Friday 15 March 2013

Cyber Safety in school 101 - How much do you know ?.

 Community Review

A few weeks ago I was fortunate to be in Sydney for appointments and I was invited to hear about the new Life Education Australia programme in partnership with McAfee targeting primary students.

It was a brief overview of information the national cyber education program , starting right now in 2013, covers. It was very interesting.The online world is getting trickier and as parents we need to be aware too.
 
The program will take the form of a new Life Education Social Skills and Cyber Safety module for middle primary students. Life Education will utilise McAfee's expertise and experience in the security industry in creating cyber safety content for upper primary students which will include strategies to deal with unsafe online situations.bCyberwise

 

The video was eye-opening and it is a little funny. How much do you know ?

I am all for for my sons (almost 7) being educated on how to stay safe online and develop positive online communication skills. As I mentioned I have a 19yr who has grown up with the Internet . A few years ago the behaviour of his peers {and sometimes him} online at times shocked me ... I admit to snooping when he left his facebook profile open on our desktop. The content he and his friends or friends of friends were posting horrified me.

There was language, bullying, shaming and filthy talk about girls or other boys. They weren't all his friends - I could see friends of friends - public profiles by clicking from one kid to another. I knew a lot of them (& some of their parents) from either Soccer, Little Athletics, Swimming, and primary school etc. It's a small world sometimes.

I had to edit information my younger teen was posting on Myspace and warn him about telling his friends when we were going away and our phone number.

every kid knows Harold. Launched by Julia Gillard in January

Life education reaches 620,000 children nationally with 100 plus mobile learning centres and qualified educators across the country. The optional module will support teachers and schools to specifically address the knowledge, skills and attitudes children need to ensure their online experiences are safe.  
The cyber security element of the program will align with the State, Territory and future National Curriculum covering communication, relationships, decision-making and safety. It is an extension of the current Life Education program, bCyberwise has been designed in partnership with McAfee using their expertise in security to create relevant content on the real risks students face today in the online world.
Life Education aims to empower children to make safe and healthy decisions including cyber safety content with the support of McAfee.
It will provide knowledge, skills and strategies to empower children to use technology safely, build positive relationships and contribute to the safety of others online.
The new bCyberwise module will be taught using engaging presentations, videos, discussion, problem solving and role play and will provide an opportunity for young students to learn and practice core life skills in three categories: cyber safety, cyber security and responsible online behaviour.

I knew my teen was accessing my computer if I left it without shutting down completely - especially when I got busy with my twin babies or when they were toddlers and I decided to take them for a walk. I put parental controls in place but he got around them sometimes. Mostly he was a good kid with a very tech savvy friend and both were curious about lots of things.

They were so digitally aware [I had to stay a step ahead and I knew how to check the history.] That was before twitter and instagram - my little boys know all about putting photos on instagram and Facebook ...my Bad !

I have also heard that some online games like Moshi Monsters, have a messaging feature. My boys haven't asked to play games online yet. I am very aware that I'll need to vigilant.

Are your primary school kids active on facebook , instagram or you tube ? 
How much do you know about cyber-safety ?
Have you heard about bcyberwise ?

PS - Martine has some great tips here for parents http://themodernparent.net/4-things-parents-shouldnt-do-with-their-kids-online/ 

Some of these acronyms were new to me too ...

Top 15 Terms To Watch For:
  1. AITR = Adult In The Room
  2. P911 = Parent Emergency
  3. PAW = Parents Are Watching
  4. PIR = Parent In Room
  5. POS = Parent Over Shoulder
  6. PLOS = Parents Looking Over shoulder
  7. PRW = Parents Are Watching
  8. MOS = Mom Over Shoulder
  9. MIRL = Meet In Real Life
  10. S2R = Send To Receive (pictures)
  11. LMIRL = (Lets) Meet In Real Life
  12. CD9 = Code 9 - (means parents are around)
  13. E or X = Ecstasy (the drug)
  14. ASL(R P) = Age Sex Location (Race / Picture)
  15. TDTM = Talk Dirty To Me
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored I was invited to the bCyberwise event but no there was obligation to write a post.