Ensuring Student Internet Safety

I think one of the ways to ensure Internet safety is firstly by discussing Internet safety as a class beforehand. I would ask my students: “What do you think it means to be safe on the internet?” After discussing this as a class, we would subsequently create some guidelines for Internet usage.

Those guidelines might include:
-working in pairs as a form of peer-monitoring;
-choosing a variety of diverse, but reputable websites for students to choose from;
-making sure that if I was not monitoring the content being explored on the Internet, another teacher was;
-downloading a ‘nanny’ or some kind of Internet censoring device;

While these guidelines will help ensure Internet safety, I think it is also important to develop a community of trust in which I, as a teacher, trust that my students will exercise proper judgment when using the Internet. Furthermore, I think students should be made aware that using the Internet is a privilege, which if misused, can be taken away. As well, I might ask my students to sign a form that says they will abide by the class Internet rules that we had created. Ultimately, if there are guidelines set up for Internet usage, Internet safety should not be too problematic.