The students are definitely way ahead of me when it comes to any technology. There are always problems with filters. I was amazed that one of my students could pull up Kottonmounth Kings lyrics here the other day. The filter just can’t catch everything.

As for my own home and class I try to warn the kids all the time about sexting and what appears on MySpace etc. Just this weekend we made Zach make changes to his MySpace page. He needs to start learning now that you may not be a pot smoker, drinker, or original gangsta but having pictures of Bob Marely smoking a joint, etc. could give other people that impression. We didn’t strip away his identity or likes. Our point was: would you let your daughter date someone with this page? we also made him get rid of info that was too personal. The catalyst for this: This module on safety and the two volleyball players suspended from sports for “racy” pictures that they distributed over the summer. Watch out kids Big Brother is watching and what you do at 15 could haunt you forever.

I agree with Delhia on that kids do know more about technology than we do. The problem is they are not aware of all the dangers that come with it. I agree with the author that we do need to constantly learn all we can about technology and attempt to keep up with it. It is here to stay, and as educators, it is our responsibility to learn what we can to help our students. It is a daunting task because we did not grow up with this technology, so it is taking us longer to learn it.

I believe we should have filter systems on our computers at school. I have noticed, however, that things occasionally slip through. The Internet is just too big. That always bothers me when we are researching something as a class. In the back of my mind I am always hoping that the kids don’t accidentally come across something that the filter didn’t catch. So, we need to be constantly monitoring the sites kids are on. We need to be walking around the room monitoring, and if a kid comes across something the filter missed, we need to notify the tech. department.

In homes where children live or have access to the Internet, then yes, there needs to be filters, but like the author says, parents shouldn’t rely solely on them. They need to be monitoring too.

I have no kids at home, and no kids have access to my computer, so I do not have to worry about that yet. By the time I have kids though, who knows what I will have to deal with.

“Keeping your kids safe online” is a good article. I think it is very important to filter both at home and school. Sometimes it is a pain to get around the filter but really it’s in the best interest of the kids. I am “friends” with my kids on facebook and my oldest finally deleted his page because he didn’t like the comments I was adding. I keep trying to make them understand that what they text, post in writing, or post using pictures is for all to see. That for me is one of the scary parts of technology these days. In some cases like solving a crime, etc. it’s valuable but otherwise it could be very destructive. Sometimes I yearn for the days of old.

The author emphasizes the fact that filtering is necessary but software fails
sometimes too. In the classroom it means to monitor students when they are on the computer.

It is a challenge to technologically keep up with these students as well as my children! Between the loads of laundry and Desperate Housewives… how can I twitter?!? Time. I need to do better.
As far as filtering in school I have come to many realizations that it is not perfect. I have googled many images just to find a “bimbo” with her “bimbos” hanging out and I just searched for first ladies! The kids find these too. The filter doesn’t catch everything and I’m sure neither do I, but I need to try.
The author talks about not relying solely on a filter and gave great suggestions that I didn’t know were available. Being able to lock down your internet during certain hours late at night would be very useful. Also just letting my kids know, that I know, that I have the ability to check the sites that they are using will hopefully be enough.
At home I implement many of the ideas of the author. We have the computer in a high traffic area, I have my older show me her myspace often, etc. Even though I do these things I am still afraid. Watching an Oprah show on internet predators did not help. It was the classical show that followed this teen girl on her adventures with an internet boyfriend. Bad things happened… but then to my surprise it didn’t end with the guy going to jail, it ended with the really smart teenage girl committing suicide because she couldn’t believe she was duped so bad. I talk to my tween but I know these criminals are plotting and working hard too.
Internet accessibility is a great tool, but it really makes our world small for predators. It takes a lot more energy to look after your children.

I am up for the challenge! I think I can learn all the information they can I just feel it may take longer to “take”. I wish I had more time to utilize all this wonderful information!
I feel filtering at home is a must for the protection of our children. too many children get caught up in “fantasy” cyber-people and are looking for companionship and kudos so badly they see only who? and what? they wish to see and get into serious situations! Situations parents need to be on top of and guarded against.
No one can rely on filters when there are so many individuals out there who possess the knowledge to “get around” our set filters and stalk our youth anyway.
No I have no children living in my home. I would use all 10 of the suggestions the author provides to keep my child as safe as possible.

I agree with some aspects of the article. I do actually believe it is important to learn all you can and be involved in your child’s life. The trouble with this idea is that we, as superbly busy educators, do not have the time to “learn all we can” about the internet and technology.

I agree with the above posts that the students usually know more than I do technologically. At one of my prior schools one of our students became such an advanced hacker that our IT guys recruited him. I actually thought that was clever because we caught him before his behavior got him in too much trouble, but he was so advanced with it we couldn’t tell he was hacking.

I think involvement is the key. Know what your kids are doing, know what your students are doing.

A very good article, lots of information and very brief. Several of the things in the article are common sense but takes some effort and tough love types of decisions to implement them. One comment in the article is that the kid may hate you now but love you later. This type of decision is very difficult for many parents, including me. I’m glad to read this because it reinforces the need to make some of the unpopular decisions for kids.

I agree with some of the others who said that our kids will know more about the internet than me. My wife is good with it and stays up with the latest things. It would be easy for me to rely on her knowledge to keep my son safe. But I want to know and be in on it too, not only for my son but for the students I work with here at school too.

I found the article and the websites I visited very helpful. I feel that the suggestions made go along with good parenting. Most good parents are involved in their kids’ lives and probably already have those standards in place. I don’t think it would have hard at all to keep up with what kids are doing at home. I can see how filtering is not always perfect, because since it was created by human it can get modified or broken into by human. I am almost sure that there is probably a tutorial on how to go about that somewhere in youtube or another video sharing site. So, having a filtering program along with good parenting and strict rules should be a good plan.

As far as keeping up with our students, I feel it can be done if we had a lot of time and really wanted to. Reality is that we all have jobs and when we get home there lots of other things that need to get done and time to keep up technology is minimal. There is so much out there, that it would be almost impossible to keep up with what every student knows. I like the filters we already have at school, but I feel they should be a lot more strict, specially when it comes to the games the students play at school and the music videos they watch. I am more comfortable with educating students about internet use rather than trying to block everything, since it is probably impossible to protect our kids from all the harms out there.

I do have some filters at my home computers even though I didn’t quite wanted them. It was just generically installed to my computers when I set up my computer protection program. It really does not bother me that much, and I could really see how it would be helpful if I had kids….

First off I think it is mandatory to keep up with the changes in technology to protect ourselves and out students. Knowing that we can filter is good, but the fact that it is not foolproof is disturbing.
For this reason it is important to double check our students in the classroom when they are using technology.
I have not used this with my kids and I surely wish I kne about it four years ago and it could’ve made a difference in our lives.

The internet has created an easy way for the predators to take advantage of our children. With all the safe guards in place (like filters) it seems like the criminals with technology knowledge are always one step ahead of the law. Even now, I’m not sure that some of the parents are really aware of how dangerous the internet can be and don’t have a clue as too what their children are doing on the internet. The other part of the problem is that most kids are aware of the danger, but kids are risk takers. I believe most kids don’t believe that anything will ever happen to them because of the internet. The internet can be a big scary place. The safety video gave 5 tips that all individuals should follow anytime their are on the internet.

The internet and phone technology is difficult to keep up with. I purposely update my phone as often as I can to understand what the students are doing with theirs. And they are more than eager to show me. It is an incredible challenge to keep up with this tech explosion. In my classes I have occasional free days to monitor what the students do on their phones and computers. I experience a wide range, from limited knowledge to things I never knew about. This is good and bad. The students will find a way to these blocked sites, at home or at school. Our job is to teach them the whys and why nots.

I am sure we all were not angels then and now. Filtering can help but it can also hinder. I am constantly frustrated when we are on the internet and simple research sites are blocked at school. I do not have kids at home, but I do understand that having a computer in a public area is important and if I did have kids I would show them the good and bad of the internet. The students will get into the sites one way or the other. We have to coach them to do the right thing. Interest, involvement, and being there is a good way to control their usage.

On identity predation it is crucial to show the youth and adults not to reveal our personal data, numbers, addresses, etc. Again, coaching and involvement is necessary.

I want to learn all I can, but keeping up with students, no! I am getting
to old to keep up with the kids. I think there should be filters for
kids. There is a lot of things that kids are able to see and should not.
The bad thing is parents think it is OK!! Schools should have a filter.
I think the filter is not reliable. There are sites that are so easy to
get around. I have seen kids get around the filter. I have no children,
but I do have dogs. My dogs are not allowed to use my computer unless
they are supervised.

The fact that some people, kids and adults, feel that they can spew rants
on blogs or posts or message boards that are full of profanity and hatred
probably only reveals a disturbing notch in our culture. When people are not accountable for their words and actions, maybe their true self is revealed, and wouldn’t that be a shock to see your own dark side? But I digress.
A serious downfall is that we who see the web as a tool toward better knowledge, and ultimately a way to solve world-wide problems might be limited by those who use the web to tear down.
Personally we are as careful as we can be without cutting out internet use
completely. Our girls know that their parents care about what they are
exposed to and that life loses some of its value without some sort of
envelope. By envelope I mean the basic limits of behavior and the accountability that goes with that. We hope that that set of rules is concrete enough over time so that it is at least a falling-back point for them when they venture out on their own.
So, as always, parents need to take responsibility and communicate often. We don’t need to control our kids. That is not the answer, but I see it as helping them to deal with an increasingly complex world.

I agree that parents and educators need to try to learn all we can about what our children/students are doing on the internet. As for keeping up with them, I don’t know if that is possible for most working adults. Let’s face it, we don’t typically have the time, energy, or the opportunity to keep up with the ever changing world of technology like our younger generations do! Although we may not be able to keep up with the pace of learning that our students and/or children do it is comforting to know that there are many resources out there to help us continue to learn all we can in an effort to keep our most valuable resources, our children, safe.
Filtering is one way we are able to keep children safer while using the valuable educational resources the internet has to offer. I was not aware until I read the article that a filter can also limit the time a person can access the internet. This ability is great for parents who are not always home at the same time their children are home. While reading the comments about not relying totally on the filter to keep the kids safe I was reminded of the comments Tracy has made about our filters at school. The filters are a great tool to aide in keeping kids safe, but they can’t replace adult supervision. Parents nor teachers should rely totally on filters. We need to also supervise and stay involved with what our children or students are doing on the internet.
Although my children are all grown and on their own (oh woe is me!)I have had numerous conversations with parents of students who have been victims of cyber bullying. My first suggestions to these parents is always, “get the computer out of the bedroom!” I have also recommended to parents that they pay close attention to whom their children are “social networking” with. I didn’t actually use the words “social networking”, but thanks to my increased knowledge through this class I now know some of the key terms of the tech. world! I also will now have some great sites to recommend parents go to in an effort to keeping kids safe online.
Can we keep up with our kids in the world of technology, probably not. But do we not teach our kids how to cross the street in a safe manner just because they are quicker than we are? Do we just rely on a crossing guard to keep them safe as they cross the street? No, we teach the lessons, review the lessons, and revisit the lessons while using the outside resources available as well. In similar fashion, by staying involved with our children, aksing questions, teaching internet safety, and making an effort to learn all we can about the sites they are on certainly are important steps in keeping them safe while line.

Internet Safety is the most important lesson we can teach our students. It is, however, a lesson that students need to really take seriously and it seems that all the drilling in the world and I am still amazed at their lack of seriousness for the subject matter.
Filtering is necessary at both home and school. As I remind my students and others it is not 100% full proof. Practicing good Internet Habits is the #1 Reliance for EVERYONE!!!
Do I use and practice Internet Safety tips at home, yes, I do. Although my sons are older, I still try to instill Internet Safety Rules like: who to chat with, don’t publish you pics, don’t leave any personal info that could possibly lead back to you, etc.
As at teacher and mother I will always continue to remind my students and my own children of the dangers that lurk out on the Web. Be Careful Be Safe!!!

The students are definitely ahead of me, and most of the other people I talk with. When do we have time? Filtering is extremely important both at school, and home. I don’t have a computer at home but when my daughter goes to her cousins she gets on the computer and some of the stuff they look up is not very appropriate my sister does have a filter on the computer but some things just get through, the filter doesn’t filter everything you would like it to filter. Even at school there are some sites I’m amazed are blocked and some that aren’t blocked. I think he is right by saying we can’t always rely on filters, we as educators and parents still need to check history panels, do walk by’s and be aware of what’s being looked at in the tech world. I try my best at school to monitor things but even some stuff I look up and unblock shocks me when the page comes up. I typed in resilient women and some very freaky stuff came up!

The internet is a wide open and unregulated resource. As such, we need to do all we can to be the “human” filter. This is the best option. Software is a good tool to use. It needs to be continuously monitored and updated or it will quickly become useless.

Personally, I think I am fairly savvy when it comes to the internet. I definitely do NOT know all there is to know about it. Nobody could. We do need to be aware and observant when we take our kids to the computer labs.

The ten suggestions made in the blog are mostly common sense items. They are what are included in any good parenting class. Communication between parents and children is crucial. I trust my kids and do let them on myspace. One condition was that both my wife and I were made friends on their sites. I periodically check on their pages for content and photos. When I find something I don’t agree with, it is time for discussion.

Having a facebook page has led to my wife becoming addicted. She is becoming quite a farmer (Farmville) and also a good cook (Café World). Unfortunately, we don’t get to benefit from either to food grown or cooked. Maybe there are only virtual calories and I can control my weight. I wonder what her desserts taste like?

It sounds like so many of us have had the same thought. For years I did not care for the computer (partially because my internet is so slow, it was not worth the time). Now that I have been forced into using a computer, I like it much more than I thought I ever would. I wish I could keep up with the kids, but I really don’t know if I have the time to do it. The kids that do know much of this, spent several hours a day on the computer. I am lucky if I can find the time at 11:00 on the 12th of each month to pay my bills on the internet before they are due. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ALL THE KIDS DO, BUT WHEN???

I appreciated the article “Keeping your kids safe online”. This is one thing that although I am very technologically challenged, I have done my best to do. I believe very strongly that filtering is important at home and school. The internet opens the entire world to us- the best of it and the worst of it. We wouldn’t allow a crack house next door to our children but with the internet it can be in your living room. Children are so curious at this age and I really do feel like you have a great responsibility to protect them.

I know filters are not the solution to all problems. I have substituted before and seen violent sights that the filter did not filter out and the children were playing. I know it does not catch everything.

Believe it or not, we do many of the things that are suggested in the article at our house. Our computer is in the middle of the living room where everyone can see it. We also have a password to the internet that our children do not know. We have to get them on line, which means we have to be home:) We have also talked to our children about the information you can and cannot give on line. One thing that bothers me, however, is my oldest daughter did create a face book and it has her pictures and which college she is going to. I know you have to let the people in to view your site, but the other day one of my 6th grade students came in and told me how much my daughter and I looked alike. She mentioned she had seen my daughter on face book because her sister is a friend (I’m not sure how well my daughter knows her sister?) So who really is viewing this information?

This is just a pet peeve of mine, so I’m going to mention it here: I created a face book just so I could write to my daughter and see her pictures on line. I immediately had people that I never talk to when I pass them in the store want to be friends on face book. I think that is weird. I know some people spend all their time on face book, etc. talking to people that aren’t close. Why not turn off the computer and spent time with their kids or family?

It is pretty sad when you have a problem in class with your computer and you ask the kids who can help you and eight hands go up but no one raises his or her hand when you ask what a direct object is. HMMMMM…. Kids are just more interested in computers so naturally they are going to be exploring them more and more. I don’t think I can keep up with them. They seem to have more free time to discover all the tricks, but that is not all bad because they can teach me. As far as the filters, I sometimes get frustrated at school when my student types in Abraham Lincoln and the access is denied. GRRRRR…. but on the other hand, I have had very few instances where an inappropriate site has popped up when the kids are searching. That is nice. I wish I knew more about what we filter. How does a filter get set up? Do we pick key words that get blocked? Why would a site on Abraham Lincoln be blocked? Using a filter is just a safe guard, it is not full proof. Kids will find ways around things. Just ask them; they say they access sites here at school that are blocked because someone showed them how to get around the filter. Teacher/parental monitoring is a must in addition to the filter. I am rather glad my kids are adults and I didn’t have to fight the facebook battle. I’m not sure what rules I would have implemented, but I think being one of their friends would have been at the top of the list. This at least allows a parent access to the wall and the ability to see what people are writing. As parents, we never allowed a TV or a computer in the kids’ rooms. Yea, they thought it was unfair, but we always knew when they were on the computer or what they were watching.

Internet safety is such an important issue and so difficult to wrap into one neat little bundle. Where? How? To what extent? Which programs? It is elusive. With that, how i have tackled it is not where it should be. I don’t have to worry too much about it in school. On the occasions that the students use it, I am able to refine the possible sites that are useful, and I keep a close eye (not a time to grade papers!). At home is a whole other story. I have learned the hard way that filtering is important. Certainly, being involved in your child’s life is important anyway. However, your teen can/will choose what they want you to be involved in, so the next step is to have them show you their myspace page. I had Jocelyn change a few things, but haven’t checked it lately. Our computer is right by the kitchen, in front of everybody. I think that is very important. It also helps with the time factor. The time thing for me just hasn’t kicked in with keeping up with all of this (thus, this class!)

I feel that is important to keep up with technology and the internet for the sake of keeping kids safe. It is the job of adults to keep children safe and out of harms way. Many children are creative and clever and we can’t keep tabs on them all of the time but we can at least do as much as we can with the tools that we have. I think that filters are a great way to block content that we don’t want kids to see but you can’t just rely on that. Kids should only be on computers that are in public viewing areas and can easily be seen and looked at. Filters are greatly important at schools but things do occasionally slip through the filter so we need to be constantly monitoring students when we have them work on the computer.

My child is only three and so far we don’t have to worry about using the computer. I definitely plan on using some of these tips and suggestions. I think having open communication will be so important with my child. Just letting them know that if they want to have a face book or my space account they need to give me their password so I can check the content and make sure everything is safe will be important.

The article on internet safety was interesting and helpful. I agree with much of what the author said, although his spelling was atrocious. It is disconcerting that students can maneuver their way through a computer /internet with such facility. At my last school, we were searching for some music for a news program we produced, and we couldn’t get to it because of the school filter. My 13 year old computer guru in the class said, “No problem, Ms Chapa. I can get through the filter.” Yikes! I wondered how many times he had gotten around the filter at school. I learned about the different options a filter offers from the article, and wonder how it works with YouTube, a teen favorite. I agree also that you should be “friends” with your children on My Space and Facebook. When viewing my daughter’s My Space (after arguing about it), I checked out a niece’s page and was appalled by the content. I also agree with JoAnn about the number of people who want to be “friends”, and then let you in on everything in their lives. I suppose we will learn to work our way through it, but I think that many of us who didn’t grow up with computers will always be behind. Even if we make a concerted effort, those of us “of a certain age” will always struggle to keep up with the younger generation when it comes to technology.

It’s really important to keep up with what students are learning in technology. My experience with my adult children at home is that they are “up to date” on social networking sites, etc., but when it comes to things like google docs and using spreadsheets, more “technical” things on the computer, they are not better than me. I have to help them when they can’t figure out why their printer isn’t working.

I am relieved we have a good filter here at school in the library. However, after going through this module I can see that I have relied too much on it “screening” websites that shouldn’t necessarily be viewed by our students. Obviously, some get through. What is interesting is that I have books that contain some of the words that are used to determine whether something should be filtered! A student showed me one of those words yesterday!

In Minnesota we lived by a playground (my kids were small.) I scared the crap out of them about stranger safety. As they grew I implemented that on the internet also. (I actually did a lot of these 10 things) They never have been interested in chat rooms . . . they were limited to instant messaging and social sites with friends only. We had one computer that they had to share and keep “time” on the clock so it was fair! I think I did a good job with my kids and limiting them in a healthy way. Of course, I might find out things they did on the computer when they were young just like the time they sneaked out of the house during a junior high slumber party. . . . . .

It is so interesting to read what others write and feel the same way!! I feel knowledge is so important - and when the kids know more than you in technology, it’s a sad day….. I observe my older kids and their knowledge of computer savy - but I’m like Patti - when it comes to google docs - they were amazed at what I had to share. Wow - Mom isn’t so “dumb” afterall!! It’s nice to know that later in life we do get smarter and with technology classes - it gets even better!!

I believe the filters are so critical!! We definitely need them here at school. I know some things get through, but it would be a mess without it!! My daughter put a filter on her computer at her home and both my grandson’s threw a fit! She had to put her password in if they were to go somewhere they were banned from. It became such a hassle, she removed the filter. They promised they wouldn’t go on any “bad” sites. Those sites are so easily accessed even with a filter. I shared with her many of the examples I have read from this module and she said she was ready to put it back on. The video on the preditors scared me to death for my daughters - but especially for my grandkids!!

He warns us that the filters are important, but don’t rely on them. We have to keep an eagle eye on these kids. They can get into a site so easily it scares me!! So, even tho we have filtes, we need to keep our eyes peeled and alert!!

I don’t have any young ones around anymore, but that doesn’t stop me from sharing this information
with them for their own kids. My oldest grandson is 13 - prime age for the internet. I just saw he created a site on Facebook and invited me as one of his “friends”. I haven’t gone on his site yet, but I want to read it regularly to make sure he is staying as safe as possible!! I’ve sent all my kids the info from some of these sites to help with protecting the young ones!! They don’t understand the preditors -

Wow, that was really scary. I watch several videos where the children or young adults thought they were communicating with someone their age and they were not. It was frightening to watch how easy it was for the bad guys to get the information from the kids. I think sometimes we think because we live in a small community we don’t have to worry, but if just one child was hurt like the ones on the videos it would be devastating.
My children have grown up without a computer in the home and that is bad and good. I would be really scared to get a computer now but I think the key is to be educated on safety not just stay away from computers. Whether we like it or not our children will use computers and often. I feel a huge responsibility for my children and my students to learn all I can about internet safety. I also think we should filter out as much of the filth as we possibly can.