Dear parents and caregivers. My name is William Bittner and
I am a middle and secondary school teacher at South East Area School (SEAS).
Central to our current year 8-10 learning programs at SEAS
is the education of our studies around responsible, safe, and ethical use of
information communication technologies (ICT) in learning and teaching. Part of
my role in this initiative is to advise you of the focus of the program and
illustrate how you, as parents and caregivers, can be involved in the learning
and development of your children in terms of ICT use.
Easily noticeable in our society is the continually design
and production of new technologies, as well as the constant improvement of old
ones. Along with this improvement comes a seemingly ever-increasing rate of
youth participation and use of such technologies. As the digital landscape
evolves, so must our educative processes in order to ensure our students remain
safe, ethical, and responsible when participating online (MCEETYA, 2008).
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting
Authority (ACARA) provides a five-part framework for ICT general capabilities through the Australian Curriculum.
At SEAS, our current attention is placed on addressing one of these components
with our year 8-10 students: the element of Applying Social and EthicalProtocols and Practices (ASEPP)
when using ICT. Through ASEPP, students are led to recognise intellectual
property, apply digital information security practices, apply personal security
protocols, and identify the impacts of ICT in society. These elements are addressed
through a whole school team approach at SEAS, with all subject areas being
someway involved with instilling these skills in our students.
I further invite you too, parents and caregivers, to become
active participants in your children’s ICT learning. Please navigate through
this blog via the tabs on the right in order to gain more information about
learning ICT capabilities at SEAS and how you may involve yourselves in the
educative process with us.
If at any point you have queries or a desire to learn more
about ASEPP at SEAS, please do not hesitate to contact me via email or through
the school reception.
Best regards and happy learning,
William Bittner
