog/story/uk-media-regulators-launch-parentport
