The following paragraphs are summaries of resources I have found and ideas on how I might address these issues with my students. The first issue is simply that of "Is the Internet a place for children?" There are many people that think that the Internet is no place for children. I think the opposite is true. I am going to be using it in my classroom this year and will most definitely prove them wrong! I was excited to find many terrific places that I think my students will enjoy. Research-It! was a very helpful site, as was classroomCONNECT! I will use these site to show my students as well as their parents some of the many things that are available for them on the Internet this school year.
Free Speech is a big issue when you look at the Internet. The First Amendment and the freedom to express ones self freely is really being put online! For the most part, the Internet is not like television or the radio where the viewer has a limited access. Internet users have the capability to tune into an unlimited amount of materials; and even though these are available doesn't mean that something or someone can't filter out those that to them are objectionable. There are inexpensive and easy-to-use blocking and filtering devices that can filter out things based on the tastes and values of the individuals involved, whether it be parents, teachers, schools or districts. In my classroom I would deal with this matter in the same way I deal with students bringing in movies that are not appropriate for school. I would remind them that everyone has different ideas of what is "good" and I would explain to the class that there are many things that we can see on the Internet just like in movies; and that there are some things we just can't see at school. I will also let them know that it doesn't mean that they are bad or that you can't watch them or go to those places on the Internet at home with mom or dad but that at school curtain rules tell us what we can and can't do.
The topic of Free Speech leads nicely into the idea of Censorship. Just as schools and districts do with their AUPs, so can parents with a plan of their own. Netparents.org is a resource for Internet Parents. It is a resource for parents who want to have their children to have access to the Internet but are concerned about what they might find! This site will help in blocking software, tell about kid-safe net access, explain a net rating system and gives out locations of kid-safe sites. After exploring these areas I plan on sharing them with my students and their parents. There is a lot of exciting and educational information out there and I think that by finding them and sharing them with my students they will gain a vast amount of knowledge from net exploration! I will remind them that we are exploring in the "good" areas and that we are staying away from the ones that for us are not good. Sights that we really like we will bookmark so that we can visit them again.
Copyright of published materials is an important thing to bring up to the students. As we revisit sites and use software in the room the students must be reminded that all of these things have been written or made up by someone else. That whatever it is that we are using really belongs to them, just as when each of us writes or makes something up, it belongs to us. We can use these things but we can not copy them without permission. Older students really need to be reminded of this fact as they pull things from the Internet to help them with the writing of reports or class projects. They also need to be made aware of the rules on copying software. It is so easy to put in a disk and download. It would also be good for the students to be taught how to determine the difference in the type and the extent of copyright restrictions.