Teachers

The primary concerns for schools in keeping children safe on the Internet will always be ensuring that pupils are educated to be responsible users and are adequately supervised whilst using computers in schools. However, new technology applications such as Instant Messaging, Peer to Peer, mobile telephones and web-based e-mail, mean that Internet use is more remote and harder to monitor. It is imperative, therefore, that schools are provided with teaching materials so that they can play their part in educating pupils about such applications regardless of whether they are being used in the classroom and have resources to help educate parents about keeping pupils safe on the Internet inside and outside of the classroom.

Furthermore many pupils are now using the Internet for homework at home or in locations where the Internet is not generally filtered or supervised (Internet cafés, friends homes etc.). Parents who are buying computers for use by their children specifically for homework do not necessarily have guidance on safety issues. And many parents assume that issues of Internet safety are being taught in the school where Internet access is safe. Teachers therefore, should be encouraged to play a more proactive role in educating parents about keeping their children safe online to help ensure that good safe school use of the Internet is mirrored by good safe out of school use.

Childnet has worked closely with the Dept for Education and Skills (DfES) and the British Educational Communications Technology Agency (BECTa) in the UK to address the issues of Internet safety in the classroom, as well as provide resources to help teachers tackle the subject both in and outside of the classroom.

Childnet, with the support of ISC2©, have produced the Safe and Secure Online presentation for keystage 3 pupils. It has been designed to help pupils identify the positive things they can achieve when using the internet, gain an awareness of the potential dangers they face online, and facilitate discussion regarding strategies to implement safe and secure online practices in order to avoid these risks.

International Resources

There are a number of excellent resources produced by other organisations both on Internet safety and creative use of the Internet which teachers might find helpful. Here are just 3 examples (see the Links section for more resources):

• IEARN
  Childnet has worked closely with the International Education and Resource Network which supports an amazing collection of online collaborative projects for teachers worldwide.
• The Education Dept of the State of Victoria in Australia has produced an excellent Safety Guide and a global Classroom Directory.
• Responsible Netizen website
  Nancy Willard has written extensively on legal and policy issues related to the use of the Internet in schools including "Computer Ethics, Etiquette and Safety for the 21st Century Student" These resources can be ordered from http://responsiblenetizen.org.