HELPING CHILDREN USE THE INTERNET POSITIVELY & SAFELY St Edward’s RC Primary School

Connects you to the world Like bringing a city into the home or classroom The good & The bad Let’s make sure the good outweighs the bad! WHAT IS THE INTERNET LIKE FOR CHILDREN?

PARENTS Mostly and web for research DO YOU KNOW HOW YOUR CHILD USES THE NET? WE NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN OUR CHILDREN’S ONLINE ACTIVITY, LEARN FROM THEM YOUNG PEOPLE Interactive chat, IM, Music, Games, Social networking ADULTS + CHILDREN USE THE NET IN DIFFERENT WAYS

KNOWLEDGE Many children pick up technology quicker ! HELP YOUR CHILDREN TO UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT TECHNOLOGY IS HIGHLIGHTING IMPORTANT SAFETY ISSUES WHICH CHILDREN MAY NOT SEE WISDOM Understanding how to behave in a virtual world THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE + WISDOM

IN SCHOOL Generally supervised, protected and monitored WE NEED TO DO MORE THAN SUPERVISE- WE NEED TO HELP EDUCATE CHALLENGE = to ensure that children are safe wherever they use the internet OUT OF SCHOOL Often no filtering, supervision or monitoring SUPERVISED/UNSUPERVISED ACCESS POINTS

WHAT’S SO POSITIVE

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH THE NET? DiscoverConnectCreate Search Homework Projects The biggest library in the world /messaging Forums communities and clubs Social networking Brings kids together Web sites Text, art, music, photos, video... Anyone can become a publisher

Three examples which shows the power of the Net for children to… Discover Connect Create

WHAT ARE THE DANGERS

THE DANGERS TO CHILDREN ContentContact Commerce Pornography Racism Inaccurate information Threatening s Anonymity in chat rooms revealing details Abuse of images Invasion of privacy Blur between advertising & content

RACIST & HATE SITES Web an ideal medium for small extreme groups Some pose as churches, or other “acceptable” groups Some target children

INACCURATE CONTENT Spoof sites URL mimickers eg Historical revisionist material Inaccurate health information Look for source, date, links & references See for helpful checklistwww.quick.org.uk SMART TIP

Reliability and bias?

Interactive services online Chat –web based Instant Messaging Social networking Games – MOO, MUD, MUSH etc. Contact Get your kids to explain how chat and IM work! SMART TIP

What is Instant Messaging? Instant Messaging (sometimes called “IM,” “IMing,” or “Messaging” ) is the ability to: easily see whether a chosen friend or co-worker is connected to the internet and, if they are, exchange text messages with them. Instant Messaging differs from ordinary in that the messages are delivered immediately, making dialog much easier than with . Definition courtesy whatis.com

Other Common IM Features Chat Join a number of your contacts to exchange messages in a private chat room. File transfer Send and receive computer files. News headlines or alerts Instant notification of breaking news. Source: Technology & Learning, 11/02, p.48

Talk Speak directly to your contacts –You need a sound card (standard on all computers these days) and a microphone. notification The IM system flags new Source: Technology & Learning, 11/02, p.48 Other Common IM Features

You don’t know who people are People can lie about their age and other interests Flattery can make children feel important Determined adults can seek abusive relationships Use of webcams can lead to exchange of images Contacts shift quickly to messaging, e mail and mobile phones Chat is just a click away! THE DANGERS IN CHAT, IM and

Social Networking Websites

Links with handphones & text messaging Mobile phones are personal & private Kids love text messaging You can send text from many web sites anonymously You can have text chat What next ?……. Encourage your kids not to give out their mobile no. SMART TIP

Eat kelloggs cereal Find codes in box Punch them in to get points Use points to get cool stuff.  Blur between much content & advertising  Subtle request for information (games, auctions competitions)  Collection of information makes net marketers dream  Illegal sharing of music etc.  Many parents unaware of dangers Subtle Pressure Be careful about filling in online forms! SMART TIP Commercialism on the net

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO NOW

2) Support the school – Sign the Acceptable Use Policy and take an active interest in what your children are doing in ICT at school. 1) Get involved in your children’s online activity at home. Check you know what applications they are using, especially chat rooms and games played with others online. Ask who their “e-pals” are. Get them to teach you about how things work. 3) Encourage internet use that builds on offline activities. It helps to keep the computer in a family room not tucked away in a child’s bedroom. Help your children to use the Internet for home work and leisure interests. SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO NOW ? 4) Use some of the tools on the computer to help you.

TOOLS AND STRATEGIES TO HELP  Website addresses + favorites folders  Browsers (history)  Search engines  accounts – reputable and supervised  Filtering tools  Mobile phones – use the information on who is calling to decide which text and phone calls to accept  Do not give out any contact details to strangers  The LA do not recommend un-moderated social networking sites for children of primary school age.

5) Filtering and Blocking Different types –Access to sites –Outgoing content –Monitoring –Kids search engines Recognise the limitations Never 100% effective See lists over 140 tools SMART TIP

Think U Know website Web site - standalone and a teaching resource.

Hector Protector

SAFE – Staying safe online involves being careful and thinking about whether it is safe to give out personal information MEETING – Meeting up with someone you have contacted in cyberspace can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent’s/carer’s permission and then when they can be present. ACCEPT – Accepting s or opening files from people you don’t know can be dangerous. – they may contain viruses or nasty messages. RELIABLE – Anyone can put anything on the net and remember people can lie and not be who they say they are in chat rooms. TELL – Tell your parent/carer or teacher if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried.