One of the things our week two discussion focused on was the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). The main idea of this act is to be aware of what you share to the internet. As teachers, it is very important that we use caution when posting online. As highlighted in the weekly slides, posting photos on vacation may not be a breach of FIPPA, but posting photos of students or the work created by students may not be acceptable. We also discussed in class how asking students to upload on social media platforms for school projects may be possible, but only if the proper precautions are taken. To quote the lecture slides, “…educators should provide students (and/or parents) with written notice of the purpose of the project or assignment, the technology to be used, what personal information may be required, why, the authority for requiring it and the potential uses of the information,” (pp. 11).

One specific example this quote made me think of was using YouTube to upload video projects. I can think of at least one instance from my school experience where we have used YouTube to post our projects. Thinking back on that, I am confident that we posted our videos privately so that only our teacher could access our posts. However, there was no consent form that got sent out to families or to us to make us aware of where our data and personal information was going. Since this was many years ago, I am unsure of the specifics, but I am also unsure if this was a breach of FIPPA. I feel as though this would not be acceptable today. We had to sign up using our school emails, but also had to include our names in the sign up process. I am unsure of what other information we had to share, but this still feels like an unnecessary use of student information. I wonder if there were any systems in place to keep our data and information protected, and if this was why we were allowed to do this without having consent forms sent out.

As a future educator, I can recognize that technology will become an important part of the classroom. I found it very beneficial to learn about FIPPA, as this was something that I was previously unaware of. In the future, I hope to use technology and social media in my classroom, but will ensure that it is being used in ways that keep my students safe, and in ways that keep students and families informed of what is going on. By adhering to FIPPA and by educating my students on safe use of the internet, I will be sure to teach my students how to use the internet safely, properly, and in ways that are beneficial to their learning and their futures.