Monday, November 23, 2015

A Book Review, Honesty, and Internet Safety



I have been posting a book review every Wednesday for about three and a half years.  I love reading and sharing my finds.  Most of my reviews are positive meaning I don't bother to share the ones I don't like, so most of my reviews are blue or red ribbon books.

One day I received a comment on my blog asking me how the book ends.  I wondered if it was a student who was asked to write a book report.  I clicked on the Blogger Profile and found her name, her school, access to her classmates' blogs, and her teacher's name.  I emailed him explaining who I was and what I suspected.  He talked with her and the next day she deleted her comment and wrote a more open ended discussion type of question.

I share this story with my students because I want them to know that what they do on the internet is public and can be traced back to them.

I share this story with other teachers because I am concerned with the liability we place on ourselves.  I was a concerned teacher who reached out to a student and her teacher about integrity and love of literature.  What if my motives had been different?

Last year my district issued Google Accounts to every student in the district.  It took one of my students about three hours from the time I introduced the account to start misusing her email.   It was frustrating because I wanted to teach my students to use the platform, but I didn't want them to get into trouble with it.

I want my students to use technology as they learn.  I'm just concerned that sometimes we give them more than they can handle all at once.


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