Web Safety: Protecting Our Youth

It is a part of human nature that we are more reactive than proactive. When it comes to Internet safety, this if more than apparent. One only needs to turn on the evening news to be bombarded with cases from cyber bullying to internet predators, and everything in between. The Internet is not a safe place to "let children loose" and technology is being used in a multitude of ways to harm our youth.

Online Facts from National Center for Missing and Exploited Children:

• 95% of teens (ages 12 – 17) are online.
• 28% of online teens (ages 12 – 17) have created their own blogs.
• About one-third of online teens (ages 12 – 17) have been cyber bullied. Girls are more likely to be targeted.
• 97% of online teens (ages 12 – 17) play computer, Web, portable, or console games. 27% of them game with people they first met online.
• According to the FTC, an estimated 9 million people have their identities stolen each year.

From the moment a child is born into this world, and even before, we are concerned with its protection and well-being. We teach our children about the dangers in our homes and prepare them for venturing beyond the front door. We teach them how to be safe on our streets, at school, and in the community. This process changed little for decades … until the arrival of the Internet. Now we must prepare our youth for a whole new frontier. This frontier transcends the home, school and community. The Internet is mobile and it is global.

Which aspects of WEB safety are of most concern in my teaching institution?

There are a multitude of concerns when it comes to discussing web safety and the students placed in our care. Within my teaching institution we are concerned about all aspects of the Internet that may cause harm to our students. This concern can be broken down into two categories: (1) severity of harm to students and (2) perceived likelihood of happening at our school. With that said, you really cannot talk about one, without thinking about the other. Without surveying my colleagues, the following is a ranking of web safety concerns based on these two categories that I think would be of most concerns at my school.

Severity of Harm	Likelihood of Occurring
Child Pornography Cyber predators Sexually explicit content Cyber bullies Inappropriate content Cyber stalkers Con artists Sensitive personal information Identity Theft Spyware Viruses	Sexually explicit content Inappropriate content Viruses Spyware Cyber bullies Con artists Sensitive personal information Identity Theft Cyber stalkers Cyber predators Child Pornography

How do teachers better effect positive change in students who routinely access knowledge and fact through the use of computer and when conveying information?

There are a number of things that we as educators can do to better effect positive change in students who routinely access knowledge and fact through the use of computer and when conveying information. First, as educators must become more tech / cyber-savvy. We must become better educated on the subject technology and how to use it effectively and safely, including ways in which we are going to teach this information and skills to students. We must establish an ongoing dialogue with students. Not only will this allow us to determine potential risks, but also to provide students with advice on how to avoid these risks. Students need to be supervised on all Internet enabled devices and the use of webcams / mobile video devices must be discouraged. Student must be taught how to protect their personal information posted online and how to use privacy settings. We must teach students how to respond to cyber-bullies and how to protect themselves from other cyber-threats. Teaching students critical thinking skills is paramount in ensuring safe navigation while surfing the World Wide Web.  As teachers we can establish an agreement (contract) with our students about Internet use at school, home, and in the community.

What is a useful method that could improve the handling of WEB safety or the values in my profession and in my school?

In response to the growing use of the Internet in classrooms, many schools have implemented Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) to ensure that school computers are being used in a safe, relevant and appropriate manner. At the school level, an AUP acts as a written contract between administrators, teachers, parents and students. It outlines the terms and conditions for Internet use by defining access privileges, rules of online behaviour, and the consequences for violating those rules. The AUP can also be a helpful tool for teachers, offering guidance on how best to integrate the Internet into their classrooms (Media Smart). Having an AUP would be of great usefulness to improve handling of web safety within my school.

Websites Consulted / Used:

Connect Safely, http://www.connectsafely.org/, retrieved on September 16^th, 2012.

Cyber Smart, http://www.cybersmart.org/ , retrieved on September 16^th, 2012.

Enough-is Enough, Internet Safety 101, http://www.internetsafety101.org/, retrieved on September 15^th, 2012.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/parent-guide/parent-guide, retrieved on September 16^th, 2012.

INOBTR.org, Defining Internet Safety Issues, http://www.inobtr.org/parents/defining-internet-safety-issues/, retrieved on September 14^th, 2012.

Media Smart, Acceptable Use Policies for Internet Use, http://mediasmarts.ca/backgrounder/acceptable-use-policites-internet-use, retrieved on September 15^th, 2012.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, NetSmartz Workshop, http://www.netsmartz.org, retrieved on September 14^th, 2012.

Net Safe Kids, http://www.nap.edu/netsafekids/internet.html, retrieved on September 14^th, 2012.

Wired Safety, https://www.wiredsafety.org/, retrieved on September 15^th, 2012.