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Media stories over the past year have heightened public awareness regarding cyber safety, teens and the use of information and communication technology (ICT) use. The emphasis of media attention has often been on the victimization and bullying of teens occurring on social network sites such as Myspace and Facebook. The prominence placed on ICT platforms, such as the Internet and Cell Phones, as threatening spheres has resulted in a narrow view of cyber security. Instead, I argue that we need to rethink the meaning of cyber safety for teens and begin a more complex dialog about best cyber safety practices.

Download this free 64-page document on developing appropriate policies and procedures to ensure safe use of the Internet. A checklist for developing acceptable use policies and practical strategies for responding to incidents are also included. Developed by the Internet Safety Group of New Zealand.

Like many states, Texas now has state legislation driving cybersafety education in schools. In accordance with HB 3171, Section 38.023, the Texas Education Agency has developed and made available to school districts a list of resources concerning Internet Safety. In the navigation bar are links to 3 types of pages which are for students, educators and parents. Within each of the pages are links that categorize different aspects of Internet safety and digital citizenship to educate and inform.

Kids should receive online safety education at home, at school, and from the vendors that provide internet products and services.

Last year, 49 state attorneys general created The Internet Safety Technical Task Force to study the problem of how to keep kids safer online. A year later, the task force's findings have caused some controversy. Namely that the biggest threat to kids on the internet comes from their peers. Task force member and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute Stephen Balkam discusses the study

One problem with most of today's Internet safety messaging campaigns is that there is only one set of messages for the entire population of youth and parents. But, an extensive literature review conducted by the Internet Safety Technical Task Force Research Advisory Board found that "not all youth are equally at risk" and that "those experiencing difficulties offline, such as physical and sexual abuse, and those with other psychosocial problems are most at risk online."

This team of 6th graders captured 2nd place honors in the 2007 annual ThinkQuest competition for their entry, "Internet Safety, Keeping It Real." Topics covered include predators, cyberbullying and online safety. Although it does lean a little heavy on the side of fear-mongering, this was an excellent effort by a team of kids!

The Boston Public Schools Internet Safety Website contains resources and strategies for parents, teachers and students to use in order to help promote online safety. There are some great classroom posters here for download.

AB 307 charges districts to "educate pupils and teachers on the appropriate and ethical use of information technology in the classroom, Internet safety, avoiding plagiarism, the concept, purpose, and significance of a copyright so that pupils can distinguish between lawful and unlawful online downloading, and the implications of illegal peer-to-peer network file sharing."

This bill shows up as additional items in the planning criteria found in the EETT grant applicationCalifornia Education Code Section 51871.5, -- legislation, monitoring student internet use, ethical use of educational technology in the classroom, information literacy, aspects of information literacy/Internet safety, cyber-bullying, research studies and reports.

There's been a definite uptick in the number of school districts that have adopted Internet-safety curricula, says Godlis, and because of a recent update to the federal Children's Internet Protection Act, which requires schools receiving money through the federal E-rate program to provide Internet-safety education to students, that number will surely rise.

Internet Safety site that has won some awards -- I want to know the balance of this information and if it shows all aspects of the issue. I would love to have someone do a full review on this one.

This site is full of information about the scary side of the Internet -- it talks about predators and what they look like. It also shows predator warning signs, which could be interesting. I'm curious to see if there is balance and where their facts come from. This is targeted to age 10 and up. There are games and other things in here. I'd like to know some people who have been through this material. It won an award in 2007

Note: this is the same site I posted earlier -as THINKQUEST AWARD WINNER 2007: Internet Safety, Keeping it Real." This Thinkquest Project does focus on the dark side of the Internet, perhaps excessively, our CTAP team thought. But it was created by 6th graders and they are to be commended for their effort. Anyone else here a Thinkquest judge? Judging starts today, actually. It's grueling but a rewarding effort. And you get to see some pretty cool stuff!

An effective school-based strategy to address the issue of online safety should include these six key components:
EDUCATIONAL USE - Schools must ensure that when students use the Internet, their activities have an educational purpose -- class assignments, extra credit work, and perhaps some high quality enrichment activities as a reward
SUPERVISION AND MONITORING Schools must shift focus from reliance on filtering to better supervision and monitoring.
MEANINGFUL CONSEQUENCES Misuse of the Internet must lead to a meaningful consequence -- but it should be recognized that suspension of Internet access privileges just causes more work for teachers. Requiring a service contribution to the school and establishing "close monitoring status" for all Internet use are preferable consequences.
ACCIDENTAL ACCESS TO PORN - All students and staff must know that if inappropriate material appears, they should quickly turn off the monitor or turn it so it can't be seen, and then report it. Following any incident or discovery, there must be a responsible assessment of culpability.
INAPPROPRIATE BLOCKING Selected staff in every school building must have the authority and ability to quickly override the filter to provide other staff or students access to sites that have been inappropriately blocked
INTERNET SAFETY AND RESPONSIBLE USE EDUCATION Schools must provide effective Web 2.0 Internet safety and responsible use education to students and parents.

The FBI-SOS Internet Challenge is an internet safety program designed to help students recognize potential dangers associated with the internet, email, chat rooms and social networking sites. The program addresses and defines topics serious in nature such as seduction, child pornography, solicitation, exploitation, obscenity and online predators. Students take web-based quizzes and review specific web sites aimed at promoting online safety.

The Pennyslvania Center for Safe Schools has released a new Internet safety video: Protecting Kids Online. This 22-minute Internet safety resource speaks to parents and caregivers on topics from understanding the serious repercussion of cyber-bullying to learning how to safeguard our children from online predators.

The world of chatrooms and instant messaging is foreign to many adults, but a British advocate for children's cyber safety says they need to understand its importance to young people.

Notes from presenter Joel Gabel of Google's workshop for the Oklahoma Library Association meeting [12 May 2008] on "Safety on the Internet Highway."

In recognition of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, LOOKBOTHWAYS and CyberPatrol have created four family-oriented Internet safety videos that give parents, educators and others, quick and accessible advice on how to protect children online.

Child safety experts, policymakers, leaders in the nonprofit sector and the wireless industry joined together on 4/22/09 at the Wireless Online Safety Conference, co-hosted by the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) and The Wireless Foundation, to discuss the challenges kids face in a mobile online environment and the vital role education plays in keeping them safe.

Protecting Students in the 21st century is a comprehensive, online internet safety program that involves your students, teachers, and parents to keep teens safe online and with their cell phones. In addition to the online curriculum and training lessons, the program includes assessments, quizzes, and a safety pledge for students, safety plans for teachers, and a self-assessment and resources for parents.

Cool summary of an article by Liz B. Davis -- Liz took the article and extracted the most valuable bits to her using google Docs. This methodology is fascinating, but even moreso the fact we may all begin doing this together with Diigo.

This research article has the facts about sexual predatory behavior.