Internet based resources

Roblyer & Doering’s (2014) identify five potential problems using the internet.

1. Accessing sites with appropriate materials
2. Safety and privacy issues for students
3. Fraud on the internet
4. Computer viruses and hacking
5. Copyright and plagiarism issues

The one potential problem which would have the most impact on Kindergarten children would possibly be safety and privacy.  Most of the activities I use on the internet for my class are set up in between lessons to minimise risks for a couple of reasons. Five and six year olds have minimal patience to wait for anything so I set up the games or websites needed so all they need to do is go and play.  While the children play these games pop ups do appear and sometimes the children will click on them and go to another website.  Once the new site appears and their game disappears the children bring your attention to their device fairly quickly.  At the end of the lesson we discuss what and talk about what the pop ups are and why we shouldn’t click on them. 

We do have Firewalls and filtering software to prevents access to inappropriate sites. Teachers and admin staff also have fewer restrictions than students so we are still able to access sites like Facebook and YouTube. Teachers use secret Facebook pages as a means of communication with the parents of their students.  This is to protect the children’s privacy and keep the parents up to date with what is happening at school.  Photos, songs and reminders are loaded to the page and the parents love it. Parents are also able to contribute to the page after an administrator allows their post. 

Smart phones are not usually an issue in our primary school. If a child does have a phone that they use after school the school policy is that phone is kept in the school office until the end of the day when it can be collected before going home.  The executive staff speaks with the parents and students using the smart phones and rules are agreed to so the phones are not used inappropriately.  

Post to the wiki

Study Ladder is a free website for teachers and students to access Mathematics, English, Science, ICT, Health, Language, Music, Art, Theme Based Learning and NAPLAN activities. 

Studyladder, an online educational program designed by teachers for children to learn at their own pace. Teachers are able to add their class to the website and assign set activities. The children are given a username and password which can be used to access Studyladder at school or at home. Regular at home access helps to reinforce what has been taught in school. Parents are able to upgrade if they wish to give their child unlimited home access. Teachers can also keep track of students results and can print individual reports on progress.

https://www.studyladder.com.au/teacher/resources 

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2014). Integrating Educational Technology into

Teaching. Essex: Pearson.

Study Ladder. (n.d.). Retrieved January 2016, from https://www.studyladder.com.au/