Dear Rita
This has been discussed at length on the Australian listserv and the strong
consensus was that you DON'T let under-13s join for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, the 13+ restriction is there because it has something to do with US
privacy law. The content of these sorts of sites are not 'censored' and so
students can be exposed to or access stuff this age should not see. That's
why so many Web 2.0 sites are blocked.
Secondly, if the under-13 joins up with false ID and there is an issue, what
will be the ramifications for the teacher who allowed this? What will be
the ramifications for the education authority?
Thirdly, what is the role model and what is it teaching students about
ethical and legal use of the Internet? What will be the flow-over to other
sites such as Facebook?
Here in Australia, our education authorities are responding to the demand to
be able to use basic Web 2.0 tools in class by s-l-o-w-l-y rolling out a
suite of safe tools that operate within the state's networks and are thus
protected. My state's stuff comes online next month so I don't know if it
allows interstate or global access by invitation. But, in the meantime we
look for apps like Photostory, Moviemaker or iMovie to use.
Barbara
Barbara Braxton
Teacher Librarian
COOMA NSW 2630
E.barbara.288@bigpond.com
Together, we learn from each other
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