Yeah, so I have to blog about mindless things along with the rest of the class, since the program is education-oriented, and therefore has so many requirements and restrictions on it that it almost makes it not worth it. The focus of the school boards should NOT be on requiring students to perform menial tasks that revolve around the fact that teenagers are subordinate to the almighty Board of Education, it should be to prepare us for the world around us. I don't care if this gets my grade reduced. It needs to be said. We are in high school. If there is anything about Online Safety that we haven't already had shoved down our throats, I'll be surprised.
So, I have to blog about Online Safety. For those of you who are simpletons, get off my blog. For the rest of you, you already know everything that I'm about to tell you, because being safe on the Internet has EVERYTHING to do with COMMON SENSE!
1. Don't give out your passwords to ANYONE.
-This means you. No respectable site is going to ask you for your password for any reason. They don't need it. So don't give it.
2. Don't give out your personal information to ANYONE EVER.
-Real names, addresses, phone numbers...bad things happen when you feed your "dox" to the "Internet hate machine."
3. Be Aware!!
-Look at what you are doing. If it doesn't look right, it's probably not. By the way, if a website's name is spelled almost like a popular site, like MySpace, but isn't, it's not. Keep an eye on your address bar, and make sure you are where you think you are.
4. Since you don't know anything about the Internet seeing as how you need me to explain this to you, DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING THAT ANYONE THAT YOU DON'T KNOW TELLS YOU. This is extremely important. Sure, some people don't want to cause you any harm, but the ratio of malice to altruism...don't risk it.
If you need any more help with Internet Safety, check out these sites.
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/using-the-internet-safely-for-seniors-for-dummies-.html
http://kids.getnetwise.org/safetyguide/
http://www.fema.gov/kids/on_safety.htm
The History of The Beavis and Butthead Experience
14 years ago
Might I first add that life is full of having to do things that you would rather not do, so one ought to start getting used to it. It isn't always fun, but sometimes it is out of necessity.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, if being asked to write a blog or do any other task that has stated requirements and restrictions is so menial, you aren't being creative enough about how you approach the topic. Requirement and restriction at times is appropriate in order to teach a specific skill or provides a starting point that can then be expanded.
Next, common sense sums the idea of online safety up quite nicely. Though you didn't like the assignment, you did, IMO, fulfill the requirements.
Finally, I couldn't resist commenting, PJ. You make it so much fun! See you in AP Lit.