Group items tagged

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.

School Library Journal [Jan 07] Practical advice from attorney and cybersafety expert, Nancy Willard, on a common sense approach to online safety. Nancy proposes that library media specialists add "stranger literacy" to their curriculum for information literacy to help teens and children learn to assess the safety and trustworthiness of online encounters. She also offers helpful guidelines.

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.

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.

This article, by John Palfree, is part of an online symposium on the First Amendment Center Online titled Cyberbullying & Public Schools. The author concludes that there is no easy answer to the problem of online bullying and that the most effective approach - education, with a view toward establishing positive social norms - is the hardest to accomplish. John Palfrey chaired the Internet Safety Technical Task Force in 2008. He is the co-author of Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives\n\n

Today's cellular phones (cell phones) are more than just phones, they are hightech appliances that also serve as a mini-computers. Cell phones are electronic gadgets that allow users to surf the web, conduct text chats with others, take photos, record video, download and listen to music, play games, update blogs, send instant text messages to others, keep a calendar and to-do list, and more, much more. But cell phones also carry risks and cause distractions.

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.

Yes that Garfield! Garfield animated comics educate kids about cyberbullying and online safety. Other topics in development include digital and media literacy. Students watch animated lessons, try interactive/guided practice and apply interactive knowledge to earn safety certificates. Teacher lesson plans can be downloaded.

[May 2008] AASA article gives examples of school organizations that are desperately and inappropriately blocking the future and Scott McLeod pleads, "Please don't block the future." Please don't relegate your students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to second-class status in the new economy because you left it to them and their families to figure out on their own what it means to be digital, global citizens. Ask AASA and its state affiliates to provide more technology leadership-related professional development opportunities. And let us know how we can help.

Thoughtful post! As long as internet safety and digital citizenship are presented as a business, with products to be purchased to prevent problems, curricula that purport to immunize children, and professionals required to deliver messages, it's no wonder that parents and teachers are paralyzed by the prospect of helping children negotiate their lives online. At the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) Annual Conference, held in Washington, DC last week, there was a striking confluence of those who view digital citizenship as an extension of our daily roles as citizens, and those who have a vested interest in keeping the alarm bells going in order to draw parents and teachers into their camp for speaking engagements, stand-alone curricula, web-tracking, web-blocking, or mobile phone tracking services.

With its evidence room overflowing with cell phones, the Richmond County school board is wanting to give away what it has taken 15 years to collect. The board decided to give the phones back to students when it changed its policy for cell phones in June. The policy replaces the often-criticized rule to seize phones for 365 calendar days when a pupil is caught with one. In 15 years, 5,725 phones were taken from students, according to the public safety department. Of those, 4,566 were still being held by the department this summer. Under the new rules, a parent has 10 days to claim a phone before it is turned in to public safety on the first offense. For a second offense and any phones not claimed at the school on the first offense, public safety takes the phone for 30 days.

VERY helpful document!!!

A growing number of people are promoting Internet Safety Education in effort to keep youngsters safe from Internet sex offenders. But be cautious about some of the statistics that you may find from lectures, pamphlets, videos and web sites. Not all of the data accurately reflects what researchers have learned about cyberpredator crimes. For the real stats and myths vs. realities on child predators , download a copy of: Internet Safety For Teens: Getting it Right . This fact sheet (created by Dr. David Finkelhor at the Crimes Against Children Research Center) is packed with helpful clarifying information for your next presentation.

Virginia, the first state to mandate that public schools offer Internet-safety classes for all grade levels. Nationally, Texas and Illinois are among states that have since passed their own Internet-safety-education laws, but unlike Virginia they don't make the courses mandatory.

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.

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.

Convenient links to dozens of educational and nonprofit groups working on CyberSafety Issues and the education of teachers, students and parents.

Links to over 80 education, government and nonprofit groups providing cybersafety and digital citizenship resources.

video for educators and students on the importance of online safety

Marian Merritt works for Symantec as their Internet Safety Advocate. She keeps a blog and writes a column, "Ask Marian." Her site offers advice about safely using MySpace, YouTube, and other social networking sites, along with information on cyber ethics, privacy, and instant messaging. She also provides resources for parents.-