Internet+Safety

Explore how to protect students from the dangers of the Internet.

Jaime Otto and Julie Anderson

FBI Internet Safety Tips - http://www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/safety2.htm This site lists safety tips determined by the FBI for students in grades kindergarten thru fifth grade. These Internet safety tips focus on not giving out identifying information as well as being aware that people can pretend to be someone else very easily when online.
 * __Internet Safety Tips for Students__**

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children - http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=207%20 This site lists Internet safety tips for teenagers. It focuses on what to do if you experience something inappropriate online as well as knowing that you can't trust people online.

A Public Service Announcement for Teens: Developed for teens by teens, this PSA helps bring a scary message home... media type="custom" key="4880383"

This website calls itself the world's largest internet safety, help and education resource.[| http://wiredsafety.org/] Here, you can find information about cyberbullying, cyberstalking, internet safety and more. Of particular usefulness to educators are their media literacy resources--lesson plans about and containing pertinent information literacy concepts []

[|Real Life Stories from Netsmartz]

CyberTipline - http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=169 This site allows you to make a report if you experience or hear about an inappropriate site. It was created to help fight against child secual exploitation.
 * __How to Report__**

__**Internet Safety Tips for Parents**__ A publication titled //familyinternet// dated Spring 2009 is chock full of surprising facts and great advice for parents. For example, did you know: 5 million new users sign onto Facebook each week; 10 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute; and 33% of children ages 2-14 watch movies and online videos on laptops and other electronic devices. Surprised? How about this: According to Virtual Worlds News, children younger than age 7 are more heavily targeted by developers of online virtual worlds than any other age group. As of //familyinternet//'s publication date, there were 107 virtual worlds for children younger than 7.

The publication was created by School Family Media Inc for Parent-Teacher groups, but their website, [|www.schoolfamily.com], features the main articles of the magazine, plus a host of other valuable resources:

[|What Kids Do Online] Discusses 6 common tasks kids do online and includes information parents should know about them.

[|8 Steps to Peace of Mind Online] tells paents ways to help keep their children safe online.

[|Talk With Your Child About the Internet] answers parents' questions about how to talk with their children about online safety and responsibility, and how to keep the dialogue open.

The article titled [|Prevent Online Bullying] explains to parents what cyberbullying is, how to protect their children, how to know if their child is a victim, and what to do if it happens.

[|MySpace and Facebook, What You Should Know] is a parents' tutorial on the two most popular social networking sites The website also includes a .pdf file of an [|Internet Safety Contract] parents can use with their children, a [|printable list to organize online accounts and passwords], a .pdf template for writing your [|Internet House Rules], and, designed for Internet Safety Week (but great suggestions anytime), a [|list of 10 activities] parents can do with their children to open conversation about online safety and check that their children are making smart decisions online.

A primary sponsor of the publication is [|OnlineFamily.Norton] by Symantec, which offers an web-based service providing tools to help monitor what their children are doing online--not as stealthy spying, but transparent, open monitoring that also provides children reminders about what's allowed and what's not. The service costs approximately $60 per year. The schoolfamily website has TONS of great tips and articles for free.

An [|informative booklet] on cyber safety is available for free download.

The [|Family Watchdog] is a site that identifies where convicted sexual predators live and work. Parents should view this information for their own city and show it to their child(ren). Hopefully, this will encourage children to be more cautious. Also, the site allows viewers to see a photo of the convicted predators.

[|KidsHealth] contains information on the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which was enacted to keep children safe online. It also discusses parent control options as a way for parents to regulate what their children are viewing and doing online.

[|SafeKids] concentrates on a number of issues regarding Internet safety including sexting, how to recognize grooming, social web safety tips, and tips to stop cyberbulling. Parents would benefit from completing the Family Contract for Online Safety and the Online Safety Quiz with their child(ren).