Cyber Safety Resources for Students and Teachers

There are many good online resources to help students, parents, and teachers cope with possible digital hazards. In this post, I am going to split them into two categories: Predators and Bullies.

Predators

No, not this guy. I'm talking about the anonymous strangers who prey on the weak, whether they are sexual predators, scammers, or identity thieves. For parents and teachers, it is a matter of recognizing when there is a problem. Here are some tips the FBI gives in recognizing when your child or student may be falling victim to an online predator:

What Are Signs That Your Child Might Be At Risk Online?

• Your child spends large amounts of time online, especially at night.
• You find pornography on your child’s computer.
• Your child receives phone calls from men you don’t know or is making calls, sometimes long distance, to numbers you don’t recognize.
• Your child receives mail, gifts, or packages from someone you don’t know.
• Your child turns the computer monitor off or quickly changes the screen on the monitor when you come into the room.
• Your child becomes withdrawn from the family.
• Your child is using an online account belonging to someone else.

There are also many tips in how to deal with and prevent interactions with possible online predators.

It is also important to educate kids on how not to become a victim. The FBI also offers many tips that can be given to kids for safe internet surfing:

Safety Tips for Kids

• Never send out a picture without your parent's permission.
• Never write to someone who has made you feel uncomfortable or scared.
• Do not meet someone or have them visit you without your parent's permission.
• Tell your parents right away if you read anything on the Internet that makes you feel uncomfortable.
• Remember that people online may not be who they say they are.
• Never give out your name, home address, school name, or telephone number to strangers online or in a public setting like a chat room or discussion board.

There is also a game for specifically made for the classroom, where teachers can help their students navigate the Internet called Safe Online Surfing, which is available at sos.fbi.gov. 

Bullies

Kids can not only be the targets of strangers online, but also by their peers. Often called "cyberbullying," kids can become the target of other students through direct threats, anonymous messages, name-calling, or other harassment. While there is less of a physical component to online bullying, it also does not stop. With the amount of time most children are online, it is hard to escape this kind of bullying, and even harder to intervene. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gives many tips in dealing with this issue at their website, stopbullying.gov:

Prevent Cyberbullying

• Be aware of what your kids are doing online
• Establish rules about technology Use
• Understand school rules

Report Cyberbullying

• Take immediate action
• Report it to online service providers
• Report illegal activity to law enforcement
• Report it to schools

Here is a video that your can show your kids that helps them deal with the emotional impact of bullying:

Always remember that when dealing with predators or bullies, becoming informed is crucial. Parents and teachers need to know what their kids are doing, and kids need to know what their boundaries are.

Issues with Research Implementation and Safety

How do scholars measure the effectiveness of technology integration?

The techniques for measuring the effectiveness of technology integration include collecting data, analyzing that data, and then comparing it with the control group. The collection of the data covers a wide range of observations. Teachers record their observations in journals and collaborate with colleagues on weekly reports. Researchers contribute their own observations and interviews. Assessments add non-observational data to the mix. Researchers and grad students then analyze the data by acting as an impartial third party that can compare and contrast the various data collected. In order for the data and observations to be of any use, they must be compared to a control group, often the similar observation, interviews, and data from schools that are outside the study. After all of this research, the scholars then make recommendations based on their analysis of the data and comparisons (Dwyer, Ringstaff, Haymore & Sandholtz, 1994). The criticism of this predictive research is that there is not a strong connection between it and real world problems because the results are often based on a single or limited hypothesis, which is then presented as a recommendation at the end of the study after being studied in a controlled setting. Some argue for design-based research that would incorporate practitioners into the process, allowing research to be refined through practice instead of being refined, then practiced (Amiel & Reeves, 2008).

How do we ensure safe and effective technological implementation?

The first key in safe, effective implementation is recognizing issues as they arise. As with any new technology, information technology has created safety issues—especially with children, who are likely more vulnerable to fraud and abuse because of their more cavalier attitude in posting personal information and making themselves more accessible. While children are told at a very young age not to talk to strangers for their own safety, the Internet encourages that very behavior, which makes them susceptible to scams, malware, or even sexual predators. By recognizing these issues, educators can confront them before they are a major issue, teaching students and their parents to be aware of possible cyber attacks (DeFranco, 2011). Teachers not only need to be aware of attacks on their students from strangers, but also from peers in the form of cyberbullying. The subject of cyberbullying has received a large amount of media attention in recent years, and the limited research on the subject seems to support that there is a measurable negative impact on the implementation of technology when cyberbullying behaviors run rampant. The fact that over 97% of the youth in the United States are connected to the Internet in some way makes virtually everyone a potential victim. Teachers must confront this issue in every age group to ensure safety in their classrooms (especially at the onset of puberty in  ages 12-14), making an effective learning environment through active policing, clear anti-cyberbullying policies, and strict enforcement (Tokunaga, 2010).

How do safety and effectiveness interact in technology integration?

Since technology integration is often studied in a closed environment for the purposes of predictive research, some real-world issues are often not accounted for in the conclusions drawn by researchers (Amiel & Reeves, 2008). Safety issues would likely be subject to the observer effect, which means that because teachers and researchers are using observation as a data tool, they are paying special attention to the online activities of the students in the scope of their research. The observed students are likely not acting as they normally would because they know they are being observed. In the real-world implementation of the researched technology, students are not under that scrutiny so they may be impacted by issues like cyberbullying, which in turn would limit the effectiveness of the online tools thought to enhance their learning (Tokunaga, 2010).

References

Amiel, T., & Reeves, T. C. (2008). Design-Based Research and Educational Technology: Rethinking Technology and the Research Agenda. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 11(4).

DeFranco, J. F. (2011). Teaching internet security, safety in our classrooms. Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, 86(5), 52-55.

Dwyer, D. C., Ringstaff, C., Haymore, J., & Sandholtz, P. D. (1994). Apple classrooms of tomorrow. Educational leadership, 51(7), 4-10.

Tokunaga, R. S. (2010). Following you home from school: A critical review and synthesis of research on cyberbullying victimization. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(3), 277-287.