Digitally Competent, Digitally Safe!

                As technology advances day by day, we find ourselves entering the digital age. In this technological revolution, traditional methods of communication and gathering information are being tossed out the window. Nowadays, we use computers, the Internet, and cell phones just like the way our parents used pens, paper, telephones, and books. Of course, there is nothing wrong with adopting new methods. However, problems arise when these methods are manipulated and used in harmful ways to achieve identity theft, breach of personal privacy, or malicious slander. Digital safety has never been more imperative to teach students than it is in today’s world. 

                                                                                                       

                As future teachers, we must be experts in being digitally safe, not only for ourselves but for our students, as well.  For those of us teaching in secondary schools, the biggest challenges lie ahead of us. According to Santrock (2012), “Today’s youth live in a world in which they are encapsulated by media, and media use increases dramatically in adolescence (p. 410).” Once our students enter their teen years, they embrace all sorts of technology as if they were a significant other. In adolescence, it is common that teenagers are prompted by pubertal changes for the desire to explore. If not properly guided, their explorations can get them into serious trouble. Most of them will likely become victims of sexting, textual harassment, cyber bullying, or phishing and pharming scams. Sadly, some of them might even become the perpetrators. This is why it is important they learn to be digitally safe.

                Personally, as a future educator or even a parent, I worry about how our students easily fall prey to such things. The reason for that is easy accessibility. Information and communications technologies are “embedded in reception classrooms and is a constant and prevalent feature of school life; home access is on the increase, while connectivity from public locations such as libraries and youth clubs is now common place (“Safeguarding Children in a Digital World”, Becta, sec. 1 p. 1).” Anywhere a child goes, some sort of information or communications device exists. It is impossible to monitor their every move. That is precisely why we must teach students about digital early on in life. With our education system using all sorts of technology nowadays, I would advocate for a mandatory class for all students in primary and secondary schools that would teach about digital safety and the uses of technology. This would be the most effective way to protect students, in my belief. Naturally, parents should be the first teachers to shed light on this issue to their children.

                For my group, working on this project opened our eyes to things we never thought about. Most of us experienced instances of phishing and pharming but never really knew

what it was. When we did our research and began gathering information, we were able to make that connection like, “Oh, so that’s what it is!” We never knew how serious of a problem such things could be. It happens around us every day, and we hardly realize it. Definitely, we have become more aware of the digital world. Wiggio was useful to us by posting forums and communicating through chat on consolidating our information and putting our project together. A recommendation, however, that I would offer is to break groups into smaller sizes. There is much more that can be looked into regarding digital safety. Personally, I believe that in smaller groups, students maximize their research efforts. In larger groups, sometimes, one or two people might slack and the others might have to fill in the gap. This was not a problem in my group, since we equally divided the work load, and everyone met their part.

                To sum it up, the younger generation is becoming smarter than us when it comes to using all sorts of information and communication devices. However, they are not aware of dangers they pose, at times. According to Safeguarding Children in a Digital World by Becta, “While most children’s confidence and competence in using the technologies is high, their knowledge and understanding of the risks may be low (sec. 1 p. 1).” Technology is dominating traditional methods of getting things done, and there is nothing wrong with that. We just have to learn and teach our students to be safe in using them.

References

Becta. (n.d.). Safeguarding Children in a Digital World. United Kingdom. 

Santorck, John W. (2012). Adolescence (14^th ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill

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