EDU 790: Week 6 CIPA/COPPA
2/14/18
Hello,
In this week's blog, I will be discussing my thoughts on CIPA/COPPA. My school uses one to one Chromebook technology and most teachers are using apps daily in their classrooms. We hear a lot about COPPA from our Tech Specialist, but most people don't have a full understanding of what it is. Until this assignment, all I knew is that if an app or website asked for the age of a student, we couldn't us it. After learning what CIPA and COPPA are, I have more of an understanding to our district "rule."
I feel the having COPPA is place is a great start to keeping kids safe on the internet. COPPA ensures that private information, such as full name, address, grade and school location are not shared with outside sources. It seems like this rule should apply to all people, not just those under the age of thirteen. I understand that sharing information is part of the business, but why not protect all people online?
I feel that the FCC and FTC are doing their best to keep kids safe online, but there is only so much you can control. Setting these rules and using federal funding as a way to make schools and libraries comply is a good way to make sure kids are safe in those locations. However, how are they being kept safe when they are not at school or the library? All schools must have a online safety and etiquette to teach children to be safe and smart while using the internet. I also wonder where the age thirteen came from? What is the deciding factor that says at fourteen they have to fend for themselves online? I'm not sure what age would be more appropriate, but I feel that it should apply to older students too. I also agree with Danah Boyd's comment about lying online. There are so many great tools out there for students to use, but they often come with the age question before use. I feel that it is very easy for students to lie online. When they lie about their age, they are potentially exposed to inappropriate material. Children may also have personal information shared with outside sources.
The importance of online safety cannot be stressed enough with children. Unfortunately, some kids are not getting the information they need to stay safe online. Along with CIPA and COPPA, schools, libraries, youth centers, religious groups and parents must all be taught the importance of online safety and help to keep kids safe online.
Hello,
In this week's blog, I will be discussing my thoughts on CIPA/COPPA. My school uses one to one Chromebook technology and most teachers are using apps daily in their classrooms. We hear a lot about COPPA from our Tech Specialist, but most people don't have a full understanding of what it is. Until this assignment, all I knew is that if an app or website asked for the age of a student, we couldn't us it. After learning what CIPA and COPPA are, I have more of an understanding to our district "rule."
I feel the having COPPA is place is a great start to keeping kids safe on the internet. COPPA ensures that private information, such as full name, address, grade and school location are not shared with outside sources. It seems like this rule should apply to all people, not just those under the age of thirteen. I understand that sharing information is part of the business, but why not protect all people online?
I feel that the FCC and FTC are doing their best to keep kids safe online, but there is only so much you can control. Setting these rules and using federal funding as a way to make schools and libraries comply is a good way to make sure kids are safe in those locations. However, how are they being kept safe when they are not at school or the library? All schools must have a online safety and etiquette to teach children to be safe and smart while using the internet. I also wonder where the age thirteen came from? What is the deciding factor that says at fourteen they have to fend for themselves online? I'm not sure what age would be more appropriate, but I feel that it should apply to older students too. I also agree with Danah Boyd's comment about lying online. There are so many great tools out there for students to use, but they often come with the age question before use. I feel that it is very easy for students to lie online. When they lie about their age, they are potentially exposed to inappropriate material. Children may also have personal information shared with outside sources.
The importance of online safety cannot be stressed enough with children. Unfortunately, some kids are not getting the information they need to stay safe online. Along with CIPA and COPPA, schools, libraries, youth centers, religious groups and parents must all be taught the importance of online safety and help to keep kids safe online.
I was happy to read that the assignment this week gave you a better understanding of your own school policy- that's great news. In terms of your comment about so many great tools out there not accessible to younger students I agree. It makes me wonder if it is time to start rethinking the whole "must be 13" requirement. Some sites, in fact are starting to use language in their TOS agreements stating that it is ok to use the site if you are under 13 if an adult is aware of your use. This comes from Canva: You must be 13 years old or older to use or access the Service, unless you are under 13 years old and your use of the Service is directly supervised by your parent or guardian or another authorized adult (e.g., a teacher) who agrees to be bound by this Agreement.
ReplyDeleteI agree, a coordinated effort is need by all to ensure the safety of students physically and digitally.
ReplyDeleteTheresa, thanks for sharing. My school too has a 1:1 technology device, but we use the iPad as opposed to the Chromebook. I am curious to read how you think the Chromebook works for your students, because I personally wish we had the Chromebook instead of the iPad. I feel that the iPad has so many applications that allows our students access to more potential danger, when the Chromebook may limit some of those applications, games, social media, or sites. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteHello Kara,
DeleteUnfortunately, I find the opposite. With an iPad, you can download specific apps for your students. My middle school students find the keyboard on an iPad more time consuming and tend to stay on task. With Chromebooks, the students have access to so much more. This may just be for my district, because the iPads are under strict downloading restrictions. Next month, I'll have students live streaming March Madness NCAA games during class, playing Youtube videos for music while they work and finding games that are not blocked from the network. We use a program called GoGuardian, which allows me to see their live screens at all times, but it's hard to teach and watch their screens at the same time. It becomes more of a pick your battles type situation. I monitor the screens while the test and quiz online and I spend a lot of time moving around the room to monitor attention and focus. Chromebooks and iPads are both great tools, but the grass is always greener, right?
"The importance of online safety cannot be stressed enough with children. Unfortunately, some kids are not getting the information they need to stay safe online. Along with CIPA and COPPA, schools, libraries, youth centers, religious groups and parents must all be taught the importance of online safety and help to keep kids safe online."
ReplyDeleteWe have talked (and blogged) so much about teaching kids how to navigate the internet in a safe way. I like your point here, that we all should be taught about internet safety first so that we can teach kids. You're right. It really isn't just the job of schools. If our kids are hearing about internet safety from multiple sources, it might make more of an impact.
I agree! Thanks for sharing.
DeleteI appreciate your honesty. I think the general understanding of these laws is limited outside those who take a natural interest in law or must do so for work requirements. You mention the issue of control. Control in the digital age means those doing the controlling or wishing for it to happen must be well-informed. You admitted yourself that you didn't know all that much about COPPA/CIPA, and you're in the tech program. The truth is that Americans tend to let these important laws and policies fall to the wayside. All hands are needed on deck. We can do much by educating ourselves, students, and families.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more when it comes to your comment regarding how "there is only so much that we can do to keep children safe online." This is something similar to what I discussed in my blog for this week. The kids are going to pursue content online despite what environment they are in and, unfortunately, we can only protect them when they are within the boundaries of the school network. I think that the internet is a very scary place and with the advent of new technology kids can now become internet phantoms, masking their ISP numbers and operating with unidentifiable usernames and trails online. This opens the door for online harassment, stalking, and other forms of virtual violence. The problem goes beyond what we can teach as teachers educating our young ones on internet ethics.
Delete