This was the first week of professional development course LIS706. I am eager to learn new things and see what is happening in the field of school media.

Such was the case when learning about the "bubble filters". I had always noticed something strange about the results of my searches and my children's searches on the Internet, but never did I imagined they're content was being filtered. The video was an eye opener for me. I began to imagine the many students whose search results were being "customized" according to what Google thought they wanted to see. To me this is not acceptable. And although I agree with many of my colleagues, that Google is convenient, there is no excuse for this type of filtering. We as educators need to find better search engines that yield current and relevant results.

And speaking of better, that is a state our K12 Cyberethics, safety and security curriculum should be in too. The numbers in this research need to be improved. Children are being exposed to the Internet at a much younger age and are not equipped to handle it. We have to be educationally prepared to teach our students proper Internet use. The world we live in has become a digital world and it is important to stay connected. Students should be able to participate (in order to enhance their learning) in that digital world by staying connected in a safe and ethical way.

Staying connected was one of the reasons why I took this course. I hope to incorporate teaching Internet use, ethics and safety in the classroom ideas, to my students when I begin to work in the schools. As for now, I will share what I learn with my children and nieces and nephews.