Internet Safety

     The links and documents were all very helpful. Most talked about how to be safe on the internet and how to find credible web pages while some focused on the dangers of the internet and what can happen if you are not careful. All of the authors seemed very knowledgeable about the subject matter. They were all very enlightening and although I knew most of what they were talking about, I still learned a few things from the many websites.

      The most surprising thing I learned was that one website stated that Facebook is going to start giving out the personal information of Facebook users. Because I am a Facebook user, this makes me a little bit nervous. I went into my privacy settings on Facebook and changed all of the options to private. I do not want third parties to have my personal information. Some information I don't even want friends to see, let alone people that I do not even know.

     I was also surprised at how many districts and schools do not even address dangerous websites and social networking. I know that at my high school, many websites, including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, were all blocked. Unless you had the password, which is only supplied to the teachers, you were not allowed to log on. However, because students now are so literate in technology, some students would download programs that would void the block so that they could log on anyway.

      I think these articles are valuable to students because students need to learn how to be safe on the internet and how to identify a credible source. There are so many brilliant people that create websites to scam people or provide false information, so students must be able to know the basics of a credible source. This will not only make them more smart, but it will keep them safe from scams and viruses on the internet, as well as keeping them away from internet predators.

      I think, as stated above, that providing education on internet safety is very important. Some parents are very uninvolved in their children's lives, so if it is not taught at school, the student will learn it no other way. Today, there are so many harmful websites that are so easily accessible, we must teach our students how to avoid these websites and how to report them if they stumble upon one.

Welcome to 3rd Grade!

Welcome to Mrs. Willhite's 3rd Grade Blog! We have already had a great year and we will continue to do many fun things throughout the year! Please feel free to enjoy the blog to see what we have done and what we will do!