Category Archives: Highland

Highland

ESafety Quiz

The internet and mobile phones open up an exciting world for young people today, but with the benefits come some dangers and risks. Parents don’t want to stop their children using technology altogether, so what can they do to make sure their children are safe?

Do you know your spam from your spyware? As a parent there are things you need to know about keeping your kids safe online. Our e-safety quiz will help you find out whether you’re a techno-phobe or techno-tastic.

Next Generation Learning Esafety Quiz for parents. Try it to see how much you are aware of Esafety issues and young people.

Highland

Welcome to the web

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“Welcome to the Web“, created by Kent teacher Mark Warner, is an highly praised interactive set of on-line resources which teach children (an adults) about different aspects of the Internet. The latest update includes speech.

The resources are in split into seven sections:

  1. The Beginning – explains how to use the site.
  2. Getting Started Online – teaches children about the basic concepts involved in the Internet (World Wide Web, Hyperlinks, Back button etc). This introductory lesson also gives valuable practice in visiting and navigating around web sites.
  3. Staying Safe – encourages pupils to keep themselves safe online by following the SMART rules. Also tests their understanding usign interactive activities and fun quizzes.
  4. Using Your Browser – helps people to learn more about their web browsers… what are the different features and how are they used?
  5. Searching Online – teaches children how to search effectively, and keep themselves safe when doing so. Also identifies search engines which are particularly suitable for children to use.
  6. Trying Top Tricks – finding information on the net is great, but it is also important to know how that information can be used. This section explains about printing, using the Find tool to locate specific information within web pages, copying and pasting text, and saving images from the web. Also includes information about copyright and why it is important to credit others when you use their work.
  7. The Welcome to the Web Challenge – When the children have completed all of the sections of Welcome to the Web, they can complete this exciting challenge. It requires them to use all of the skills which they have learnt to catch the creator of a destructive computer virus!

When visitors complete the challenge, they are able to print a personalised certificate to show their competence in using the Internet.

Originally posted on the Kent ICT Blog

Highland

How to search for images safely online

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Images can be an excellent teaching tool which can make it easier to teach difficult concepts, provide a stimulus for class discussion, or add visual appeal to a teacher’s presentation or pupils’ work. The internet can provide a wonderful source of images, many of them copyright free, but finding appropriate images can be a challenge.

Many major search engines offer pre-set image searching from the homepage, often with options to filter results. However such searches and filters generally work on the basis of filename and description, and so can lead to misleading, unexpected or inappropriate results, sometimes of an adult nature. While teachers may find search engine image searches useful in lesson preparation, they should always be used with care and caution, and it is probably wise not to use them ‘live’ within a classroom setting.

An alternative is to use specialist web-based image collections – sites which deal specifically with key subjects such as the arts, animals, history or scientific concepts. These have the benefit of being closed collections, monitored and moderated by specialists within their field. Many now have an educational focus and provide copyright permissions specifically for educational use.

5-14 Curriculum

This site is managed by Learning and Teaching Scotland and contains resources for primary and lower secondary education. It includes a collection of royalty-free illustrations and photos on topics such as seasons and the environment, the human body, numbers, signs and people from history.

ArtMagick

ArtMagick is a non-profit virtual art gallery displaying a selection of works from more than 300 artists from the art movements of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Pics4Learning

This is a copyright-friendly image library for teachers and students, consisting of thousands of images that have been donated by teachers, students and amateur photographers.

NASA Earth Observatory

The main purpose of this site is to provide free access to new satellite imagery and scientific information about Earth. Images are generally free to use, unless copyright statements indicate otherwise.

National Geographic

This National Geographic website provides access to an online photo gallery, organised by topic.

North Chadderton School

The North Chadderton School Global Community Zone provides listings of public domain images.

Living Library

Provided by RM, this website provides access to collections of clipart, sound and video, categorised by primary or secondary education. This is a subscription service.

Search engines for children with image resources

The following search engines are specifically for children and young people, and provide a source of images for use in the classroom. As with other websites, they should be used with caution – they may provide access to full web search facilities, or link to sites which may contain advertising or age-inappropriate content.

Ask for Kids

This is a fast, easy and safe way for kids to find answers to their questions online, and each website included in the service is selected by an editor. The site provides access to clip art through a link to Kaboose, a parenting and family website.

KidsClick

This service provides a page on image search tools, linking on to many third-party websites, mainly American in origin. Many of the linked sites are aimed at a more general audience and so may contain some age-inappropriate content, and so should always be used with caution.

Highland

Downloading Music Advice and Introducing Copyright

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www.pro-music.org

One area we cover on our Internet Safety and Responsible Use training is downloading music. We recommend the Pro-music / Childnet leaflet that can be donloaded here.

This website  www.pro-music.org is a must for all wanting to find out more, it’s suitable for young people, parents and all professionals. It could also be used as a context for learning.

It’s a global resource that covers all the news and views, do’s and don’t about using the internet legitmately to access music. Why not put it on your favourites page?

I would see this featuring as a key part of a program of Internet Safety in schools and it could also be considered in curriculum areas such as Expressive Arts, Technologies, Health and Wellbeing..I would also add Literacy in there as you could be looking at skills for critical thinking and searching the ownership / validity of text

Why not try it and let us know how you get on? You could show pupils during a lesson and discuss favourite sites, what music is most downloaded? You could use this as a way to begin to introduce issues of copyright. It’s got a great page that explodes myths which again can be great discussion tools.

Once the subject of copyright is introduced you could also use some of the teaching resources highlighted here by the World Internet Property Organisation.

Please feel free to add comments or more ideas, I’m sure there are plenty!

Highland

Training News

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28th May 2009
28th May 2009

The Highland E-Safety Group have spent the Easter hols reflecting on the recent training that has been provided in Highland.

As well as the half-day ‘Internet Safety and Responsible Use’ courses there have been a number of bespoke sessions delivered for a range of professionals and parents. This has included sessions for the following groups:

  • Youth Workers / Intensive Support Unit Staff
  • Foster Carer Link Workers
  • Children’s Residential Home Staff
  • Highland Youth Voice Xec Committee
  • Youth Work Development Staff
  • Health Promoting Schools Officers
  • Support for Learning Staff
  • Library Service Officers

The above bespoke sessions can last from 1 – 2 hours and comprise of the key issues for children and young people using different ways of communication, gaming, cyberbullying and the internet. These sessions also include what resources and local support is available. These will continue throughout the year on request from individuals.

The multi-agency half-day  ‘Internet Safety and Responsible Use Sessions’ have been delivered by CEOP Ambassadors and use the CEOP introductory materials and the Thinkuknow education materials, they are designed for staff working predominantly in school settings who wil be taking E-Safety delivery forward. In addition to the CEOP materials (which have to be used for participants to become registered TUK trainers) the training covers the local perspective, cyberbullying, support for staff, the way our schools are using blogs and wikis and most importantly how to create the right conditions to use the approved resources with young people.

We believe it’s vital to look at the wider context and see how the TUK and Childnet resources can be used across the curriculum and through the training aim to ensure that participants can do this confidently.

Our evaluations of the half day training have been overwhelmingly positive, however it seems that there are still questions to be asked and issues explored, a half-day is just not long enough. To this end our next planned session on the 24th April will include an opportunity throughout the lunch and afterwards for participants to delve into the resources (laptops with internet access provided) and work in small groups to assess how they would use them and what else they need to do to create the right conditions (with the support of other professionals) to take it forward in their school communities.

Myself , Robert Quigley (our newest CEOP Ambassador!) and Jim Henderson have agreed to create a new training event on the 28th May 2009, which will be a full day to ensure that participants can do all of the above and walk away with the tools, skills and confidence to drive the Highland E-Safety Strategy forward. Depending on the outcome of course this full day approach will become the standard framework for all future ‘Internet Safety and Responsible Use’ training in Highland.

For more information about our courses please do get in touch.

Highland

Reporting Illegal Content

The Internet Watch Foundation is a key partner in the UKCCIS and also works hand in hand with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre (CEOP) the main agency for Internet Safety in the United Kingdom.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) provides the only INTERNET  ‘hotline’ for reporting illegal images on the web. The Highland E-Safety Group supplies information to Parents / Carers and Professionals in Highland regarding the IWF so that Highlanders are aware of how they can keep themselves safe online and report any illegal content. The IWF works in partnership with Police, Government and the Internet Industry to minimise the availability of illegal content online. Our advice is that if you see any images or content online that you think fits into any of these categories, please do report it to the IWF.

  • child abuse images
  • criminally obscene images
  • criminally racist content

The Internet Watch Foundation hope to make the Internet a safer place for everyone and have provided an easy to complete step by step report process on their website. Of course –  if you have any immediate concerns about anyone’s welfare please do dial 999. There is also new information on our brand new web page on The Highland Council dedicated to Internet Safety for Children & Young People, Parens and Carers please stop by and take a look.