It must be a sign of the times. We are surrounded by technology and the youth of today grow up using it. They use it for everything, know everything about it and depend upon it…yet do they know how many dangers lurk behind it and are they really safe?
Just like when we were in school, learning about ‘Road Safety’ with squirrels and hedghogs to highlight ‘safety’, learning about e-safety in schools has become elemental, and the earlier it’s taught, the better.
The issues surrounding e-safety are monumentuous and very worrying. Schools teach children to be respectful, honest, hardworking, ambitous, positive and a good citizen, so they should be able to trnsfer these skills whilst online…surely..and yet behviour can change when you’re online…
The three main dangers are content, contact and conduct. Everything can be traced online, nothing is private, who are you socialising with?, is what you read true? what inappriopriate content are you watching…
The main principles of e-safety are:
-keep information private
-be aware of the long term implications of content posted online
-do not upload and post inappriopriate information
-read and adhere to the website’s terms of conditions
Filtering is not the sole solution!!! Kids are smarter than that!! They need to be taught how to use and access data safely and responsibily!
Children should know who to turn to if they have concerns, this could be a teacher/parent or CEOP (child exploitation and online protection).
Good websites include:
CEOP- Think u Know
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/
COOPA (child privacy protection act)
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule
SWGFI digital literacy
http://swgfl.org.uk/products-services/esafety
BBC
Here’s the start of the presentation Fiona, Istiab and I started on Scams and Hoaxes: