Safety is Key

With technology quickly advancing and having it be easily accessible by people of all ages, I feel it is very important to inform kids/future students about safety issues involving internet usage, especially with the advancement in technology. Out of the five topics that were presented on, the phishing and pharming topic would not necessarily be needed in my field. But textual harassment and cyber bullying, on the other hand, would be stressed in my class and I would inform my students on this topic, mainly because it seems as if children are getting cellular devices and other technological devices at younger ages so it is critical to inform them on the right and wrong ways that it can be used. A program of Goodwill Community Foundation shares that, Many kids are confident that they know how to be safe online. However, there are a few reasons kids are often more at risk. They may not always think about the consequences of their actions, which can cause them to share too much information about themselves. Kids also are sometimes specifically targeted by cyberbullies or predators” (GCF, 2016).

My group presented on phishing and pharming. These two safety issues would probably be the least stressed in the field of elementary because of the ages being dealt with, but definitely will not be ignored because both phishing and pharming are both very dangerous ways one can get manipulated online. Per Christensson explains that, “Phishing and pharming are two different ways hackers attempt to manipulate users via the Internet. Phishing involves getting a user to enter personal information via a fake website. Pharming involves modifying DNS entries, which causes users to be directed to the wrong website when they visit a certain Web address” (Christensson, 2005). With that said, my group and I shared some tips in which one can decipher whether or not the online site is legitimate or not. We also shared that if whichever site is asking for too much personal information, it would just be best to not put it on, giving that the Internet is something very dangerous to play around with and information and travel so quickly. 

Therefore, I find it very crucial to instill online safety to children of all ages.

Overall, this presentation allowed me to attain better knowledge on phishing and pharming  and I will also consider using the information on the other topics that were discussed in my future classroom.

 

References

Christensson, P. (n.d.). PC Help Center. Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://pc.net/helpcenter/answers/phishing_and_pharming

Goodwill Community Foundation. Retrieved November 24, 2016, from http://www.gcflearnfree.org/print/internetsafetyforkids/teaching-kids-about-internet-safety?playlist=Internet_Safety%20for%20Kids