Your+Online+Indentity

Assignment 1: Your Online Identity

**Issues with having an online identity with examples:** There are a number of issues with having an online presence or identity, these can be dangerous and life altering. In today's technological world, the internet is an important part of most of out lives, unfortunately people can and will use this against us. Identity theft is a major issue. It is important to use only trusted websites, avoid giving out personal information, have strong passwords and don't trust strangers. Another issue is the ever increasing computer viruses, these can destroy your computer from the inside out and even steal information. It is important to know about viruses, have active spyware (program that detects and removes viruses) and don't open any links, attachments or emails where you do not know the sender. As school aged children are accessing the net more often and widely, parents and teachers need to be aware of what they are viewing and who they are talking to. The issue of online predators and cyber-bullying is probably the most dangerous issue with an online presence. Cyber bullying refers to harassment and abuse over any form of technology. This issue is most common amongst school aged students, but it can occur into adulthood. Children need to know and understand the dangers of the internet and how to act accordingly. As a future teacher, I believe that these issues need to be taught and be included into the curriculum. teachers should also be wary of tools and/or websites that ask for student information and remind students not to give out any personal information and if in doubt, ask someone.



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Working with Web 2.0 tools


 *  Tools (other than Youtube, Flickr, Google Groups, Delicious and Wikispaces) that would be useful in my personal/professional life: **

 Diigo: Social bookmarking tool This tool would be very useful in both my personal and professional life as it allows me to collect websites, videos, etc and bookmark them with a short comment. This tool is similar to Delicious, but I believe it is easier to use. Facebook: Social networking Facebook is an excellent tool for my personal life as it allows me to contact other people over the internet, even when they are not online. For me it is a source of information. I can leave a status update asking for help (e.g. How do I upload a clip from youtube) and i receive answers without having to leave my seat. However, I do not think this tool is well suited for schools as it is susceptible to harassment and teachers and parents have no control. PikiStrips: Comic creator This tool is excellent for teaching (my professional life) as it allows students to be creative in a new medium. It is safe and easy to use and students will learn about both comics as a form of literacy and ICT skills. Picnik: Photo editor Picnik is a simple to use photo editing tool that I believe is useful for both my professional and personal life. It allows me to simply upload a photo and edit features. As this tool does not users to sign up, it is excellent for students and they will easily be able to navigate the features of this tool. ScreenToaster: Screen recording tool I would use this tool in both my professional and personal life, although it would be of greater use in my professional life. ScreenToaster allows users to capture videos of on screen action. it would be excellent for creating an example of 'how to' for students. TeacherTube: Video networking for teachers This tool is best suited for teaching. It allows user to view and upload videos and slide shows that are suitable (age appropriate and reliable information) an for students. This tool, unlike most, is available in DECS schools. Bubbl.us: Mind mapping tool Bubbl.us is a great tool for students. it allows them to create mind maps online. It is easy to use and you can save work and come back to it. Mind mapping is an important skill for broadening ideas and finding out new information.

 The tools investigated in Assignment 1 are both useful in my professional and private life. I would probably use Google Groups and Wikispaces the most in professional life, as it can be monitored and it allows sharing of ideas and useful web pages. I think Wikispaces is an excellent tool for the classroom as students can personalise their own wiki and it can be used to hold all their ICT work for the year. This is great for parent/teacher interviews as it is a simple way of showing the parents/caregivers what their child have been working on.

**Ways in which a professional blog/wiki/website could be useful:** In my life, a professional wiki would be best suited, as I can easily personalise and maintain my wiki, store all my work and examples of work for students, I have control over who can view, edit and comment on my work and it is simple to use. I would not only have my on wikispace, but a class wiki, where students can ask questions of each other and myself and work together online.