The use of kidSMART in primary schools.
Familiarise yourself with the resources available on the kidSMART website. Evaluate their effectiveness for use in primary school and post this to your blog.
E-Safety is such an important aspect when providing education to children about the effective use of the internet and how it works. With so many online threats children are exposed to through the internet, it is important for them to be guided and educated as to how to keep safe online. KidSMART is an amazing online tool which provides children with helpful information on various popular uses of the internet with an interface that is attractive and child friendly.
The use of kidSMART is effective for the use in primary schools as internet safety is divided in to different sections. Children can select the section which is most appropriate for them. For example:
Each section provides children with helpful top tips on how to safe, provides video explanations and gives a general overview of the topic.
It is effective in primary schools as the information is already readily provided. Therefore, teachers don’t have to make resources to teach the topics and can be used as a good stimulus for developing their further knowledge about online safety
KidSMART is also effective to use in primary schools as it benefits the teacher.
With a bank of readily available resources, teachers who are less confident with teaching the topic are supported with a solid basis for providing good quality lessons to their students about e-Safety. The differentiated pages also help as resources are divided in to age related phases of EYFS, KS1 and KS2. This makes the site applicable and relatable to all students. Overall, the use of KidSMART is an effective teaching tool in primary schools mainly because of the high quality resources and information that is provided. The site is very child friendly as the user interface is easy to use and looks presentable. However, it is a good stimulus for teaching online safety. Teacher would have to plan further about how to ensure children understand the topics through planning lessons which include assessment. For example, asking them to write blogs on how to keep safe, or making posters which display the various topics they have learnt about.
Would you use KidSMART in your own classrooom?
I personally would use kidSMART in my classroom. Not only is it a great tool for students to access different E-Safety learning materials, however, it is also a really useful bank of resources for teachers to get access to. Since the introduction of e-safety being compulsory in the National Curriculum since 2012, websites such as this make it easier for computing programme leaders to plan long term about the different areas. The site also features an area for parents which is helpful in order to keep them aware of the e-safety too.