creative commons
Safe, Responsible & Ethical use of ICT in Health
This week we have tips for parents/caregivers on ensuring your child is acting safely, responsibly and using online material ethically when working online at school or at home. With the recent shift to the Australian National curriculum, there has been an increased emphasis on Integrated Curriculum Technology (ICT), as the ability to be able to correctly use a range of digital online devices is critical to students lives and school and beyond. Within the curriculum students develop these capabilities as they learn to use ICT effectively and appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas, solve problems and work collaboratively in all learning areas[1]. Within the scope of Health education, students will need to develop capabilities in ICT for tasks associated with accessing online health and physical activity information, and services to manage their own health and wellbeing[2]. As teens meet the requirements of their increasingly digital world, they flock to Facebook, twitter and other online services so it is absolutely vital that you child is safe and responsible when browsing online [3]. Here's a few things you can do to help!
As a parent, the first thing you can do is keep conversations about online behaviours open with your child and make an effort to take an interest in what they are browsing online[4]. Try not to overreact as this will make them feel supported! Once conversations are open about the types of online content your child is viewing and you are happy, then you can work with them in applying safe digital information practices. Here are some tips you might like to run through with them:
- Applying a STRONG password: Make the password at least 8 characters, with a combination of numbers and letters that includes numbers, capital letters and symbols. The password needs to be easy for you to remember but difficult for someone to guess [5]. Using a password manager such as RoboForm(windows) or Lastpass (Mac) might be something to consider.
- Appropriate username: Usernames are used everywhere across the internet so it is critical to have an appropriate username. A good idea when creating a username is to avoid using your real name, avoid appropriate names and don't be surprised if your name is already taken!
- Limit personal information: To stay safe it is important to limit the amount of personal information you or your child uploads. These are details such as phone numbers, date of birth and address, and should be kept private.
- Privacy & Security: When using social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, it is important to check who can view your profile. If your profile is set to 'Public' then anybody can see it. It is a good idea if this is set to 'Private' so only your friends can see it!
- Digital Footprint: Your digital footprint is the information that you leave on the internet, such as personal info, online posts or photos. Remember that this information will be up there forever and can be used against you in a court of law if necessary. Posting things you shouldn't, also have the potential to jeopardise your safety!
- Cyber safety: Digital dangers or internet predators lurk across the internet, particularly on social networking websites. If you or your child falls victim to any of these dangers at home or at school, then it is important to report and block the user.
To ensure that you and your child have applied safe digital practices then a short interactive test can be taken by clicking on the following link:
The Australian Curriculum also requires students to develop an understanding of ethical online behaviour, including protocols and practices when using ICT[2]. The ethical use of material is also apart of the AITSL teaching standard 4.5, so it is therefore important for parents to understand and take part in helping educate your child when it comes to ethical behaviour[7]. This includes posting things that are morally right through social media at home, and appropriately referencing content in assignments at school. It is vital that students understand how to appropriately reference information in their school work and comply with copyright laws as creators of material reserve the rights to their own work.
Built upon copyright, are creative commons which are open domains where information can be shared in a common areas online where the copyright owner has given permission for everyone to use the material[8]. For teachers and students, this provides a plethora of information at our fingertips that can be shared at the creators choice but it is important for us to understand our rights. To make it easy symbols have been created to clearly display the licensing of the material and can be viewed at the following link.
We will be using creative common domains such as flickr, vimeo and youtube to enrich learning within our health classes and students will encounter CC licensing in an upcoming assignment on Australian Surf lifesaving so it is important that students understand.
That concludes this weeks post for 10A Health on the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in class and at home. I hope you were able to follow the 6 tips to digital safety and do the best at providing safety to your child online. Remember to keep conversations with your child about online behaviours open and reiterate online safety, and ethical use of their online devices!
Yours Sincerely,
Aaron Manning
References
[1] The Australian Curriculum (2016). Health and Physical Education. http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/information-and-communication-technology-capability/introduction/introduction
[2] The Australian Curriculum (2016). Information and Communication Technology Capability. Areashttp://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/information-and-communication-technology-capability/introduction/in-the-learning-areas
[3]Tynes, B.M (2007). Internet safety gone wild? Sacrificing the educational and psychosocial benefits of online social environments. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22(6), pp.575-584.
[4] The Australian Government. (2016). iParent. https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent/resources/iparent-cyberbullying.
[5] Connect Safely. (2015). Tips to Create and Manage Strong Passwords. http://www.connectsafely.org/tips-to-create-and-manage-strong-passwords/
[6] Study Ladder. (2016). Applying Digital Information Security Practices. https://www.studyladder.com.au/games/activity/apply-digital-information-security-practices-4-28608
[7] The Australian institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2016). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/standards/list
[8] Smartcopying (2015). Applying a Creative Commons License. http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/open-education/creative-commons/applying-a-creative-commons-licence
Hi Aaron, just letting you know that I am in the process of marking your blog. All grades should be uploaded to FLO by Monday evening.
ReplyDeleteKind Regards
Tracy Breed