Responsible and Ethical use of ICT

 

“THINK before you” (CC BY 2.0) by ToGa Wanderings

The use of Information and communication technologies (ICT) has been increasing among children in their homes and in schools. ICT provides with numerous forms of learning along with cultural and social empowerment with minimum limitations on time, place or pace of activities (Cranmer, Selwyn & Potter, 2009). Different internet platforms are increasingly being used in primary schools for the purposes of creating, communicating and networking (Beauchamp, 2017). However, with all the advantages, comes several risk factors which have to be addressed by the school, teachers and the parents. The following blog post will give an overview of the Australian Curriculum’s expectations towards the development of students’ ICT capabilities and how it is integrated into our classroom learning. The blog post also intends to inform parents about the risks involved with ICT use, precautions you may take to avoid and how you may support your child to use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically at all times.

Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum

According to the Australian Curriculum (2017), the capabilities consists of knowledge, skills, behaviour and dispositions which prepare students to thrive in the 21^st century (ACARA, 2017). Likewise, the capability of ICT is not identified as a learning area, but as a tool which can be used across all curriculum areas. The general capability of ICT aims to teach students to gain the most out of the various forms of technology available to them while making sure they keep themselves and others safe (ACARA, 2017).

How do we use ICT in our classroom?

“Social Media Prisma” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by bibliothekarin

In our classroom, we use ICT in multiple ways. In our daily routines of literacy, we use IPads for listening to reading. Across other learning areas, we use IPads or personal computers to research and present information and ideas. We have also taken the challenge to be active on social networking. We attempt to increase our social networks through this blog where students have the opportunity to post their ideas, opinions and learning. In our classroom, we believe that ICT is just another way to demonstrate learning just as writing or speaking. The blog also creates opportunity for students and teacher to share what they are doing with the parents. As a result, parents are more involved in the classroom and have the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas and contribute to the classroom environment.

In addition to this, we have had explicit lessons on making students aware of issues such as copyright violation, unauthentic materials online and the risks associated with the use of social media. We plan to address more issues in the upcoming days.

What are the risks?

“technology” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by Backdoor Survival

• In school, students are only allowed to access age-appropriate websites and apps. However, beyond this environment, their access can be unlimited with access potentially harmful content. Even though most social media websites have an age-limit, children are free to join the networks or access them (Beauchamp, 2017).
• Not all students understand the digital footprint, the information and images they share about themselves may have an impact on their life (Beauchamp, 2017).
• There is also a risk of children being exposed to predatory adults (Cranmer, Selwyn & Potter, 2009).
• One of the most negative experiences associated with use of ICT is cyber bullying. It can be defined as use of ICT to intentionally and repetitively cause harm to someone who is incapable of preventing or stopping this behaviour (Smith et al., 2008, as cited in Cross et al., 2015).

How can parents be involved?

At home, there are a number of ways parents can support and scaffold appropriate use of ICT by children. Listed below are some of the ways:

1.Keeping them safe on cyber space

• Parents may choose to restrict access to certain websites or apps which are not age-appropriate and may contain harmful content. Restrictive practices may be applied through installing internet filters, setting time limits, restricting access to devices or limiting content (Uhls & Robb, 2017). It is important to communicate with children why they are being restricted so that they know the potential harm it may cause.
• Engaging in discussions and conversations with children about in their media experiences. According to Uhls and Robb (2017), this is one of the most effective methods to make children responsible on media.
• Parents may choose to seek help from organisations such as Common Sense Media in regulating the use of ICT at home. Common Sense media supports families by providing authentic information, advice and innovative tools to harness the media and technology as a positive experience (Commonsense media, 2017).
• Advice kids to think before they upload photos or videos online. Make sure they have set up appropriate privacy settings (Office of the eSafety Commissioner, 2017).

2. Be mindful of security

• Make sure all your devices are protected with a password.
• Make sure you children has their accounts on cyber spaces protected by passwords. Many platforms now use multi-step authentication which highly reduces the chance of accounts being used without authorization. (Connectsafely, 2017). Talk to children about the potential dangers of sharing passwords with others (Connectsafely, 2017).

3. Avoiding scams

• Talk to them about online marketing strategies and their effects.
• Admongo is an interactive virtual game by the US Federal Trade Commission aimed to teach kids about advertising. https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/admongo/

4. Respecting intellectual property

• Explain to kids that things on the internet are also owned and created by people. Before using it, they always must make sure that the creator has given permission for sharing. When sharing, the creator of the content has to be given credits.
• According to Mediasmarts (2013), kids may need help comprehending that copyrighting products is part of how the creators make a living. The following tip sheet by Mediasmarts guides you to inform children about ethical behaviour online. 
• http://mediasmarts.ca/sites/mediasmarts/files/pdfs/tipsheet/TipSheet_%20Ethical_Online_Behaviour.pdf

Listed below are additional resources which can guide you further in scaffolding children’s use of ICT.

https://esafety.gov.au/

http://www.connectsafely.org/a-parents-guide-to-cybersecurity/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ 

 

References 

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (n. d.) The Australian Curriculum. v 8 .3. Retrieved from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au 

Beauchamp, G. (2017). Computing and ICT in the primary school: from pedagogy to practice (2^nd ed.).  Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

 ConnectSafely. (2016). A parent’s guide to cybersecurity. Retrieved from: http://www.connectsafely.org/a-parents-guide-to-cybersecurity/

Cranmer, S., Selwyn, N., & Potter, J. (2009). Exploring primary puipils online experiences and understandings of e-safety. Education and Information Technologies, 14(2), pp. 109-117.

Cross, D., Barnes, A., Papageorgiou, A., Hadwen, K., Hearn, L., & Lester, L. (2015). A social-ecological framework for understanding and reducing cyberbullying behaviours. Aggression and violent behaviour, 23(2), pp.109-117.

Media Smarts: Canada’s Centre for digital and Media Literacy (2013). Promoting ethical online behaviours with your kids: Tip sheet. Retrieved from: http://mediasmarts.ca/sites/mediasmarts/files/pdfs/tipsheet/TipSheet_%20Ethical_Online_Behaviour.pdf

 Office of the eSafety Commissioner. (n. d.) Photos, videos and social media. Retrieved from: https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent/staying-safe/photos-videos-and-social-media

Uhls, Y. T., & Robb, M. B. (2017). How parents mediate children’s media consumption. In Y. T. Uhls., & M. B. Robb (Ed.), Cognitive development in digital contexts (pp. 325-343). London, United Kingdom: Academic Press.

Responsible and Ethical use of ICT by aishahameed.wordpress.com/2017/09/06/responsible-and-ethical-use-of-ict/ is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://aishahameed.wordpress.com/contact/.