12/4/08 readings reflection

The article I chose to read was under the "I Have A Questions" section and the question was "How can our family take advantage of what is available on the Internet while avoiding objectionable material and people of questionable character?", which was answered by William C. Porter. One of the most important things I learned from the readings were the different prevention strategies that parents and teachers can use to help their children and/or students be able to use only the good and educational things available on the internet. A couple of these strategies were to tell children what the expectations are, what to do if something comes up they don't want (turn off the computer), be a good example for the children, and put the computer in a very public place in the house where a lot of people can see the screen. As both a teacher and a parent, I plan to have the home computer (and classroom, if there is one) in a very public place where passersby can easily see what's being viewed. I also plan to teach my expectations very clearly and to teach how to react to bad sites or bad people (turn off the computer immediately and tell me about it). I also plan to know how to use the technology that the kids use and to have a filter system in place on any computer that either they or I use. While reading I was thinking that I can use this knowledge to not only bring up this topic with others and share these ideas, but also to possibly teach a class or a group of some kind how to safeguard their homes and families against the dangers of the internet.