IntSafe

Teaching Internet Safety

As we have seen in the news recently, children continue to fall victim to crimes which have a link to the Internet. Using curriculum materials provided by The NetSmartz Workshop, an educational safety resource from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), students in grades 3 - 6 are learning about the appropriate use and potential hazards associated with using the Internet.

It is increasingly clear that both parents and teachers need to do a better job of monitoring what our students are doing on-line, and do a better job of teaching them about the potential problems that await the unwary web surfer. It is important to note that the students are not all guilty of doing anything wrong. Problems can occur while students are using the web in completely legitimate ways. Simply opening an Ecard from a friend can bring in a virus. A posting about an upcoming swim meet could bring about unwanted visitors. Uninformed students may not understand the consequences of what they perceive to be as innocent communication between friends. Many do not realize the vast and non-private world of the Internet. To help them recognize these dangers, the unit on Internet Safety will focus on:

Abbreviations as they are used in email and instant messaging (IM)
Learning how easily students can come in contact with unknown people by trading buddy lists and the dangers of sharing personal information on-line
Discussions of computer viruses and how they can be quickly spread; how they can damage computers; and how students can prevent the spread of viruses
Passwords, why we use them and how to make a strong one
Potential threats including: those who pretend to be a friend to gain trust, then solicit information or a possible meeting; those that monitor your web activities, who may then try to sell you things or sell your personal information to others; those who send junk email, most of which should not be seen by children; those who use offensive language; and spending too much time on the computer, thus not participating in healthier activities.

It is never too early to start this educational process. Instant messaging (IM) is already occurring as early as the third grade. In talking to our sixth graders, IM is clearly the preferred method of peer to peer communication, where anyone can join in. While many parents think they are informed about their child's life by listening to phone calls or tuning in to carpool chatter, the NCMEC survey found that 42% of parents do not review what their children are reading or writing in their on-line chat rooms. Of course if they did, they would probably not understand what was being said as a new language using acronyms has emerged as the preferred method of communication. Do you know these?

Acronym	Definition
LOL	Laugh Out Loud
BRB	Be Right Back
A/S/L	Age/Sex/Location
POS	Parent Over Shoulder
P911	Parent Alert

Unfortunately, IM and chat rooms have become the new playground where harassing and bullying can take place. Children know this and sometimes they wish to hide this from their parents. Parent monitoring should also include making sure that a child is not the one writing things that are better left unsaid.

Included below are links to help parents become more informed about what we are doing here at Rocky Hill, as well as information to help parents at home. The Internet offers great things to those who use it wisely. Our goal is to help our students become web wise, so they can have a safe, enjoyable experience using this incredible technology.

Related information:

Safety Tips

Links to online resources for help:

NetSmartz.org

WiredSafety.org

Acronym Dictionary

Links to articles regarding MySpace:

Wired Safety

USA Today Article

Link to Parents' Internet Monitoring Survey Statistics:

NCMEC Parents' Monitoring Study