Tool #11

To me there is nothing more important that we can teach our students than to teach them to keep themselves SAFE!! In this world we live in, technology can be such a wonderful tool, whether to learn, to shop, or to keep in touch with family and friends. However, unless we teach our students to use the internet properly, we might be putting them at risk. I would definitely teach my students to NEVER give out their name or any other personal information, or tell them to only do so with their parents by their side.
Secondly, I would want them to know that not EVERYTHING they see or read on the internet is true. We used to think that if we read something in the newspaper or a magazine, that it was true. Now many of us think that with the internet. When researching, I have told my students to use a rule of "3". If three internet sights say the same thing, it probably is true. Also, I have taught them in the past, the names of different suffix/email addresses...which ones are ads, which are from educational institutions, etc.
Third, I think of the unwritten rule of digital etiquette. I often remind my husband that USING ALL CAPS IS SHOUTING!! One thing I would make sure my students know is that once you write something in an email, or on facebook or anywhere else on the internet....it is there, pretty much forever, for any one to see.