CRIS teacher toolkit – Page 3

Our aim

This page aims to provide clear and concise information about popular platforms where children and young people consume online content. It is intended to provide knowledge and understanding for educators, so that they are more confident planning, delivering and assessing cyber resilience and internet safety learning.

How to use this page

Children and young people do not see the internet as a separate thing from ‘real life’ and it is important to understand the role of online devices and platforms in their lives. The internet is part of their cultural capital and key to engaging them with meaningful and relevant learning contexts.

Ask them about their online activities and behaviours – what do they consume?
Let them lead the learning – can they teach you something?
Engage with their ideas and answers – how can you use their knowledge and experiences to inform their learning?

Once you know what they consume online, you can use find ideas, information and resources on this page to support your planning.

More and more of the information we read is read online. Social media and web pages have replaced newspapers, and even TV, for many of us and our learners.
Learners will likely use apps, such as TikTok or YouTube, to find information rather than a traditional web browser. However, web browsers and search engine apps, such as Google, will usually have more safety and security features to make searching more accurate and more accurate or reliable search results will help learners avoid ‘fake news’ or malicious/harmful content.

This could be explored through Literacy and English LIT x-18a – Recognise the difference between fact and opinion and progressing to evaluative comments about relevance reliability and credibility with appropriate justification

The risks:

Learners may follow in-app or social media links which may be targeted advertising or a ‘rabbit hole’ of misinformation
Without appropriate search settings, learners may find inappropriate or harmful content
Learners are probably unaware that the first results returned in a web search are usually adverts linked to shopping sites, and feel pressured into making a purchase

Becoming cyber resilient is the first step to being safer online. Talk to your learners about the devices and accounts that they use to access online information:

Make them aware of any potential risks, such as unreliable webpages or targeted advertising
Explain the advantages of using a web browser to find information over social media apps – a search engine, such as Google, will allow users to use filter settings that reduce the risk
If search results are harmful or malicious do they know how to report it?

Being more cyber resilient reduces the risk of internet safety issues arising. We all want the internet to be a more welcoming space for children and young people and that is why we promote this positive message of safe, smart and kind.

With your learners:

Make them aware of the dangers of clicking the first results returned or searching without filters, like SafeSearch, enabled
Teach them how to use settings, advanced search or keyword parameters to increase the relevance of search results
Discuss how to understand, analyse and evaluate search results. You may already be doing this with physical texts, such as books, but it is important to make the learning contextual.

Resources for more effective searching and finding:

Free Search Better Tutorial at GCFGlobal

Information:

Filter explicit results using SafeSearch – Computer – Google Search Help

Top tips for seeing something scary or upsetting online – Own It – BBC

Upsetting, anxious, worried, inappropriate, social media – Own It – BBC