Fraud on the Internet
The Federal Trade Commission is making an effort to alert Internet users to
the "'hazards' on the information highway". An online article
"Online Scams"
emphasizes that only the medium has changed, not the scams. They encourage readers to be
skeptical, never make a decision to purchase based on only one source of information,
beware of overstated claims of product effectiveness or profit, and never trust "inside"
information without checking. In other words, if it seems too good to be true, it
probably is.
Introducing this to students could be done within the context of determining the
validity of Web sources. For most students comparisons with televison commercials and
infomercials would make the topic relevant. Those teachers whose curriculum includes
consumer education should include Internet fraud along with other kinds of
misinformation that consumers are likely to see. Of course, students should
know to be extremely careful about the personal information they make available.
Sexual Predators
All of us have read or heard news articles about pedophiles who use the Internet
to find vulnerable children. Pedowatch is an
Internet site that attempts to alert adults to the hazards to children who surf the
net and recommend actions that adults
can take to inhibit the exploitation of children. Many students are vulnerable to the
attentions of strangers either because they are lonely, curious, or at a developmental
stage that leaves them uncertain of their current identity. Predators pose as friends who
care about the student and want to help. Using text can disguise the predator's age,
gender, voice, and intent.
Just as we tell children not to wander into strange places alone, we should warn
them of the dangers of chatrooms and penpals. Middle school age students have all heard
the warnings about taking candy from strangers; they need to hear about the more subtle
"gifts" offered by predators. This can be introduced during the discussions about kinds
of websites, by counselors during general presentations, and as the opportunity arises
when students are doing research online. Of course, here again students should be
extremely careful about the personal information they make available.
Filtering Software and Freedom of Speech
The Freedom Forum is an organization
dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights in all media. As technology
charts new legal ground, its progress is followed by Freedom Forum and reports and
advocacy of freedom of speech is published. A recent report in
free!,an online
magazine-type document of the Freedom Forum, addresses the response of Federal Judge Alex
Kozinski when he found that a filtering software program had been installed on his
computer without his knowledge. The use of filtering software has interesting
implications for educators. While we want to encourage students to explore new ideas,
we also have an obligation to protect them from information that is harmful to them.
The difficulty with filtering software is that it is impossible to create a program that
blocks only those sites an individual feels should be blocked and does not block
constitutionally protected material at the same time. Urbana District #116 addresses the
issue of freedom
of speech with its acceptable use policy. The parent and student acknowledge that the
student may encounter objectionable material while doing educational research, but the
responsibility for guiding a student toward suitable material rests with the parent. The
student accepts the responsibility to use material that is not offensive, obscene, or
harrassing. Educating students about these matters should be done when they first
encounter the acceptable use form. Frequent reminders when new assignments are given
reinforce the importance of balancing freedom of speech with responsible use of material.
Censorship
Closely linked to First Amendment issues are issues regarding censorship. Many
Americans feel strongly about the right to access whichever materials they choose.
Peacefire: Youth Alliance Against Internet
Censorship is run by teens. Their mission is to guard against censorship in the
Internet and to monitor legislation and Internet filtering products. Their homepage even
provides a link to TracerLock which can monitor search engines and notify you when a
search term is found. Peacefire presents news stories that focus on censordhip issues of
all kinds, but in particular on those instances when a teenager has been blocked from
access to information or disciplined for accessing information. As stated above, I feel
that rather than block students from information or information from students we should
be reinforcing those values taught by their parents. We can better help our students
deal with the plethora of information by helping them evaluate what they find. When we
help students determine whether information is factual, whether it deals with material
that is considered to be offensive by the community, or whether it may bring harm to
others, we help them learn to make decisions for themselves. We can focus then on education
and not on power struggles.
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