The first article I read, "A Family Friendly Internet," deals with censorship. The article came out of an announcement by President Clinton and Vice President Gore on strategies to deal with preventing children from getting into inappropriate materials on the Internet. The President discussed: 1) laws and increased FBI staff intended to decrease the Internet of "computer-related exploitation of minors," 2) a U.S. Customs crackdown on pornography of children, and 3) providing training in the latest in technology so that law enforcers and prosecutors can be better equipped to combat the exploitation of children. An increase in products for and availability of censorship devices for parents and teachers was also addressed. Another interesting point that was brought up was the availability of free and low cost software providing censoring for the Internet. The idea of a ratings system was also briefly and vaguely mentioned.
This topic is so important in the protection of children. It has been my experience that it is more crucial at home with parents than at school. In my classroom, I am the filtering, censoring, and blocking program. I do this in advance of the children gaining access to the Internet. But, in my research for activity 2D, I was made aware of how innocently, quickly, and easily one could "click" into these very explicit, inappropriate sites. It would be easy for a curious and/or "on the edge" child who is not monitored to link to these sites. I will continue to be very aware of where my students are on the Internet and to strictly enforce all policies of the District and my classroom.
As the title of this article, "Copyright Issues and Your Web Page," indicates, it deals with copyright issues. This was a great summary of copyright laws. It was interesting to learn more about "fair use." I still find it vague even after linking to more information on it. Vague information makes me apprehensive. Moreover, this article leads me to rethink my "brilliant" idea of using a Bobby graphic to show my web site and links are Bobby approved. (I will be making necessary revisions.)
Copyright issues really begin to be topics in fourth grade. We begin to more intensively do research involving the use of others' works and documentation of the use of their works. It is a difficult topic for fourth graders to understand. They have a hard time seeing the difference between copying text and using their own words. Furthermore, they have a difficult time summarizing text appropriately. I will continue to discuss and teach strategies of documentation and copyright issues to my students.
The third reading I completed for summarizing is, "Employee Internet Usage Policy." This is SPA's (Software Publishers Association) recommended policy for anti-piracy. It provides an interesting look at piracy and expectations for Internet limitations for employee use. The policy addresses issues of using the Internet for business use only. It prohibits vandalism in any way on the Internet. The policy brings up issues of virus protection. It also discusses guidelines for appropriate use for those representing the company (anyone from the company) such as adding to sites, copying from sites, and general truthfulness. This policy brings up copyright issues as well as privacy issues and liability for choices made by employees.
These guidelines are definitely needed. As a novice Internet user, I see how people can innocently create problems and" issues" for the company/employer they work for and represent. It is important that this policy be read and understood by all employees to limit, or hopefully eliminate, problems. While this issue is not one I deal with in relation to my students, it is an important issue for me as an employee of my district.
The final subject I researched, child predators, is discussed in the article "U.S. Plans More Steps to Protect Kids Online." "This article talks about companies using the Internet who are working with law enforcement agencies to find and persecute child pornographers. It also recognizes the fact that this is a complicated and difficult issue to deal with. There are numerous definitions for profane and inappropriate. In addition, there are many ideas for how to protect children, who should protect children, and when to protect children. This article cautions that the actions of the Congress should be well thought-out. As can be seen, there are no easy answers to this very real concern.
Anyone who cares about children and their welfare is concerned about child predators. They are secretive, often unidentifiable, and they are everywhere. I have a sense of security that students online in my class are sheltered form these predators. On the other hand, I am a worrier. Therefore, I still do constantly consider the possibilities and cautions to consider when the subject of children and child predators comes up. I feel that as a teacher, it is my duty to look at the safest and best ways to care for and teach the children in my care.