Donna Murray

Children today are…Digital Natives

• online• growing up in a world of technology• connected• 21st century learners

Parents today are…Digital Immigrants• online• learning to adapt to

technology

Parents want…• safety• balance

What worries parents…• predators/strangers• privacy• cyberbullying• inappropriate content

Cookie cutter safety?

There is NO failsafe answerto protecting ourchildren online.

Our biggest ally iseducation.

No one can take theplace of the parent.

Do the possibilities

scare you?

Let’s unplug ‘em!Right?...

Why not just unplug?Interactive

Engaging

Children are connecting, collaborating, communicating.

Find, store, create, critique, and share information

Harness, evaluate, and create information effectively

21st century literacy andglobal citizenship skills

Tool for learning

Daily life of digital natives

Network

What are our children doing online? And how do I keep them safe?

• What (and who) is out there?

• Why not just unplug?• What should I do to keep

them safe?• Where do I find

resources?

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

93% of all Americans between 12 and 17 years

old use the internet

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

74% of teens now say the computer they use is in a public place in the home.

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

A large majority of teens (71%) have established online profiles (including

those on social networking sites such as MySpace).

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

Among the 96% of young people who have ever gone online, [they] say they go online most often

• from home (65%)• from school (14%)• from a friend's house (7%)• from a library or other location (2%)

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

65% of high school students admit to unsafe,

inappropriate, or illegal activities online

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

Chat / Instant messaging• One-to-one chat or many participants “talking” at

the same time• Free and easy to access• Feels anonymous

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

Short Message Service (SMS)Also known as texting

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

13 year old Morgan Pozgar, crowned the 2007 National Texting champion 20 year old Nathan Schwartz,

crowned the 2008 National Texting champion

Chat and Instant Messaging

Risks

Strangers can contact your children

It’s hard to monitor

Searchable online profiles

Cyber-bullying

Chat and Instant Messaging

Learn the lingo:

What should I do to keep them safe?

Check screen names and profile

Know your child’s password

Use parental controls

Stay involved

Use log feature with child

Social Networking- For younger children: For older children:

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

Social Networking

Risks

•World’s largest bulletin board

•No “take-backs”

•Must remember to keep personal info private

•Cyberbullying

Social Networking

What should I do to keep them safe?

Stress importance of not sharing personal information

Real-life lessons apply

Keep track of profiles and posts

School work

Websites, wikis, search engines

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

School work / Searching

Risks

Finding inappropriate material

Finding inaccurate resources

http://www.dhmo.org/

http://www.martinlutherking.org/

School work / Searching

What should I do to keep them safe?

Filter

Parental controls

Search engine preferences

Discuss validity of resourcesKid-friendly sites

Effective online searching

Games

Some single player games, some allow you to interactively play with others around the world.

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

File sharing

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

File Sharing

Risks

Computer security and privacy

Access to inappropriate material

Copyright law

Sharing and viewing photos and videos

What (and who) is out there? What are our children doing online?

Photo and video sharing

Risks

No “take-backs”

Can be posted anonymously

Predators…

1 in 5 children between the ages of 10 and 17 has received unwanted sexual solicitations online.

Predators…

1 in 4 children has been exposed to sexually explicit pictures online without seeking or expecting them.

Predators…

The search frequently begins in a chat room.

Theyfind similar interestsbuild trustencourage secrecygather personal information

They groom their victim.

Predators…Warning signs• Time spent online• Pornography• Phone use• Gifts or packages from

someone you don’t know.• Concealing computer

content• Unsolicited mail and gifts• Behavior change• Using different online

account

Cyberbullying

One in three online teens have experienced online harassment.

Girls are more likely to be victims.

Most teens say that they are more likely to be bullied offline than online.

Cyberbullying

• Same principle as playground bullying

• Anonymity

• Character education online and offline

• Encourage open communicationIf your child is threatened with violence,

• contact law enforcement officials, including SRO• save the original messages• www.cybertipline.com

Communication is key

"We would never show our parents everything that we do online or with our mobile phones and iPods because it would be too shocking and it would cause them to be . .

afraid or enraged or saddened or disappointed or humiliated or more distant ormore controlling or worse, ashamed of me.

...and we're NOT about to start a bloody battle at home or risk having the computer taken away. So, it is safer to remain silent and deceptive. Besides, you would never understand. Most parents are clueless about our world and what we do with computers.“

(June, 2005 - April, 2007) This information was compiled by Donna Sawyer based on feedback from interviews with several hundred children, ages 11-20, in schools, youth groups, and small focus groups in North Carolina. The interviews included students from various cultural backgrounds: India, England, Belgium, South Korea, and Thailand.)

Remember, every child and every family is different.

• Ages

• Gender(s)

• Temperament

• Maturity

• Computer skills and comfort level

• Values

What should I do to keep them safe?

Set Rules…

• Teach your child never to give out personal information

• Treat others as you would like to be treated.

• Cheating, stealing, harming others- wrong ON and OFFline

• Tell parent / other adult if something you see online makes you feel uncomfortable.

• Think before you post.

What should I do to keep them safe?

Use Parental Controls…

• Computer in central location• Consider filtering / monitoring software• Implement parental controls (ISP, online)• Virus protection and firewall• Set guidelines / rules; sign safety agreement• Use child friendly search engines • Use the internet WITH your child• Know your child’s friends• Consider creating separate accounts on your machine• Be aware of other computers your child is using• Report stalking or cyberbullying to law enforcement

What should I do to keep them safe?

Instill Media Literacy Skills…

• Learn about the internet

• Talk with your child about how to find, analyze, evaluate, interact with, and create information online.

What should I do to keep them safe?

Communicate.

Know what your child is doing online and who your child is communicating with online.

Maintain a dialogue with your children about their lives ONLINE and OFFLINE.

Keep it positive.

Nothing takes the place of the parent.

Where do I find resources?http://delicious.com/murraygirl/internetsafety

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

For more information, visit http://creativecommons.org .

Credit info: Donna Murray, Instructional Technology Specialistmurraydo at hickoryschools.net