Solutions?


Wordle created by Molly Neumeiste
After reading about all the complications that arise from lack of online responsibility among teachers, we ask ourselves: What can we do about this issue? There are many actions we can take in order to avoid any conflict with our online personas. The main thing being very obvious: simply be responsible. But how do we ensure ourselves that what we are posting and the way we are behaving via the Internet is responsible? For this question there are many answers. First off, always be aware that people are able to see what we post and what we post affects our character. Consistently remind yourself who your audience is and even when you think it is just your adult friends, keep in mind that the Internet is not private. If you are posting things that you only want your grown up friends to view, instead of posting it to your online profile, send it to them over text, wait to show it to them in person, or figure out some other way to show them that ensures more privacy. If you would be comfortable with your students, parents, your boss, etc. seeing what you are posting then you should be fine. Put yourself in your student's, student's parent’s, and boss' position and if you would be okay with your online behavior, then your behavior is most likely acceptable.
            Secondly, if you think your online behavior is questionable in any way, change it. If there is any doubt in your mind about what you post on the Internet, then there is a likely chance that it will create controversy. There are many people out there, especially protective parents that look to make sure their children are being taught and supervised by someone responsible. If there is the slightest bit of hesitation that your online behavior is inappropriate, there is almost a guarantee that a parent will think it is. You have to understand that every family has different morals and beliefs and that you have to adhere to the most conservative ones in order to make every child and parent feel comfortable. Always use your common sense to judge what you think is applicable and always stick to the safe side. Teachers must never take a risk and demonstrate bad behavior, especially over the Internet. One little act of bad behavior over the Internet can impact a teacher’s entire image and make them look bad even if they are a wonderful teacher all because what you put in writing is permanent. Because what you post on the Internet is permanent and anyone can save it or see it, teachers have to be especially tentative with their online demeanor.
            Thirdly, always proof read what you write. Double-checking that what you say and what pictures you post are 100% suitable is highly encouraged, if not expected. If you revise your online work and check that your behavior is acceptable then you will have no worries that what you are posting is not okay. As a teacher you are expected to know your spelling and grammar and it would look awful if you were posting things online that had misspelled words or grammatically incorrect sentences. If a parent were to see that they would complain because they are sending their child to your classroom every day to learn and if they think their child is learning from a teacher who cannot spell, there will be conflict. In order to dodge these problems, proofreading what you type online is quintessential. Also getting a second opinion of your online image is worth it. Having a second pair of eyes to look over what you are sharing with the world is good to have because we don’t always catch our mistakes. Sometimes we read over our misspelled words or incorrectly stated sentences or misjudge something that we think is appropriate and because of this it is smart to get a second opinion of your online behavior.
            Lastly, something we can do to be responsible over the Internet is to ask ourselves about our morals. If we ask ourselves, does what we are posting follow our morals every time we act online, then we will always keep in mind what we consider acceptable and unacceptable. If in the future I am a teacher and I am considering posting pictures of me and my friends from a beach vacation, I will first ask myself if it follows my morals to be posting pictures of me in a bikini online where every one can see. Because it is in my morals to know that that is inappropriate, especially when I am acting as a leader to 20-30 children, I would not post it. If we follow our morals when we act online, then there should be no problems. Also, a lot of times people tend to say things over the Internet that they wouldn’t say in person simply because they feel more comfortable sitting behind a screen. Because of this, people’s manner of conducting themselves over the Internet is not always what they would find moral. How you act in person is how you should act over the Internet; there should be no difference between your behavior of how you act in person and how you act online. If we hold onto our morals and how we normally present ourselves in person while we are acting online, then there should be no concern about our online behavior.
            E-Sponsibility is all in the hands of the beholder. The only way we can fix this problem is by ourselves. The issues and problems that emerge from lack of online responsibility occur from the wrongful actions of the ones who have to deal with the problems. If you are responsible and careful about your online behavior then you will find no issues on the matter; however, if you become lazy and careless with what you post then you will face the consequences of your own fault. Be aware of other teachers who have faced trouble with their online behavior and learn from their mistakes. The first step to solving this educational issue is awareness, and things like my blog are here in order to help it spread. There are other blogs and websites that help teach professionals how to maintain online responsibility, two that I have included the links for at the bottom of this page. As long as teachers are acquainted with E-Sponsibility and understand the consequences that follow poor online behavior as well as what they need to do to assure adequate online behavior, then the issue of E-Sponsibility with be greatly decreased.



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