Weekend Reading: Internet Safety Instruction and Amazing Web 2.0 Projects
This occasional series, Weekend Reading, offers suggestions for books, articles, and research papers that can foster professional growth. This latest installment includes the 2010 State of K-12 Cyberethics, Cybersafety and Cybersecurity Curriculum in the U.S. Survey and The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book.
State of Ethics, Safety, and Security
The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) recently published the results of the 2010 State of K-12 Cyberethics, Cybersafety and Cybersecurity Curriculum in the U.S. Survey. The survey, an extension of the 2008 National Cyberethics, Cybersafety, and Cybersecurity Baseline Study, is an effort to understand current online safety and security education attitudes and practices of U.S. teachers, administrators, and technology coordinators. In general, America’s young people aren’t receiving adequate instruction to use digital technology and navigate cyberspace in a safe, secure and responsible manner and are ill-prepared to address these subjects.
The results, while disappointing, are certainly not surprising. Across all constituencies, appropriate use of technology and the Internet is typically addressed via web filters, blocking social networking sites, and requiring students to sign an acceptable use policy. Students and educators are informed about specific laws, policies and guidelines related to the ethical use of resources through student and staff handbooks, presentations at faculty meetings, and student information sessions. Schools clearly need to adopt a more engaging and effective approach to teaching ethics, safety, and security; I’ll share strategies for that in an upcoming post.
Web 2.0 Projects Book
The The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book, edited by Terry Freedman, contains 87 projects for incorporating technology into the curriculum. The projects range from art to zoology, span all grade levels, and utilize more than 50 different web tools. Each project includes a detailed description, suggested age range/grade level, list of Web 2.0 applications used, a synopsis of the challenges to be overcome, recommendations for implementing the project, and student responses and outcomes.
This truly amazing (and totally free) book is available from Terry’s website or can be downloaded directly from here.
Happy reading!
April 29th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
shoot cool stuff man.