Cyber Safety

The Greatest Risk is No Access to 21st Century Learning

"The single greatest risk our children face in connection with the Internet is being denied access. We have solutions for every other risk."

Parry Aftab, Esq.
Executive Director
WiredSafety and its family of sites and programs,
including WiredKids.org and CyberLawEnforcement.org

The Federal Trade Commision and other government entities have created a booklet entitiled, "Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online."

This resource has been added to the OnGuard Online resources provided by the US Federal Government.

"The conversations that make kids good digital citizens aren't about the technology; they're about communicating your values as a parent," said Leibowitz. "Teaching kids to treat others as they'd like to be treated online is key. Net Cetera tells you how to start those conversations—even if you think your kids are more tech-savvy than you are."

Read the entire Dec. 17th article at eSchoolNews.

Harris Interactive conducted a study in 2008 on the impact of cell phone use among teenagers. The results give a glimpse into the lives of our children and where this pattern may lead . . .

"A generation widely defined by mobility, today's teenagers are now making demands of their mobile devices and, in doing so, redefining what mobility will be in the future, according to a national survey, "Teenagers: A Generation Unplugged""

A new problem is emerging as some students around the country decide to cultivate, capture, and then post school violence on the Internet. eSchool News reports that kids are posting increasingly vicious content to attract more attention and "hits" on their video postings.

Common Sense Media offers parents and educators a nonpartisan and nonprofit perspective on the impact of media on kids and families. They also provide resources on over thirty topics including the impact of television, movies, and Internet activity on the health and development of children. If you do nothing more than watch "Facebook in 90 Seconds" it will be worth your time.

Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies was released in December, 2008 from the Internet Safety Technical Task Force. "The scope of the Task Force's inquiry was to consider those technologies that industry and end users - including parents - can use to help keep minors safer on the Internet." You may download a PDF version of this report from this site.

Fast Company reported the planned introduction of India's $10 Laptop providing access to an "e-classroom, virtual laboratory and a better 'Sakshat' Portal that was launched more than two years ago. Sources also said that the ministry has entered into an agreement with four publishers — Macmillan, Tata McGraw Hill, Prentice-Hall and Vikas Publishing — to upload their textbooks on 'Sakshat'." Read more about the $10 laptop in The Times of India.

Zach Miners' January 2009 article entitled "Security: MySpace Verdict Raises Identity Questions" from District Administration Magazine introduced a question as to where students will learn skills to protect themselves in cyberspace. Miners states, "Children ages 10-14 spend more time on the Internet than watching television, but the report, the 2008 National Cyber Ethics, Cyber Safety, Cyber Security (C3) Baseline Study, found that only a handful of states have education curriculum requirements for teaching children how to protect themselves online."

Our purpose is to provide accurate and ongoing educational experiences for our entire community of learners to be safe and knowledgeable users of 21st Century resources.

Samples of "Kid-Friendly" Search Engines

http://kids.yahoo.com/

http://www.kidsclick.org/

http://www.dibdabdoo.com

http://www.factmonster.com

http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/

New Legislation for Internet Safety

Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, Illinois state law (105 ILCS 5/27-13.3) will require school districts to teach students how to be safe when engaging in online activities.

Included among the topics to be covered are:

Safe and responsible use of social networking websites, chat rooms, electronic mail, bulletin boards, instant messaging, and other means of communication on the Internet.
Recognizing, avoiding, and reporting online solicitations of students, their classmates, and their friends by sexual predators.
Risks of transmitting personal information on the Internet.
Recognizing and avoiding unsolicited or deceptive communications received online.
Recognizing and reporting online harassment and cyber-bullying.
Reporting illegal activities and communications on the Internet.
Copyright laws on written materials, photographs, music, and video.

Cyber Safety Resources

TeenAngels.org allows teens and parents to learn from other teens who have been trained to serve in this capacity.

StopCyberBullying.org addresses one of the greatest risks to kids on the Internet - themselves.

ConnectSafely includes a video library of social networking topics through the eyes of an Internet family, The Webs.

iSafe America Internet Safety Resources for Schools and Communities

NetSmartz Workshop for Parents

National Cyber Security Alliance Home Security Resources

WiredKids.org Guide for Parents

Ask Parry Parry Aftab's Q&A Resource on topics of Cyber Safety

Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens: Helping Young People Learn To Use the Internet Safely and Responsibly by Nancy E. Willard

Parent's Guide to Protecting Children in Cyberspace by Parry Aftab

Meeting the needs of 21st Century Learners

The following resources provide some additional insight into the learning practices and expectations of 21st Century Learners.

Learning to Change - Changing to Learn (** YouTube Video)
Educational and instructional technology leaders contribute to this vision of learners in this 21st Century.

A Vision of Students Today (** YouTube Video)
While set at the university level, this video provides ample room for application of the concepts related to educating our kids for their futures.

Some Additional Reading Material . . .

This is a collection of resources intended to produce discussion surrounding the practices of learning, living and working in this age of mass collaboration.

Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns by Clayton Christensen, Curtis W. Johnson, and Michael B. Horn

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition by Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning with additional material from the Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice and National Research Council

Updated & Expanded 2006 Edition of the World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman

The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap by Seymour Papert

Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink

Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation by Don Tapscott

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams

Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World by Don Tapscott

The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--And What We Can Do About It by Tony Wagner