Conclusion
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Millions of young school children are logging on to the Internet
daily. In addition to the many educational benefits of the Internet,
educators should also be aware of the risks involved when integrating
the Internet into classroom instruction. Online predators: child predators often use the Internet as a means of finding susceptible young people. Carefully monitor the in class use of educational chat rooms or discussion forums. Students must be made aware of the importance of never revealing personal information on the Internet. Privacy issues: Do not allow students to give out their personal information or information about their home and family. Prevent or limit cookies (Internet options) in order to prevent, or at least reduce the number of tracking programs on your classroom computer. Tracking allows information to be gathered and used to design website around the students preferences in an attempt to gain personal information Advertising: Students are susceptible to advertising geared toward the young audience. Inappropriate Materials: pornography, violence and gambling are available on the World Wide Web. It is a good idea to limit the choices for younger students by providing a list of previewed and approved websites. Most dangers are encountered when students are searching and going to unknown sites. Use sites with little or no advertising; avoid sites with chat rooms; preview content for grade appropriateness. Plagiarism: Technology opens the doors to many resources that would not be available under any other circumstances. Technology also allows students more opportunities to "copy and paste" information as their own. Hackers and viruses: Viruses can be downloaded with files from the Internet. Hackers can use the Internet to gain entrance to the school's private network. -----Educate students about dangers of the Internet. ----Have students and parents sign an Acceptable Usage Policy. -----Install antivirus software, filtering software and firewalls. -----Educate students to evaluate web sources for authenticity and accuracy.
Be aware that no filtering software will provide 100% protection from the inappropriate sites available on the Web. Filtering software should be updated routinely. Be aware that antivirus software must be updated frequently. Require parents' signatures on the Acceptable Usage Policy. Review the policy with parents during the Parent Night in the fall. Inform parents of the dangers but also of the precautions set in place for the school. Encourage parents to enforce similar guidelines at home.
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