In our first ICT class, we learnt about the importance of E-Safety in Primary Schools. British law stresses the importance of protecting children online. This not only applies to preventing unwanted contact, but also to stopping the child from accessing content on the internet that is not child friendly. As well as this it also means monitoring what a child is doing online to both protect and prevent them from cyber bullying, upholding the basic British values of common decency and law. The UN states however that we must protect our child’s freedom. I feel we walk a fine line between freedom and control online, and that we in schools can only do so much. It is the ultimately the parent’s duty to decide what their child is and isn’t allowed to do online. It is important that we educate the children, so they can know how to protect themselves.

We also looked at Blogging as a classroom tool. For example, we saw groups of students from across the world taking part in a 100 Word Challenge. This allowed not only us to comment on and critique their work, but their teacher as well. Of course, if a comment was judged to be inappropriate or misplaced, the teacher had the power to moderate it, which I think is a useful tool, as only the teacher truly knows the child’s ability. I think it is a really good idea to get a child blogging online, as it doesn’t just relate to ICT, but can cross over into a multitude of projects such as English or Maths. As the world becomes more technological, so must the classroom.

Thank you reading my blog and please feel free to continue my journey with me through my weeks at Roehampton.