eSafety and Acceptable Use of the Internet Community (1) KG Resources: post-it notes, markers, flip chart, red and green cards (A2 size) (1 set per participant), eSafety Quiz Answer Key (one for Trainer), eSafety Brochure Running time: 60 minutes

Session Overview Group Norms, Parking Lot, Housekeeping eSafety – What do parents need to know? Innapropriate websites How to protect your child Setting boundaries Parental controls 5 minutes with next two slides Give overview of session (eSafety and acceptable use of the internet, including plagiarism)

Group Norms Parking Lot Housekeeping Go over or establish group norms (e.g. Be courteous with your use of mobiles, honour one person speaking at a time, etc.). Remind participants to post questions on Parking Lot throughout the session. Ensure questions are addressed following the break.

Learning Outcomes مخرجات التعلم Participants will: Become familiar with issues related to eSafety Explore a range of strategies to ensure children’s safe use of the internet Go over Learning Outcomes

eSafety Quiz KG children should not be allowed to surf the internet. They are too young. Filtering programmes block inappropriate content online, making it safe for children to surf the internet unsupervised. Social networking sites for children (e.g. Club Penguin, Moshi Monsters) are completely safe. Helping children learn to use the internet safely is the best way to protect them online. A child’s bedroom is the best location for their computer. 15 minutes Distribute colour-coded answer cards (green for ‘true’, red for ‘false’) to each participant. Explain that you will read out each statement and give them time to think before asking them to hold up a card indicating whether they think the statement is true or false (explain - green cards mean ‘true’, red cards mean ‘false’). Go over notes for each point, allowing questions and discussing as necessary. 5

eSafety 5 minutes with next slide Explain importance of students being aware of the fact that others can see the work they publish or share online. The graphic illustrates the work of Professor Stephen Heppell (2009) a noted educationalist, who coined the phrase, ‘Me, We, See’ to describe the different communication environments that exist when working in the digital world. Me: a personal, private space that only you can see. Example: the hard drive on your desk top. We: a community space that is secure; you know the members and they know you. Examples: shared folders and private wikis with restricted membership where groups can work collaboratively See: a space that anyone can see and is open and accessible to the entire world. Open wikis, ordinary websites and YouTube are ‘See’ spaces. Facebook can to some extent be considered a ‘We’ environment but only if the owner of the space has adjusted the security settings appropriately. If this has not been done it would be a ‘See’ space. Important to remember that anything posted online, even in a controlled space, can be copied and shared outside of the space by another authorised user. Important to educate students about the potential risks of ‘See’ spaces as many students will operate within them in their leisure time – e.g. at home. Heppell, S. 2009. Me, We, See Available at: https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/pages/View.aspx?pin=QMS38X [Retrieved 10/09/12]. Heppell, S. 2009. ‘Me, We, See.’ Available at: https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/pages/View.aspx?pin=QMS38X

eSafety Challenges in KG Accidental accessing of inappropriate content Age-inappropriate games Password and internet security Make point that ADEC has measures in place to filter inappropriate web content from school computers, but not all content will be blocked; teachers are aware of this and monitor students’ internet use, etc. Go over main challenges of online use in KG. Explain that we will look at how parents can support and reinforce the school’s eSafety procedures at home. 7

eSafety: What Can Parents Do? Ways to keep children safe online 10 minutes Ask participants to work in groups to brainstorm ways to keep children safe online. Take ideas from groups (1 idea per group until all ideas have been shared). Next two slides list ways parents can protect their children online.

Let Them Teach You Ask your children what they know and what sites they use – ask: Why do they like this site? What can they do on it? Who uses it at school? Who are their friends on it? 5 minutes with next 3 slides Trainer to explain that questions such as these examples and others e.g. What is so fun about it? Who can you talk to? Should be asked in a non-judgmental manner in order to develop a trusting relationship with your child about what they are up to online.

Set Boundaries Examples: Establish limits on the amount of time your child spends online, or playing computer games Establish regular screen breaks – e.g. a 5-minute break for every 20 minutes online Talk through points on this slide and next one. Suggest one way to set boundaries is by reaching an agreement with your child. Bullet point 2 emphasize health and safety aspect of children looking at a screen for too long.

Parental Controls How many of you have set parental controls on your computers at home? Parental controls can help reduce the risk of your child accessing inappropriate websites Explain that it is important to set boundaries in the on-line world just as you do in the real world. Think about what children might see, what they share, who they talk to and how long they spend online. It is important to discuss boundaries at a young age to develop the tools and skills children need to enjoy their time online. Explain that it is important for parents to talk to their children about what to do if they see something online that upsets or scares them. Explain that no filters or parental controls are 100% effective and inappropriate material can always slip through the net. Therefore it is important that you supervise young children online. Nowadays even the TV connects to the internet. Make sure you’re aware of which devices that your child uses to connect to the internet, such as their phones or games console. Also find out how they are accessing the internet – is it your connection or a neighbour’s wifi? This will affect whether the safety setting you set is being applied

Parental Controls Parental controls can: Filter inappropriate sites Set time limits to restrict the amount of time your child can be online Monitor and inform you of sites your child has visited and attempted to access Talk through points on slide - elicit discussion from parents Explain that Etisalat and Du both provide parental control packages that allow you to apply controls across all of the devices that access the internet through your home connection – such as laptops or games consoles. Explain that most computers, mobiles and games consoles now come with parental controls that can be applied. For example, within Windows and the Mac operating systems, there are parental controls that can be set for individual devices.

eSafety Scenarios Ahmad is 5, and enjoys playing video games. One day, his mother sees him playing a new game that is very violent. She asks him about it but then leaves, pleased that he can play such a difficult game. 15 minutes with next 2 slides Read scenario on slide aloud to participants. Group discussion on the appropriateness of the parent’s response in each scenario.

eSafety Scenarios Ahmad is 5, and enjoys playing video games. One day, his mother sees him playing a new game that is very violent. She asks him not to play the game, but Ahmad continues. Angry, his mother turns off the PlayStation and tells Ahmad to do something else. Read scenario on slide aloud. Group discussion on the appropriateness of the parent’s response in each scenario.

eSafety Scenarios Ahmad is 5, and enjoys playing video games. One day, his mother sees him playing a new game that is very violent. She questions him and asks him to turn it off. She then sits down with him and explains that the game is not suitable even for older children because of the violence. She goes on to ask Ahmad about other interesting games that he could play and together they choose a more suitable game. Read scenario on slide aloud. Group discussion on the appropriateness of the parent’s response in each scenario.

Questions? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 5 minutes

References Getting started on the internet. Education World. Available at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr073.shtml [Accessed 30/8/12] Jones, G. Internet safety. Available at: http://staff.howard.k12.md.us/~gwynethj/internetsafety/internetsafety.html [Accessed 4/9/12]