Year 10 History does not stop at the first

Google result. By Breandan Wolff

For better or worse, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is a large and
growing component of the Australian Curriculum. It is important that our education systems
make use of the increasing technology available to staff and students, but also that we are
mindful of the rights and intellectual property of other internet and ICT users while also
protecting our own rights, data and privacy.
As a collective group, Year 10 students in Australia will have been exposed to ongoing
education campaigns regarding Cyber-Safety., Digital Citizenship and Cyber-Bullying for the
majority of their school careers. Unfortunately these programs are run so often and are
generally so dry1 that students can become de-sensitised to the message.
It is for this reason that I would like to briefly outline how ICT should be utilised safely within
our History class and how as parents/caregivers you can assist by promoting and modelling
some of these strategies at home.
The Year 10 HASS (history) curriculum deals with events of the 20th century and unlike any
period of history before it; it was recorded in full motion video (sometimes graphic colour)
and audio. For the purposes of research into answering historical questions, students are
required to identify and locate relevant sources using ICT and this will undoubtedly include
links or access to photo and video archives.

Recognise intellectual property:

Wikipedia is generally frowned upon by teachers however it can be a useful first point of call
for students new to a history topic. Importantly it provides a list of resources / references at
the bottom of articles that students can use as a stepping stone to finding “credible” sources
of information. It should also become clear to students that even a “free” resource is
acknowledging the rights of others, by crediting authors and photographers or archives as
the source of information in articles. Wikimedia Commons (a variation on Creative Commons)
provides material that can be freely used by students and educators. Relevant to a Year 10
History topic is the image (Fig 1) of the
Auschwitz gateway. The image is free to
use under “Creative Commons” Licence
(BY). I will endeavour to cite the Author, Title
(hyperlinked to internet source) and the
licence type to show students what is
expected of a good digital citizen. As with
any other subject at this year level, students
are expected to cite their sources in a
reference list or bibliography.

Figure 1: C.Pluta. Auschwitz gateway sign CCBY

1
This is improving and there are some excellent programs available - see list at end of post
apply digital information security practices:
The image of Auschwitz (Fig 1) above demonstrates that students will be likely to encounter
material outside their realm of experience while using ICT in History. This topic is likely to
make some students emotional and should be discussed with parents/caregivers. The
Holocaust as a topic is also quite divisive online at present and students should be aware of
the potential to navigate to blog posts and personal web pages that express opinions that
are counter to school and curriculum ideals of a modern multi-cultural society2.
Access to the Internet through the school network should limit the ability of students to
access sites that are less than suitable for research purposes, but not all such sites can be
blocked automatically.
At a Year 10 level, in instances where access occurs, students themselves should have the
skills and knowledge to determine the appropriateness of the site and information on it. Any
student that visits an inappropriate site should immediately let their teacher know as these
instances are recorded by the school network administrators and can cause later internet
access issues for students.
Use of the school network for non-education purposes is restricted – most social media sites
are blocked. All students and their parents / caregivers will (should) have jointly signed a
copy of the school’s “responsible use of ICT”3 policy.

apply personal security protocols:

By Year 10, students are probably more aware of internet and ICT safety practices than
many of their teachers or parents. They have probably learned how to circumvent “Parental
Controls” installed on laptops, mobiles and network routers (installed to protect them when
they were younger) or know where to find out how to do it. They have grown up in an ICT
environment designed to collect or buy their personal information at every step of interaction.
Students will be freely communicating with each other across various social media sites
outside of school, and some sites like Facebook can be used to establish group discussions
within a classroom, although more often software operating behind the Education
department firewall is used, albeit very slowly!

It is outside of the classroom that we lose our view of how students interact with the world of
ICT. Mobile phones with constant access to social media and alerts to conversation updates,
allows for instant responses without a pause for reasoned thought resulting in multi-party
conversations that can rapidly degenerate. Rapid shifts between multiple apps or programs
can result in information being shared accidentally, with friends and/or strangers. Loss of
control of our personal data can result in actual criminal activities, be it identity theft or
Cyber-bullying.
One important point that Year 10 students need to be made aware of is that even adults can
be subject to cyber-bullying, and it is a fact that I think many “anti-bullying” programs don’t
mention. While we should never detract from the importance of eliminating bullying from our
schools and ICT interactions, students should know that there are adults that have
experienced the same issues they may be experiencing and that many adults do understand
how they are feeling.

2
(Racism / Bullying)
3
This would be a link to a policy document on a school website.
identify the impacts of ICT in society
Year 10 students don’t see an impact – it’s already happened. They are the generation
dealing with the reality of the impact. Historians have “historically” been bespectacled nerds
squirreled away in libraries and dusty archives all over the world. Now, Year 10 History
students can access information from across the world in seconds, from archives that have
been scanned and converted to digital records, which few people have ever previously had
access to. These students are better equipped than any before them to deal with this new
digital reality.
Our role as educators, parents and caregivers, is to provide them with advice and a safe
harbour while they navigate this new world of theirs. We are the members of society that
require updates on ICT use and safety. (To that end, below are all the links and references
used throughout this article.)

References: (in order of appearance above)

Australian Curriculum.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability. (2018). Retrieved from

https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/information-and-
communication-technology-ict-capability/
Cyber-Safety

Cybersafety - Parent Easy Guide | Department for Education. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.education.sa.gov.au/parenting-and-child-care/parenting/parenting-sa/parent-easy-
guides/cybersafety-parent-easy-guide
Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-

resources/classroom-resources/digital-citizenship
Cyber-Bullying

Cyberbullying. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-

issues/cyberbullying
Wikipedia

Home Page. (2018). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Creative Commons

About the Licences. (2018). Retrieved from https://creativecommons.org.au/learn/licences/

Figure 1

Auschwitz gateway sign - https://pixabay.com/en/auschwitz-gateway-signboard-485689/

Parental Controls
Parents Portal | ThinkUKnow. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.thinkuknow.org.au/parents-portal

firewall
Firewall (computing). (2018). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall_(computing)
identity theft
Identity theft. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/protect-
yourself/recover-when-things-go-wrong/identity-theft

cyber-bullying
Patchin, J. (2018). Advice for Adult Victims of Cyberbullying. Retrieved from
https://cyberbullying.org/advice-for-adult-victims-of-cyberbullying

Some additional resources you may find useful

Digital citizenship - http://www.digitalcitizenship.nsw.edu.au/parent_Splash/index.htm parents
portal
Kids Matter - https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/health-and-community/enewsletter/cybersafety-
program-works
Bullying No Way! - https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/