Today in class, our guest speaker Jesse Miller spoke to us about privacy and safety.

We covered the multimedia learning theory and privacy & safety educational competencies.

These topics as well as others that we discussed today are also connected to the privacy & safety and FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) lesson we had at the beginning of the year with Valerie.

Jesse spoke to us about digital rights and how to separate the personal and professional of social media. It is important as educators in this age to have a digital footprint and online influence, but it is even more important for this footprint to be a positive one, and that we are thinking ahead to our careers and being cautious about the kinds of photographs and information that is public to future employers, students, and their families. Doing a quick google search into teachers who have lost their job for posting photos engaging in illegal behaviour, or even just posting photos wearing revealing clothing definitely confirms this reality of the career we are about to enter into. Regardless of if these situations are truly justified or the subject of public outcry, it is very important to be aware and cautious of the different settings we may be employed in and how different districts and public vs. private systems regulate their staffing with consideration to online vetting.

We also discussed digital consent, and the importance of not posting pictures of students or any of their information without their parents or guardian’s explicit consent. It is very easy to find places online where teachers do not respect their students’ digital consent, through a simple “teacher life” or “teacher problems” search. Further, consent that is not informed is not consent.  It is important that as teachers who work with vulnerable youth, we are aware and respectful of the laws and guidelines that protect the identities and privacy of our students. It is equally as essential that we educate them to know their own rights and understand what they consent to when they share their personal information. Jesse really pressed on how this mustn’t be done in a lecturing manner with the purpose of scaring children away from using technology, as technology is an amazing and integral tool not only to education but also to the everyday lives of both students and teachers.

Technology is powerful, we have all seen firsthand how it can both shoot someone into fame and ruin an individual’s life. As teachers, it is integral that we understand the power that technology has, and that we teach it to our students so they may go forward to use it and use it often, but to do so consciously.

-Jess