Internet Safety!

If there was ever was someone who was reluctant to bring internet into the classroom it would be me. There are too many horror stories of children being abused and taken advantage of over the internet for me to be completly comfortable allowing my students free access to the internet. However I think the idea of a webquest is a good one. It provides students with access to information, so they can construct their own learning, but it also does it in a way that the teacher can monitor and control with the students are viewing over the internet. It also saves time, as students are not wasting time trying to find information. The teacher has already previewed and deemed that information as accurate and usable. I think that as a teacher I would definetly use webquests for my students, they are time consuming to make, but kids already spend much time on the internet, so webquests allow them to learn information in a fun and relevant context. However, I think it is also an important responsiblity at the beginning of the year to review internet safety. This could be done through a class discussion, by talking about what information is safe to give out over the internet; reviewing unacceptable behavior such as bullying over the internet or text messaging. A discussion would be effective for older grades, but for elementary school, it might be more effective to have the students go online and play some games such as The Three little pigs, on web awareness at http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/special_initiatives/web_awareness/index.cfm .