One of the more useful sessions I attended at SITTE was provided by Michael and Ilene Berson. The Bersons combine the expertise of a Psychologist and Educational Technologist and share an interest in risky and inappropriate Internet behavior. They suggest that typical approaches such as filtering (attempting to block or control access) and AUPs (rules) are not sufficient and schools must approach issues of safety and ethical behavior as an educational topic. They suggest that there are developmental issues that have often been ignored. With adolescents, such issues might involve a desire to experiment with different “roles” in combination with assumptions of anonymity and safety. The Bersons offer resources and notes from some of their presentations on their Internet safety web site.
When it comes to using the Internet, it seems to me there is a fine line between wanting adolescents to be risk takers and wanting them to avoid risky behaviors. Establishing rules will certainly not be enough to guide productive behaviors.
