Online Privacy for Students in a Digital Age

When I taught Grade 8 English, I always had my students write an autobiography at the beginning of the year to learn more about them. This past year I added a media focus by having students design a digital poster to represent themselves. The software to be used was left wide open - students could use anything from Microsoft Publisher to online digital poster software to simple Paint.

I even gave student the option to publish their work online as visual resume or an About.me page. My intention for this online option was to encourage students to begin building a positive online presence. It was not mandatory, but rather an option and platform for the students to showcase their accomplishments. 

See my lesson instructions here:

We spoke as a class about what is and isn’t appropriate to post online. 

However, I received mixed reactions from parents and my peers. Was this still too much information for students to post publicly? Should students under a certain age be anonymous on the internet? Should such online behaviours be encouraged by a school?

Where do we draw the line between creating a positive digital footprint and protecting children from the dangers of the internet? 

In a school which introduced a 1:1 laptop program and supports a tech-infused learning community dedicated to the principles of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), these are critical questions to be asked. And it seemed that no one knew the answers.

My classroom project sparked a lively debate among educators at my school concerning what the students should and should not be doing online. On one side, it is important for schools to protect students from the dangers of the internet. On the other side, I think we could all admit that students with their own laptops and a constant wifi connection are visiting whatever sites they wish.

Instead of hiding children from the internet, I feel it’s the role of the school to educate students on safe online behaviours.

We can never teach someone swim from the deck of the pool. We of course shouldn’t push them into the water with no previous guidance, but instead assist them into the water with a suitable knowledge of what to do once in the water and how to react to unfavourable situations. 

From my experience, educators often prematurely give students full reign of the internet after deciding technology is a beneficial tool for education. We essentially pushed students into the deep end without the necessary skills needed to stay afloat. Students need to be explicitly taught digital citizenship and have their online actions closely monitored while they are still learning appropriate online behaviour.

See my follow-up lesson on online privacy here:

Access the lesson slides here

Please feel free to use any of these resources in your own teaching of online safety.