Taking e-responsibility
On 7 February 2013, Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Education, launched a public consultation on the Government’s proposal for the reform of the national curriculum. Having considered the responses to the consultation, the Government has confirmed that it plans to replace the national curriculum foundation subject of ‘information and communication technology (ICT)’ with ‘computing’ at all four key stages.
The consultation identified that ‘ICT’ as a subject name carries negative connotations of a dated and unchallenging curriculum subject that does not serve the needs and ambitions of pupils. The aim is that changing the subject name will not only improve the status of the subject but also more accurately reflect the breadth of content included.
With more emphasis being placed on digital skills and pupils increasingly working more online, consultation respondents raised concerns about the lack of priority given to e-safety within the curriculum.
When it comes to e-safety, the majority of the resources available are focused on protecting children online and restricting access to inappropriate content. The consultation recognised that e-safety must be managed in a different way for the post-16 sector. Many further education colleges were heavily restricting their internet access, blocking web pages as a way of protecting themselves against potential incidents and complaints. Often the restrictions were too heavy-handed and affected students’ ability to conduct online research as part of their studies.
With this in mind, our team at Jisc created an e-Safety infokit to bring together useful tips and resources to support learning providers in assessing their e-responsibility requirements and developing organisational policies.
As with everyday life, the key to staying safe online lies in raising awareness, improving skills and encouraging an understanding of the implications of unsafe or irresponsible behaviour. Cultivating responsible behaviours in both staff and learners is key to enabling individuals to protect themselves, each other and the organisation.
“Being e-responsible is a fundamental skill that is needed by everyone for 21st Century life.”
Resources and eLearning manager, Bridgwater College
Image-sharing websites – staying within the law
As well as promoting safety amongst students and staff, it’s also important to make them aware of the legal implications of their online activity. In education, image-sharing websites like Pinterest are increasingly being used. Colleges, for example, are exploring the use of image-sharing websites for photography students to share their work and obtain peer feedback. But sharing or using content online has implications – particularly for copyright.
Watch this short video on Pinterest, image-sharing websites and the law.
Opening up the use of audiovisual resources through correct citation
With the internet giving us access to so many audiovisual resources, it’s become a part of many people’s daily routine to share links to things they find online or elsewhere, but what happens when you use the resources in academic papers or essays? Would you know how to cite a YouTube video, a podcast or a DVD extract?
A 2011 Jisc report, found that despite the exponential increase in the use of audiovisual material in teaching, learning and research in higher and further education, existing guidelines for referencing moving image and sound are often insufficient as they are based on standards developed for the written word. This has the effect of discouraging the citing of moving image and sound, as well as creating barriers in its discovery, use and re-use.
In response, the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC) has developed guidelines for citing moving image and sound resources.
The guidelines are practical, accessible and applicable to a wide range of different users across all disciplines and encourage best practice in citing any kind of audiovisual item. They cover film, television programmes, radio programmes, audio recordings, DVD extracts, clips, trailers, adverts, idents, non-broadcast, amateur and archive material, podcasts, vodcasts and games.
Virginia Power, resources and e-learning manager at Bridgwater College, praises the effectiveness of the toolkit: “At Bridgwater College we take online safety very seriously as part of our college safeguarding agenda. We strive to ensure that all our students and staff are well aware of e-safety issues, monitoring their digital identities and promoting the general awareness required to protect themselves online. Being e-responsible is a fundamental skill that is needed by everyone for 21st Century life.
“Having the e-safety infokit at our fingertips has meant that we have been able to take a whole-college approach to our e-safety programme with direct, easy access to resources that have helped us shape our strategic direction. The mix of information and further links provides us with a rich resource that we can dip into at the specific level we need.
“For the first time we have an e-safety resource that answers the needs of the post-16 learning and skills sector. Definitely one for my favourites list!”
Top five tips for improving your e-safety
Jackie Milne, legal information specialist at Jisc Legal, gives her top tips to help colleges and universities ensure they meet their duty of care:
1. Be proactive, don’t wait for something to go wrong
Always consider risks and where appropriate, take reasonable steps to minimise them
Establish and share fair rules of acceptable use, procedures and sanctions
Raise awareness of good e-safety practice
The National Education Network’s e-safety audit tool can help you to assess current practice at your college or university.
2. Make someone responsible for e-safety within your college or university
Arguably everyone is responsible for e-safety, but having a named person means advice will be readily available and activities and responses will be co-ordinated and consistent.
3. Use our policy checklist and template to write your e-safety policy
Ensure your policy reflects current technologies and the use of social media. It’s important that it is clear, relevant and easy to understand for your learners and staff.
4. Respond immediately and fairly to any breach in policy
Any action taken in response to an incident, including an investigation or sanctions imposed, should be proportionate and documented in line with your procedures. Any criminal activity must be reported to the police.
Janet, part of Jisc’s network and IT services, has some useful guidelines on dealing with computer crime.
5. Support all your staff and learners to be e-safe
Regular training will help staff deal with concerns and reinforce good practice. Education on managing relevant issues, such as privacy, will help learners to safeguard their online presence. Bear in mind though, that specific guidance for more vulnerable learners may be appropriate.
Training resources and other useful links are available on the Kent e-safety officer’s blog. The Information Commissioner’s Office also provides advice on how young people can protect personal information.