Internet Safety Reflection

With regards to the Internet, the positive elements definitely outweigh the negative. Although the Internet has a lot of risky and unsafe content, it is also full of reliable, educational information available at our fingertips. We are so lucky to have access to any content we would like to learn about, which can be accessed at anytime, anywhere. Our world has advanced so much because of what we have been able to learn through the web. I definitely believe the Internet is a major advantage we have in education. As long as its users are aware of how to stay safe and how to avoid inappropriate material online, the Internet provides a major educational advantage.

Evaluation of websites is very important. We should evaluate the sites we use on the Internet for our own safety and the safety of the computer. Unfortunately, there are many sex predators online searching for people to harm. If personal information is given to those predators, innocent victim’s lives may be affected forever. Also, it is important to evaluate the sites we use in order to avoid viruses that could ruin computer software.

Through the assignment this week, I was able to discover important steps to evaluating websites, which is great because I have never had my own method to make sure a site is safe. My new favorite way of evaluating sites is through the "Five W's." The Five W's are evaluating the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of each website. If legitimate answers can be found to these questions, the site is usually safe. I plan to teach these important Internet safety tips with my students.

The most important way to keep my students safe while surfing the Web is by teaching them about Internet safety. If I can teach my students how to evaluate a site to make sure the content is appropriate, they will have a good experience learning through technology. I know that if I can learn how to stay safe on the Internet and teach my students to do the same, we will have a more positive class environment and each of us will live a better life staying away from the potentially harmful effects of the Internet.