Hello I am studying to be teacher and am doing an ICT assignment on social networking tools and I am interested in using moodle- one of the things we need to discuss are any risks for students- as I completely one hundred percent brand new to moodle, I wanted to ask those in the know- are there any risks in terms of cyberbullying and the such - how do you regulate the students when they are using moodle and is there any chance of non- student, non teacher people infiltrating moodle and causing any problems?
Thanks for your help : )
Terese
Hi Terese
Glad to see your interest - there are always risks of online-bullying, just as there are in other aspects of school life.
Your school will have an acceptable usage policy (AUP) which students, teachers and parents have signed up to. Read the policy and check if your school promotes it!
Better than regulation is education - teach students about acceptable behaviour in your schools online environment. This is a challenge since some students see any form of social-networking as a 'free for all' in terms of what they post online. Moodle is not a social-networking site but some features are similar.
If Moodle is set up properly there is no possibility of 'infiltration' as such - students need however to keep their passwords secret and not give them to others.
You (and your Moodle administrator) can also set privacy settings such as hiding email addresses from others...
Hope that's a little help
Hi Donal,
Thank you - that is very helpful
Thank you - that is very helpful
Terese,
I echo Donal's comments and will add some of my own from my experiences with students and Moodle.
First, I think it is important to remember in terms of your assignment, that technology is neutral. It is people and how we use it that give it social value - good or bad.
Secondly, when students or others misuse technology, especially in a school setting, it is often not a technology issue - it is a behavior issue. However, we tend to focus on the technology rather than the behavior. For example, you mention cyberbullying. Is this a risk - yes. Not because of the technology, but because of the behavior. We have bullying in cafeterias, yet we don't ban lunch, we monitor the lunch room and the behavior. We unfortunately have drugs and weapons in schools, yet we don't ban lockers. We deal with the behavior.
In my opinion, the same should be true of online environments. Monitor behavior as a teacher and/or administrator (don't expect your IT folks to do this!). Forums are the most likely environment in Moodle for students to exhibit inappropriate behavior through postings. However, in my experience, forums, even student forums tend to be "self monitoring". In those cases where they are not, the teacher should be monitoring this environment.
As Donal points out, if set up properly, Moodle is a very secure environment.
Another thing to remember is that the vast majority of your students are already online and living in an online world. An online environment, like Moodle, will not be intimidating or difficult for them to navigate or with which to become familiar. In my opinion, the benefits of using Moodle as an instructional tool far outweigh any potential risks of inappropriate behavior students may exhibit.
- Chick Beckley
I echo Donal's comments and will add some of my own from my experiences with students and Moodle.
First, I think it is important to remember in terms of your assignment, that technology is neutral. It is people and how we use it that give it social value - good or bad.
Secondly, when students or others misuse technology, especially in a school setting, it is often not a technology issue - it is a behavior issue. However, we tend to focus on the technology rather than the behavior. For example, you mention cyberbullying. Is this a risk - yes. Not because of the technology, but because of the behavior. We have bullying in cafeterias, yet we don't ban lunch, we monitor the lunch room and the behavior. We unfortunately have drugs and weapons in schools, yet we don't ban lockers. We deal with the behavior.
In my opinion, the same should be true of online environments. Monitor behavior as a teacher and/or administrator (don't expect your IT folks to do this!). Forums are the most likely environment in Moodle for students to exhibit inappropriate behavior through postings. However, in my experience, forums, even student forums tend to be "self monitoring". In those cases where they are not, the teacher should be monitoring this environment.
As Donal points out, if set up properly, Moodle is a very secure environment.
Another thing to remember is that the vast majority of your students are already online and living in an online world. An online environment, like Moodle, will not be intimidating or difficult for them to navigate or with which to become familiar. In my opinion, the benefits of using Moodle as an instructional tool far outweigh any potential risks of inappropriate behavior students may exhibit.
- Chick Beckley
Terese,
Moodle has a number of self defense features which can be enabled. Email domains, which allow the blocking of accounts. I.E. .info and buyviagra.info spring to mind. We can also only allow certain domains to register I.E. edu.au dorset.org.au ...
Administratively as of 1.9.5 there is a filter that can be run to remove users with key words as first last names.
In a Open or Distance learning environment the VLE often becomes a "family". The Moodle is a mente or meeting place. Issues are dealt with mostly by the student body. Self regulation. It should also be kept in mind that in the distance, open environment that students may only have 30 minutes a week contact with a pastoral teacher. Tut's and interactive lessons, lectures may account for an extra 90 minutes a week.
We often get the question from parents of younger children " is it safe"? The chances of meeting the absolutely wrong person on line is significantly less than meeting one in the street. It diminishes to almost vanishing point in a education environment. The risk taking age seems to start at around 14 years. Risk taking is, talking to people you don't know, sharing passwords, sextexting, bullying, giving personal information away.
The answer is education. Parent and teacher vigilance. Peer vigilance.
John
Moodle has a number of self defense features which can be enabled. Email domains, which allow the blocking of accounts. I.E. .info and buyviagra.info spring to mind. We can also only allow certain domains to register I.E. edu.au dorset.org.au ...
Administratively as of 1.9.5 there is a filter that can be run to remove users with key words as first last names.
In a Open or Distance learning environment the VLE often becomes a "family". The Moodle is a mente or meeting place. Issues are dealt with mostly by the student body. Self regulation. It should also be kept in mind that in the distance, open environment that students may only have 30 minutes a week contact with a pastoral teacher. Tut's and interactive lessons, lectures may account for an extra 90 minutes a week.
We often get the question from parents of younger children " is it safe"? The chances of meeting the absolutely wrong person on line is significantly less than meeting one in the street. It diminishes to almost vanishing point in a education environment. The risk taking age seems to start at around 14 years. Risk taking is, talking to people you don't know, sharing passwords, sextexting, bullying, giving personal information away.
The answer is education. Parent and teacher vigilance. Peer vigilance.
John
Thank you John - that is really helpful
Thank you Chick- your comments have provided me with some very helpful 'food for thought'
Hi Teresa,
Please note that there is a bullying tedency in almost every body these days. What you need to establish a set of school rules that are strict but flexible right from the beginning.
Please find one such set of rules that I have established for online studies at the International Polytechnic Institute located:
http://www.omnitechnologies.net/school-rules.html.
I hope your find this helpful.
Thanks,
Dr. Gregory I. Umukoro,CCP
Please note that there is a bullying tedency in almost every body these days. What you need to establish a set of school rules that are strict but flexible right from the beginning.
Please find one such set of rules that I have established for online studies at the International Polytechnic Institute located:
http://www.omnitechnologies.net/school-rules.html.
I hope your find this helpful.
Thanks,
Dr. Gregory I. Umukoro,CCP