Mike+S.

=** Teaching Safe Behavior for the Read/Write Web **=

//Purpose://

 * Students will learn to work in a technological environment in an appropriate manner for learning.
 * Students will show proper netiquette while working that environment.
 * Students will understand, agree to, and implement the acceptable school policy for working on the internet.
 * Students will work in an acceptable manner on the read/write web in a manner that will allow them to identify and respond correctly to cyber-bullying and internet harassment.
 * Students will be informed of statistics regarding cyber-safety.
 * Parents will read, agree, and monitor their student’s behavior while working on read/write web assignments such as blogs, wiki, and podcasts.

Descriptions of technologies to be used inside and outside the classroom:
Flickr and Buzznet also allow the creation of photo blogs. In addition to these website services, other companies have web-enabled their digital photography software programs to tightly integrate with website services. Examples of these include iPhoto and .Mac for Macintosh users ([|www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto] and [|www.mac.com]) and Picassa ([|www.picasa.com]) for Windows users, courtesy of our friends at Google.
 * 1) __Blogging__: A weblog, or blog, can be simply an online diary or journal of thoughts written by an individual but published for international consumption via the World-Wide Web. Most blogs permit visitors to comment on postings, and thereby participate in the interactive culture which personifies the read/write web environment. Blogs are not limited to being solo efforts, however. Free blogging services like Blogger ([|www.blogger.com]) allow users to easily create “team blogs” in which multiple individuals contribute to blog postings. An example is found at the “Athletics Good News” website of Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, New Jersey. On the blog site, each sports coach has a team blogging account to post “good sports news.” Access this information resource at http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/athleticsgoodnews/, or subscribe to the RSS feed with Bloglines or another RSS aggregator at http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/athleticsgoodnews/xml/rss.xml.
 * 2) __Aggregators__: An “aggregator” is a software program or website that allows content from multiple RSS sources to be collected and displayed on a computer. Typically, an aggregator will provide relatively clean, fast, advertisement-free access to RSS content. Author and educator David Warlick encourages teachers to think of aggregators as “digital newspapers” that can collect and display information sources from a wide variety of sources.[|[5 ]] Popular web-based aggregators include the free Bloglines website ([|http://bloglines.com]) and the “My Yahoo” RSS Headlines module (http://my.yahoo.com/s/rss-faq.html.) Web-based aggregators like Bloglines also allow users to share their favorite or recommended RSS feeds. An example (the author’s Blogline feeds) is available at http://bloglines.com/public/wfryer.
 * 3) __Wikis__: The Wikipedia ([|http://wikipedia.org]) is now the largest encyclopedia in the world. It is completely free, available in over thirty languages, and has been entirely authored by volunteers. The technology which undergirds the Wikipedia is freely available, open source software (http://wikipedia.sourceforge.net/), and has tremendous potential for educational users at many levels. In Spring 2005, the author was a student in an Educational Law graduate course, and was assigned a group project involving students from Lubbock, Amarillo, Lamesa, and Plains, Texas. The student group never met together in person, but was able to utilize a free wiki-hosting service ([|www.jot.com]) to create a publicly accessible resource about “Student Cell Phone Use and Other Technology Concerns for Schools” ([|http://edlaw.jot.com]). Since Wiki software records past versions of created webpages and tracks which users made which changes to the site, this read/write web technology not only offers comparative benefits to students needing to collaborate in the creation of joint documents, but also offers benefits to instructors wanting insights into the respective contributions (or non-contributions) of students in assigned groups.
 * 4) __Social Bookmarks__: Web-based services for saving and referencing Internet website favorites or bookmarks have been available for many years, but relatively recently “social bookmarks” that conform to the RSS information sharing standard have emerged. One free example is [|http://del.icio.us], a website that allows users to quickly (through the use of “bookmarklets” explained in the ABOUT section of the website) save desired website addresses and categorize them with one or multiple “tags” that are user defined. As a social bookmarks service, the del.icio.us website indicates how many other users have linked to a particular website address, and allows users to link to the social bookmarks of those other users. Social bookmarks can be an invaluable aid in student research projects, teacher technology workshops, and for personal use in keeping track of and sharing valuable Internet resources. The author’s social bookmarks are accessible at http://del.icio.us/wfryer. Since the del.icio.us site “speaks” RSS, any “tag” (topic) in a person’s social bookmarks can be syndicated / subscribed to using an aggregator like Bloglines. Sharing of website favorites/bookmarks has never been so easy, powerful, cheap and fast.
 * 5) __Online Rubric Construction__: Advocates for project-based learning have been fans of rubric-based assessment for many years. The availability of free web-based rubric construction tools, like Rubistar ([|http://rubistar.4teachers.org]), facilitate not only quick construction of personalized rubrics by teachers, but also the sharing of created rubrics with others. Copyright issues aside, we in the education field have long been known as organisms who readily borrow and steal good classroom teaching ideas when we see them. Services like Rubistar encourage and empower teachers to share their assessment ideas and strategies, and personify the nature of open information collaboration and sharing in the era of the read/write web.
 * 6) __Online Graphing Tools__: Students at different educational levels are expected to not only understand and interpret graphs created by others, but also create their own graphs of data and explain the trends and implications of their graphic products to others. Microsoft Excel, included as part of the Office software package, has traditionally been the software tool of choice for most students and teachers graphing data in the classroom or at home. The US Department of Education has made a new resource available, however (http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph), that could alter this preference. This web-based graphing tool allows users (for free) to select a desired graph type, enter data, and then format the resulting graph as desired so it can be saved or printed for subsequent use. No special software is required, just a web browser and an Internet connection. This is the web 2.0 in action.
 * 7) __Online Digital Photo Tools__: Creating a website gallery of images to share with friends, family, co-workers or classmates used to require specialized software and web publishing savvy, but this is no longer true. A myriad of digital photography websites have proliferated thanks to the boom in digital camera sales, and these free services offer users the ability to upload photos, edit them, organize photos into galleries, and share them with others as well as order paper-based copies of selected prints. Some of the popular services offering this functionality now include:
 * [|www.flickr.com]
 * [|www.buzznet.com]
 * [|www.fotki.com]
 * [|www.dotphoto.com]
 * [|www.shutterfly.com]
 * [|www.kodakgallery.com]
 * [|http://smugmug.com]
 * [|www.imagestation.com]
 * 1) __Even more tools__: All of the above read/write web technologies plus even more are available on the author’s social bookmarks page. Access it with your web browser from http://del.icio.us/wfryer/ReadWriteWebTools or subscribe to its RSS feed at http://del.icio.us/rss/wfryer/ReadWriteWebTools.

//Reason for the Assignment://
Due to the nature of the read/write web, students will be publishing thoughts to not just a teacher but anyone who has access as well as receiving information form outside sources as well. Therefore, these students will need to have a heightened sense of safe Internet practices. The Read/Write web technologies remain limited as simply as tools, although they can appropriately be regarded as formidable and potent tools of communication. The students may be exposed to incidents of cyberbullying, harassment of peers via technology tools running the gamut from handheld picture phones to laptop computers, and concerns about privacy and information disclosed to previous or potential child predators have taken place and will likely continue. Teachers, administrators, parents and community members must understand the importance of safe Internet practices. Everyone must work with the young people in their charge to insure that students do not disclose more information about themselves online than they should, that harassers and bullies are held accountable for their behavior whether it happens in a classroom or in cyberspace, and that the communities in which we live are marked by perceptions of safety and protection by citizens of all ages.

Lesson Activity:
Teacher will present the class with a Netzsmart video for the class to watch. Show Netzsmart Video: http://www.netsmartz.org/resources/reallife.htm The teacher will review the results and present the class with the final class stance on cyber safety. Students will receive a copy of students pledge and parent permission review form to be signed for next class.
 * // Class Discussion //** :
 * The importance of internet safety
 * The ways that internet can be used appropriately / inappropriately
 * The class will discuss cyber-bullying, internet harassment, and identity theft
 * Class will suggest ways to improve internet safety
 * Teacher will present school district policy on computer use, internet use, and acceptable use policies.
 * // Class Wiki Project: //**
 * Teacher will present the class with 5 scenarios from Netzsmart: http://www.netsmartz.org/resources/reallife.htm
 * Cyber Safety project will be introduced, including objectives and procedures.
 * The class will break into groups and analyze the scenarios then present to the groups solutions to the scenarios the class wiki.
 * The class will discuss the effectiveness of the group’s solutions and propose alternative solutions using the discussion page of the group wikis.

//Expected Student Behavior://
Students are expected to follow al classroom rules previously set by the classroom teacher. In addition, students must adhere to the school district policy as seen and agreed to and will now be reviewed.

School District Computer Usage Policy
Tampering, vandalism, or unauthorized use of Plum Borough School District computers or other electronic equipment (printers, cabling, drives, monitors, keyboards, mice, VCR’s, televisions, modems, etc.) or software or associated documentation is prohibited. Violations of this policy by students or adults may also constitute violations of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code or other statutes, subjecting violators to serious criminal prosecution. This policy is intended to be as broad and encompassing as Section 3933 of the Crimes Code (as of January 1995). Student violators will be subject to discipline including suspension and possible expulsion. All violators will be held responsible for restitution of any damage to hardware, equipment, software, and documentation, and for any direct consequential damages.

School District Internet Usage Policy
The Board supports use of the Internet and other computer networks in the district’s instructional and operational programs in order to facilitate learning, teaching and daily operations through interpersonal communications and access to information, research and collaboration. For instructional purposes, the use of network facilities shall be consistent with the curriculum adopted by the school district as well as the varied instructional needs, learning styles, abilities, and developmental levels of students. The electronic information available to students and staff does not imply endorsement by the district of the content nor does the district guaranteed the accuracy of the information received. The district shall not be responsible for any information that may be lost, damaged or unavailable when using the network or for any information that is retrieved via the Internet. The district shall not be responsible for any unauthorized charges or fees resulting from access to the Internet. The district reserves the right to log network use and to monitor fileserver space utilization by district users, while respecting the privacy rights of both district users and outside users. The Board establishes that network use is a privilege, not a right; inappropriate, unauthorized and illegal use will result in cancellation of those privileges and appropriate disciplinary action.

Link to Board Policy 815 - Acceptable Use Policy
http://www.pbsd.k12.pa.us/pdf/policy815.pdf

//Student Pledge://

 * I will talk with my parents or guardian about their expectations and ground rules for going online.
 * I will keep my identity private.
 * I will never respond to any online communication that makes me feel uncomfortable.
 * I will never meet with in person anyone I met online first without my parents/guardians permission.
 * I will respect others people’s rights while online.

//Resources://
http://www.pbsd.k12.pa.us/pdf/policy815.pdf http://www.netsmartz.org/resources/reallife.htm http://www.wtvi.com/teks/tools/