Technology+Report

 ** Technology Report **  **Online Safety **

 Undoubtedly, internet is an excellent tool that can be used as a source of information and to enhance instruction. However, teachers should know that there exist risks in using it without proper directions or when students don’t take some safety recommendations. These risks could be since installing some programs that could slow down the computer, spyware or to be contacted by a predator or a child molester.

 Schools needs to prepare students to be part of the 21st century and technology skills are important to be competitive. Content must be tailored to the individual student through a multitude of learning resources, digital content, multimedia resources and students require those skills that allow them to communicate in technology-saturated society (Texas Education Agency, 2008).

 The sample of a fifth grade class reported that half of the class have experienced Internet, email, chat rooms, etc. and two thirds of them have experienced some of them (Joseph, 2007).

 On the other hand, an study showed that –during the last year when the study was conducted- one in five students between 10 and 17 received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet and one in seventeen where threatened or harassed online (Edelman, 2004, p. 17). These facts let us to figure out how potentially is the danger out in the Cyberspace.

 It is mandatory that schools take preventive actions to make students aware of the dangers lurking online and talk about the problem before it happen.

 To approach the problem I recommend the following:

 - Conduct a series of seminars or proper age talks with students about the risks that they can face and how to prevent them.

 - Communicate to parents, the efforts that the school is doing in order to prevent students to be victims of criminals and ask parents to support these efforts at home.

 - Install firewalls and filters to prevent access to sites that represent a risk for students or the school network.

 - Make available a list of secure links in the school´s webpage that students and teachers can use as reference.

<span style="font-family: &#39;Helvetica&#39;,&#39;sans-serif&#39;; font-size: 11pt;"> - Warn students that a stranger never has to ask them: name, address, phone number, passwords, age, school district’s name, to hide information from parents, to give a credit card number or send money, to download games of pictures or to send a picture of them. (Edelman, 2004, p. 19).

<span style="font-family: &#39;Helvetica&#39;,&#39;sans-serif&#39;; font-size: 11pt;"> References:

<span style="font-family: &#39;Helvetica&#39;,&#39;sans-serif&#39;; font-size: 11pt;"> Texas Education Agency, (2008). Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020.

<span style="font-family: &#39;Helvetica&#39;,&#39;sans-serif&#39;; font-size: 11pt;"> Joseph, L., (2007). Keeping Safe in Cyberspace. //Multimedia and Internet at Schools.// (17-20).

<span style="font-family: &#39;Helvetica&#39;,&#39;sans-serif&#39;; font-size: 11pt;"> Adelman, H., (2004). Teaching Online Safety. //Voices from the Middle//, Volume 11, number 3, March 2004. (17-22)