Tag Archives: Esafety

News

Safer Internet Day 2012

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This Tuesday may well be just another day, but it is a day that we feel important to acknowledge…

Safer Internet Day is organised by Insafe each year in February to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.

This year, Safer Internet Day (SID) will take place on Tuesday 7 February 2012 and will be centred around the theme Connecting generations and educating each other, with the slogan: “Discover the digital world together… safely!”

About Connecting Generations

This topic looks at the reach of the online world across all generations and cultures and encourages families to work together to stay safe online. Whether you are 5, 40 or 75 years old, whether you use the internet once a month or several times a day – each person has something different to bring to the table that can help shape our online experiences and our understanding of online competences and safety. We all have a role to play in ensuring that every child is safe online.

Today our offline and online worlds are strongly connected, from families communicating via webcam with relatives and friends abroad to children doing their homework online. The online world is a unique arena where people of all ages can learn together and from each other, especially regarding online safety. Tech savvy youngsters can teach their elders how to use new technologies, while grandparents can draw on their life experiences to advise younger generations on how to stay safe online, as they discover the digital world together.

How to take part?

Visit saferinternetday.org for more information and to download SID promotional materials and resources.

News

Skype you soon!

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We all love Skype. One of my best friends lives in Australia, and realistically, we’re not the world’s best “email-buddies”. But the combination of Skype and Facebook work really well for us when it comes to keeping in touch.  A quick update here, a couple of picture comments there, the odd “like” and every couple of weeks a good old computer-face to computer-face Skype natter.  So whilst logging in on Skype the other day to catch up with my suntanned friend, I was greeted with a lovely message from a “Vanda [insert random numbers here]” saying “Hey! I was flicking through the directory and I don’t know you, but I thought you looked like a good person to talk to, add me!” Despite the fact that I was hugely complimented that I “looked like a good person to talk to” and that adding Vanda would take my Skype friend total to nine (!), Vanda was promptly ignored.

If you’re on Skype, or if you’re part of the 500 million people on Facebook, then I’m sure you’ve experienced the same. Every so often, there’s a new “Friend” request in your box, you have the moment of “who could it be!” excitement and on opening it up, you haven’t got a clue.

Having grown up with slogans such as “Say NO to strangers” and “Stranger Danger”, it seems to make clear sense that should someone wish to befriend us that we don’t know, aka stranger, we reject their very kind offer. So why is it we have a generation today that may be happy to accept Vanda’s offers of friendship?

We need to understand our young people today are a generation who are not ‘adjusting’ to social-media like many others are, they are in fact the children of social-media. Where we have had to learn, they have been born into it. I know 2 year olds who can operate an iphone, and I’m sure you’ve seen the recent “I’m a PC” adverts featuring a four and half year old uploading pictures and another with an eight year old creating a photo-movie. Using social-media has become literal child’s-play.

And it’s not just computer access, mobile technology and networking is on the up. 28% of 18-24 years olds check Facebook on their mobile before they even get out of bed in the morning. Young people now have more access to the internet than ever before with the rise of the smartphone.   

Facebook has a clear policy that under 18’s are given a recommended default security setting. However this setting allows everyone (yes everyone) to see their photos and posts, their biography and their family and relationship status. Bearing in mind all someone under the age of 13 (Facebook is for 13 years old and over) needs to do is to slightly amend their date of birth, it’s very easy for a young person’s world to be opened up to unknown eyes and online strangers.

At Young Scot, we’re passionate about new technology and new digital media; in fact we have a whole team dedicated to it. We understand communication is evolving and it’s so important to keep at the forefront of it.  Social networking offers new engagement opportunities (anything that can get 500,000,000 users from every country, culture, religion and age group (over 13) in 6 years can’t be all bad) but at the same time, safety is paramount to this. While 70% of Facebook users are under 30, the message of “Say Ignore to Strangers” needs to be reiterated time and time again. Using the code created by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, we have a clear “Zip It, Block It and Flag It” approach:

Zip It: think about what you say and post – don’t put up anything you wouldn’t show to your mum, dad or carer

Block It: Block any nasty posts or people you don’t know

Flag It: Flag up any problems or concerns immediately with a trusted adult or organisation

With so many great Internet Safety resources now available, access to advice and support has never been so easy. Isis Forensics have just released a free mobile application to help children and young people identify adults posing as children on chat rooms or social networking sites. Glow has a wealth of information, links and resource to encourage responsible use of the internet (check out our Young Scot group page here!) and organisations such as CEOP and Save the Children have hard-hitting awareness campaigns, resource and tools such as the CEOP ‘Report Abuse’ button on various social networking sites. However the message of privacy and “Say No” still needs to be reiterated on every level.  Social Networking and media is there to enhance lives, open healthy doors of opportunity and communication and add to friendships and partnerships. In a word, it’s there to be enjoyed. All we ask is that it’s enjoyed safely, and this is the message that we need to keep in front of our Young People.

Highland

Internet safety competition

The Scottish Government has announced the launch of an action plan and marketing campaign to improve the safety of children on the internet and prevent problems such as cyber bullying, internet fraud and online grooming. Part of the campaign includes an internet safety competition which will be run in conjunction with Young Scot and Learning and Teaching Scotland.

The competition is to design an original resource to teach others about online safety. It is broken down into three main categories:

A: Resources for primary school children

B: Resources for secondary school children

C: Resources for parents and grandparents.

There is also a special category for adults, like teachers, youth workers and even parents, to enter a resource that they have developed to help teach children and young people about staying safe online:

D. Original resources for children and young people.

Anyone under the age of 16 can enter categories A, B and C. You don’t have to enter the category for the group that is the same age as you.

Adults working with children and young people can enter category D and submit an original resource that they have developed to explore issues around online safety.

The deadline for entries is Thursday 1 April 2010.

For details of how to enter download this Internet Safety Competition_tcm4-586923.doc

Highland

New resources for 5 -7 year olds

New on ThinkUKnow


This 8 minute animation introduces Lee & Kim, a brother and sister navigating the online world with the help of their trusted superhero friend SID! With his super powers, SID shows them how to keep themselves safe while having fun online. Based around 4 simple tips for children to remember and a song, the cartoon aims to teach children how to protect themselves and others around them. As well as addressing grooming, the animation also focuses on digital citizenship highlighting the importance of treating each other well and behaving responsibly not only in the playground, but also online.

This cartoon is designed to be played in either Assembly or Circle Time with an introductory and follow-up discussion based on our downloadable activity sheets. The resource is primarily aimed at Key Stage 1 but parts of it would be suitable for Year 3 in Key Stage 2. We have also included several activities for reception children in the Foundation Stage. These core activities are primarily designed to fulfill elements of the PSHE, Citizenship and ICT curriculum.

As well as these core activities we also have a number of follow up activities available for download all designed to link into different parts of the curriculum, including Art & Design, Music, Maths and Physical Education.

All of the activities are supported by additional materials such as masks, a board game and song sheets.



Highland

SAFER INTERNET DAY 9TH FEBRUARY 2010

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Welcome back and a very Happy New Year!

This year we will aim to continue with our high profile work on Internet Safety and Responsible Use in Highland, with the aim of creating safer online communities. We have many more training courses available on the Education CPD Calendar and new guidance has been issued to help schools manage incidents of Cyberbullying.

Last year many schools participated in ‘Safer Internet Day’, 2009 was the first year we had promoted this in Highland and many schools held their own events using some of the ideas on our Highland E-Safety Site www.highlandesafety.wordpress.com we have continued to add to the list of ideas.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center (CEOP) have also sent us the following information to distribute to yourselves to promote their resources for Safer Internet Day 2010.

SAFER INTERNET DAY 9TH FEBRUARY 2010

We are asking all schools and TUK ambassadors and trainers to get Tuesday 9th of February in their diaries and plan a Safer Internet Day event in your community. It doesn’t have to be exactly on the day, we are giving over the whole week to the events.

We’ve launched our micro site www.thinkuknow.co.uk/saferinternetdayuk which can guide you through resources that are on offer for you to use, get inspired with a number of suggestions and ideas and a feedback area for you to tell us what you are up to.

As the UK representative for the European-wide Safer Internet Day, CEOP are looking to coordinate everyone’s efforts to put Safer Internet Day on the map and raise awareness of the issues, the risks and the things that children and young people (and their parents on their behalf) to keep themselves safe online.

So, what’s new for Safer Internet Day 2010?

Think before you post competition.

This is a competition that is open for 8-16 year olds to create a short film (1-3 minutes long) under the banner of Think Before You Post – what does it mean to them, how would they explain this sentiment to other young people and we are throwing down the gauntlet to young people to be as creative as they like to get this message across to their peers – and the opportunity to win some exciting prizes. Entries can be made by individuals, small groups of up to 5 people or as a whole class – a great end of term project perhaps!

For further details click here www.thinkuknow.co.uk/saferinternetdayuk/competition

New resources for Key Stage 1

CEOP have developed a new animation for children between 5-7 with activities for pre-school children to teach them about personal information, playing safely on the computer and behaving nicely to others online. You can download the free resources the end of January 2010.

Other resources available

· A NEW cyber-bullying episode for Hector’s World

· Two assembly programmes for primary and secondary schools

· Online banners and SID badges to download for your website

Tell us all about it

We will have an interactive map which you can upload the details of your initiatives which we can make available to local, regional and national media outlets to generate local press coverage in your area.

Visit the Safer Internet Day micro-site at www.thinkuknow.co.uk/saferinternetdayuk to get more ideas and suggestions about how to raise the issue of online safety in your community.

If you do hold any sessions, events or activities please do remember to let us know and where possible keep evidence of the impact your activities have made in enabling pupils to become safer digital citizens.

If you need any further information please contact Jim Henderson or Louise Jones.

Highland

Facebook site offers advice to prevent cyber-bullying

1. Only accept friends you know

In order to prevent harassment from strangers, only accept friend requests from people you know and report any messages or profiles that look suspicious. Facebook is based on a real name culture, and fake profiles are regularly disabled when they’re reported to us. Only confirmed friends can post to your Walls or contact you via Facebook Chat, so if you’re worried that someone will make inappropriate posts or send offensive messages, you should ignore that person’s request.

2. Stop abusive behaviour

A block prevents someone from viewing your profile. If you receive inappropriate or abusive communication, you can block the person by listing his or her name in the “Blocking People” box at the bottom of the privacy page. In addition to blocking, if you receive abusive messages on your wall or via Facebook chat, you can remove the offender from your friend list.

3. Report trouble directly to Facebook

You can report an abusive user by clicking the “Report/Block person” link that appears at the bottom of that person’s profile. Additionally, if you are informed of inappropriate behavior on the part of someone you have already blocked, ask a friend to report that person on your behalf. Reports are confidential and the person being reported does not know that they have been reported. After a report is submitted, Facebook will investigate the issue and make a determination as to whether or not the content should remain on the site based on its terms of use. A Facebook administrator looks into each report thoroughly in order to decide the appropriate course of action.

4. Keep your information private

Restrict your privacy settings on Facebook so that certain people can’t access information like your Wall, photos, or profile. You can also customize your privacy settings if you feel uncomfortable about being found in searches or having your profile viewed publicly. Privacy on Facebook is controlled primarily from the privacy settings page, which can be accessed from the settings link at the top of any Facebook page.

5. Don’t react to bullies – block, report or delete them

Rather than responding to a bully directly via inbox, a Wall post, or Facebook Chat, you can delete offensive posts from your Wall or messages from your Inbox and then use the “Blocking” or “Reporting” functions to resolve the issue safely.

To delete an offensive Wall post, hover over the post in question, click the “Remove” button that appears, and select “Delete” in the dialogue box.

To delete a message from Inbox, simply click the “Delete” button at the top of the message. Because only confirmed friends can post to a Wall or send a message through Chat, users who don’t like the posts and Chat messages they’re receiving should consider removing the people responsible from their friends list.

Highland

Targets of cyberbullying to receive support in the Highlands

Guidance on tackling bullying via the Internet and mobile phones is soon to be distributed to all staff in education, culture and sport establishments throughout The Highland Council’s area.

Councillor Bill Fernie, Chairman of the Council’s Education, Culture and Sport Committee said: “Members have given their full endorsement to new Cyberbullying Guidance which was created by a multi-agency/organisation working group.”

The working group consulted widely with the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers (LNCT), the Council’s E-Safety Strategy Group, parents and teachers of primary and secondary schools; Northern Constabulary and NHS Highland; the Council’s Legal Service and Education, Culture and Sport Service Officers; and the voluntary sector.

Report author, Louise Jones, Health Promoting Schools Manager informed members that advice on the draft version of the guidance was also sought from the national anti-bullying organisation ‘Respectme’. She stated that: “Respectme are unaware of any other authority in Scotland which has developed support for professionals with the unique issues which cyberbullying can present, and that Respectme congratulated Highland Council on its approach to this issue.”

The Cyberbullying Guidance will support Education, Culture and Sport staff who have to deal with children and young people who may be on the receiving end of cyberbullying. The guidance will also enable staff to learn how to avoid cyberbullying.

Louise Jones added: “Cyberbullying can have devastating impacts on the targets, some of which have been our own staff in recent times through teacher rating websites. The guidance will also help staff who they themselves have been on the receiving end of cyberbullying.”

The guidance covers; an explanation of what constitutes cyberbullying; the Laws concerned; preventing, responding and investigating cyberbullying and how to work with the person displaying cyberbullying behaviour.

Further information on cyberbullying and e-safety can be found on www.highlandesafety.wordpress.com or by contacting Louise Jones on tel: 01463 702066.

For more detailed information follow this link

Highland

Clicker grids for e-safety

Clicker grids for e-safety

Crick Software are involved in a project in conjunction with Childnet International, the TDA, Becta, the DCSF and the UK Council for Child Internet Safety. The project, Know IT All for primary schools, contains a 3D animation called the adventures of Kara, Winston and the SMART crew. To support and reinforce this e-safety campaign, Crick Software has created related Clicker activities. See the attached leaflet for more information and how to access the grids. You will need to register with Learning Grids in order too download the sets.

Clicker grids for esafety

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.