EDUC3628

James McLaughlin – 2062389

Assignment 2

Dear Parents,

It is evident that there has been a sharp rise in the use of computers and technology in
schools across Australia (O’Brien & Stavert, 2011). Under professional practice as a teacher,
I am required to demonstrate and have an understanding of the relevant issues and
strategies available to support the safe, responsible and ethical use of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) in learning and teaching, thus helping create and maintain
supportive and safe learning environments for students. Furthermore, this post is an
effective strategy to engage you in the educative process as I am required to do under
profession practice ("Teacher Standards", 2018).

The Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority (ACARA), has included ICT as a general
capability that students need to develop so they have the skills and confidence to make ICT
work for them at school, at home, at work and in their future. This is achieved by making
digital technologies available to them, adopting new ways of doing things as technologies
evolve and limiting the risks to themselves and others in a digital environment
(ACARA,2018). This post will look at how your child can become an effective digital
citizen and provides information so that you are aware of the ways in which your child can
maintain a safe, responsible and ethical approach to the use of ICT.

There are many elements under the Australian Curriculum ICT capabilities, however, I will
be focusing on the element of Applying Social and Ethical Protocols and Practices when
using ICT.
“© Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2010 to present,
unless otherwise indicated. This material was downloaded from the Australian Curriculum
website (www.australiancurriculum.edu.au) (accessed 4/11/18) and was not modified. The
material is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).

This element focuses on students understanding digital security and strategies to secure
information, protecting students and others intellectual property, applying strategies to
protect rights, identity, privacy and emotional safety of others, avoid and prevent
cyberbullying of self and others and acknowledgement of the risks with online environment
and establishing codes of conduct. By the end of year 10, students want to be able to:
 Applying Social and Ethical Protocols and Practices when using ICT is licensed under
a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

As educators, it is important to provide a safe environment in school settings. We are

developing into a highly technological society, therefore, relying heavily on the use of
technology. O'Brien and Stavert (2011) state that educators have a new collective
responsibility as it is evident students are spending significant time in both the real and
virtual worlds. Thus, it is crucial to provide the necessary skills to students, so they can
become empowered within this technologically sophisticated society now and into the
future (ACARA,2018). I will be informing students in my classroom of what it means to be
a digital citizen, and areas surrounding social networking, cyber safety, cyber bullying, online
gaming, digital security, sexting, trolling and other benefits and consequences of the use of
ICT. There are many positives using ICT, however, there are many risks associated with this
digital world. Therefore, I recommend you take an active role in supporting your child's safe,
responsible and ethical use of ICT. Below I have articulated precautions that can support
your child to use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically at school and at home.

Digital Security

Although many services online require personal information to use their services, students
need to be careful on how much information they disclose as the more you reveal online,
results in a greater risk of identity theft, spam, scams, fraud, stalking and harassment.
Personal information includes things such as name, address, date of birth, phone number,
age etc. It is important to have measures in place to protect personal information such as
strong unique passwords, using private browsing, adjusting privacy settings and using
multiple emails. Click here to find out more information on protecting personal information,
monitoring for signs of compromise and what to do if you believe your child has become a
victim of identity theft.

Browsing the Web safely

Internet use is a daily occurrence for students, therefore, it is vital to know how to access
the web safely at home without succumbing to inappropriate websites, online scams and
viruses. It has been identified the Australian public are being caught out by scammers by
impersonating well-known businesses and even the police to steal money and banking
information ("Home | Scamwatch", 2018). This also highlights the importance of personal
information and that it should be treated like money, don’t leave it around for others to
take. Please click the hyperlink which will provide websites so that you become familiar with
the term eSecurity, the risks associated, and how to be safe and secure with the connected
devices in your child’s surroundings as poor eSecurity can result in corruption of files, data
loss and criminal access to personal information.

License

Students need to be responsible and ethical in their approach to ICT. Therefore, when using
other people’s work in forms of text or sharing digital content, referencing and creative
commons licences must be used by students to give credit known as attributions to the
person who created it. I have provided an example below and more information on creative
commons can be found here and here about using, modifying and sharing intellectual
property.

“Creative Commons Logo”by Creative Commons Licensed under CC BY 4.0

Cyber Bullying

Cyberbullying is the same as bullying, however, it is carried out through the internet or
mobile devices, and as a result, can cause psychological harm. Betts, Spenser, and Gardner
(2017) indicate, due to the amount of usage of digital technology being consumed by young
people, there is an increased risk in cyberbullying, either as a victim, bully, or bully/victim.
Bullying is an ongoing misuse of power in relationships and students need to know what
strategies they can use to tackle this issue. Strategies can be found online at Reach Out, Kids
Helpline and the National Centre Against Bullying.

Online Gaming

I have noticed amongst my classroom the popularity of online gaming. Therefore, I wanted
to briefly outline that excessive amounts of online gaming can become detrimental to a
child’s health, social life and academic performance. There are many potential risks
associated with online gaming, however, Škařupová and Blinka (2016) found that people are
less likely to have problematic patterns of online gaming that have healthy relationships. If
you are unsure of your child's gaming habits, I have included a list of the most popular
games here to help you identify if your child engages in these popular games. Lastly, online
gaming involves other participants, hence, it is essential for your child to protect their
privacy and keep information private as discussed.

I hope you have found this post informative, educational and useful. Below I have provided
more resources that may help you become involved and educated in ICT to help support
your child in applying social and ethical protocols and practising when using ICT.

iParent– A great resource to help parents understand the digital environment and the ‘big
issues’ surrounding the digital environment and how to help their child have an enjoyable
online experience.

Stay Smart Online– An Australian Government resource that includes sharing online safety
information from things such as privacy settings, identifying scams and creating strong
passwords.

eSafety Resources– A compiled list of online safety and wellbeing resources available for
those in need of support.

Scam Watch– A government run website providing information to consumers about how to
recognise, avoid and report scams.

Tips for parents– A vast amount of information helping parents from things such as deciding
what mobile to buy their children, if they should be allowed computers in their bedroom to
technology information and what children could be using at school, at home and on the go.

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2018). Information and

Communication Technology (ICT) capability. Retrieved
from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-
capabilities/information-and-communication-technology-ict-capability/

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2017). Teacher Standards.
Retrieved from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards

Betts, L., Spenser, K., & Gardner, S. (2017). Adolescents’ Involvement in Cyber Bullying and
Perceptions of School: The Importance of Perceived Peer Acceptance for Female
Adolescents. A Journal of Research, 77(7), 471-481. doi:10.1007/s11199-017-0742-2
Home | Scamwatch. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.scamwatch.gov.au

O’Brien, T., & Stavert, B. (2011). Creating good digital citizens. Education in a technological
world: Communicating current and emerging research and technological efforts, 115-119.

Škařupová, K., & Blinka, L. (2016). Interpersonal dependency and online gaming
addiction. Journal of behavioral addictions, 5(1), 108. doi:10.1556/2006.5.2016.002

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0

International License.