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As a teacher, how does Information Security affect me?

  • Organizational Resources and Reputation

    Maintaining an effective security protocol is critical in order to sustain a credible reputation and protect an organization's resources. When a school system is not secure, the impact can negatively affect the viewpoint of parents, community leaders, and legislative officials. This negativity can, in turn, affect the overall well being of a school system.

  • Confidential School Records (FERPA)

    Educators have a responsibility to maintain the protection of confidential student information. Parents and students trust the educational system to protect these records. In addition, the federal government has established a series of legislation (FERPA) to hold school systems and officials accountable if this information is not properly maintained. Every teacher should be aware of the necessary precautions to protect this sensitive information from disclosure, and to protect themselves from an impending lawsuit.

  • Protecting Personal Work Files

    Most teachers have an abundance of self-generated materials that are stored electronically. If these materials were lost or deleted, it would take a considerable amount of time to recreate the lessons for future use in the classroom.

  • Increasing Rise of Alternative Assessment

    One of the most recent trends of evaluation has to do with the concept of Alternative Assessment. Many educators are very excited about the possibility of evaluating students in a non-traditional manner, however, the logistical concerns of storage and access is quite overwhelming. Many schools are looking to technology to assist in this manner. As a result, school systems will need to thoroughly scrutinize the level of security surrounding the storage of these unique student records.

  • Protecting Students While Working Online

    As lesson plans become increasingly influenced by the use of technology, it is important for teachers to understand the basic steps involved with protecting themselves and their students while in an online environment. The Internet offers many wonderful resources and supplements to the educational arena, but it also contains sites that may be deemed inappropriate for the K-12 environment. In order to fully use these resources, teachers must be aware of the potential dangers and pitfalls of using the Internet. Rather than focusing on the paranoia associated with the unknown, school systems should promote an increased emphasis on security education and direct this awareness to the teachers, parents, and students involved with the online world.

The topic of technology and information security can sometimes be overwhelming to those teachers who have had little exposure to these concepts. We have compiled a list of sites below that have been designed to alleviate that feeling of frustration that accompanies any new endeavor. These sites have been written in an easy-to-use format, and offer suggestions, explanations and support for all levels of cyber-teachers.

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