Whakatauki
Te whakaaro nui, nga mahi mohio.
Conscious thought, conscious actions.
Expect It When You Least expect It!
When you work with students in a school you can forget that taking those students out of the school environment immediately exposes them to the vagaries and whims of a world that is not governed by shared policies and procedures. When students enrol at our school parents sign documentation that either permits or negates the use of their child’s digital image within school newsletters or on the school learning blogs. This documentation is regularly reviewed and adjusted accordingly. With the issues that can arise around misuse of images and also awareness around sensitive situations such as domestic violence or child custody cases we take the documentation seriously.
We have a number of ways in which we aim to educate students and whanau about some of the ‘pitfalls’ of the digital world. Parents and students sign a document called the Kawa of Care. The Kawa of Care identifies some of the ways in which digital tools are best managed for online safety and it is an agreement about responsible use of devices. We undertake ongoing programmes within the classroom on a cyber smart curriculum. Parents are also encouraged to attend evening sessions that allow them to discuss and explore issues relating to their child’s online safety.
A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of taking my class of Year 7 & 8s away on an outdoor education camp. We spent an evening at a hot pool complex and it came to my attention that there was a photographer roaming around the complex taking unsolicited photographs of my students. These were then to be available on line for order!
I spoke with my students about this and we discussed why this was of concern. They readily saw the potential for misuse and some also felt that they had been pressured into posing for the photographs. I immediately located the photographer and asked that he remove any and all images of my students. He was a little taken aback so I explained to him our school policy. He agreed to do so but he was not apologetic nor did he seem to concede the invasion of privacy his photographs presented. I then followed this up with a face to face and a written letter to the management of the complex explaining our concerns. Their response was much more empathetic and responsible and it resulted in key changes to the way in which the private photographer was allowed to work within the complex.
It can be difficult to know exactly where to draw a line when you are ‘off site’. I found this line easier to draw because I was aware of a recent case in which a South Island secondary school teacher had overlaid student images onto pornographic images of children he had found on the internet. The devastation of that manipulation of digital images highlighted for me the enormous responsibility we have to ensure the students in our care are not unwittingly caught up in the nefarious use of their personal image or data. This situation was all about ‘promoting the wellbeing of learners and protecting them from harm’ as stated in the Education Council (2017) Our Code Our Standards web booklet.
Kia ora Bev
ReplyDeleteInteresting you mention the roaming photographer at the hot pools, as this was something we were mindful of when visiting hot pools as part of a school trip. It can really feel like 'open season' to invade on a very personal level when heading out with students. I also did some reading last year about the legal definitions for things like 'public places' and what permissions need to be sought before taking and using photos. I may have read wrong, but a school classroom seemed to be quite vulnerable as far as a legal standpoint goes. Might go and have a read up again on that!