Internet Safety and Classroom Rules Flyer Reflection

In a world where new technology is emerging virtually every day, it is difficult for busy parents to stay on top of what new worlds are becoming available to their children. If parents aren't aware of what potential dangers and benefits are available in this burgeoning technological world, how can they be expected to protect and teach their children? As an educator, my responsibilities don't stop at the classroom door, especially if I choose to engage my students in a virtual classroom. This internet safety and classroom rules flyer is the way in which I help to bridge the gap between these worlds.

In a concise and well organized flyer I have included a lot of material that I hope will aid in the awareness of the parents and students. The students and I will have engaged in an in depth discussion regarding classroom expectations and internet safety by way of my PowerPoint presentation, but the parents should also be clued into the basics of these discussions. It is my goal that this flyer will not only bring awareness to the parents, but also inspire a conversation between them and their child.

My goal with this flyer is not only to reaffirm the discussions students and I have engaged in about internet safety, but to assure the parents that any access to the internet is not frivolous or without guidelines. For this reason, I also included the school district's policies regarding internet access and the use of technology. I think that this flyer does a thorough job of communicating to the parents that we take their child's safety and education very seriously.

In addition to providing the parents with the basic rules and guidelines that have been set up for safe and appropriate internet use in the classroom, physical or virtual, and the school district's policies on this matter, I included several resources for this parents to explore. Each of these sites discusses various aspects of internet safety and how each parent can set appropriate boundaries in the home to ensure the safety of their child. There are also links to resources such as computer filters for the home computer to help guide the students away from inappropriate or unsafe material as deemed by family standards.

I think that the material contained within this flyer is very important as are the goals of awareness and safety. The flyer is visually appealing to draw the attention of the parents and the information is concise to keep the attention of the reader. Plus, with the inclusion of a "permission slip", I am ensuring that the parents are engaged, at least on some level. All of these aspects added together demonstrate that I am a teacher who is not only well versed in technology, but an advocate for its appropriate use. With evidence that I have taken the time to assemble such a clean and clear document for something as standard as a flyer, I hope my dedication to excellence is apparent as are my adherence to the ITSE standards.