Internet Safety

Started the day by working on the HIPPY digital copier. After the holiday break, the machine would not print over LAN. I could web into it and look at all the settings, etc, but I could not print to it. Not sure what was different today, but I shut it down, waited a few minutes, and rebooted. Before trying to print, I waited for the "Initializing Network" to disappear. When I printed to it, everything worked.

This afternoon, I went to Lafayette Schools to present an hour-long talk on Internet Safety. It went "okay" from my own person feelins about it. I certainly see some areas of improvement, and I was actually surprised that my "condensed" version actually took the entire hour! I really thought I would end up short. Nope. A couple of nice discussions and a lot of info certainly made for a packed hour. As I said, several things need to be tweaked in the preso, though.

For those interested, here are my scattered (and rough) notes:

Internet Safety Topics to cover:
1. Internet safety is a lot like 'real world' safety, a lot of the same rules apply:
--- Be careful when talking to strangers
--- Don't give out your address, phone number, school, real full name
--- Tell an adult if you see something that doesn't seem right or makes you uneasy
--- evaluate a source. don't just assume it is legitimate.

2. Just because the slide is broken, we don't keep kids off the playground. Some kids are going to try out the slide anyway! What do we do with them? Check they are okay, dust them off, scold them/punish them, make sure they understand the lesson learned.

3. CIPA - Child Internet Protection Act - Schools and Libraries take measures to help keep kids away from inappropriate and/or harmful content. Can we block everything? No. Should we block everything? No.

4. COPPA - Children's Online Privacy Protect Act - All kids 13 and under are required to have parental permission before signing up to join sites or enter contests - Facebook, Twitter, Club Penguin, Disney, whatever.5. Supervision - We can't be benchwarmers. Put the computers where we can see them. get up, move around. If a kid closes a window, ask what he's doing. If s/he won't say, open the browser and look at the history. What policies are in place? Which are enforced? Do they need to be evaluated?

5a. Establish computer use guidelines, time restrictions, etc. Use a TIMER if you have to.

6. Listen to the student - If a student reports something has happened or is happening, listen to them. Take them seriously. Check it out, or have authorities check it out. Save/forward copies of inappropriate exchanges/conversations. Most email programs will let you paste a picture
directly. Hit the "Print Screen" button (usually in top right corner) then open email and click EDIT then PASTE.

7. Bookmark student sites for easy access - Emily and the "Bunny Club" - Disney game, but also can be an adult web site!

8. Never respond to threatening email or message. Save it, forward it, report it. Do not respond to it.

9. NEVER meet in person. If a "friend" posts a phone number and asks your child to call, that could be a sign. KNOW your kids friends. Once a child calls a number, the person on the other end has the child's number through caller id!

10. Know your child's passwords, email addresses, logins. check their phone regularly. As a parent, you have the right, especially if child is minor. If they are on facebook, friend them on facebook. If they dont like it, tell 'em "tough." Remember, they need us to help them,
protect them.

11. Blogging/posting status/etc - Post where you WERE, not where you are going. I am bad about this. I have tried posting after-the-fact instead of in-the-moment. Kids should never use full names. If using names, stick to first names only. Check privacy settings - monitor
comments, etc.

12. Child email - ZooBuh, Kidsafemail, Hotmail, Google - monitored email.

13. Once it is online, it is ALWAYS online. Think before you post. Don't post or send a photo of yourself without checking with an adult - parents, family, etc. Don't post pictures of family and friends without permission!

14. NEVER give out your password, credit card, etc unless you are the one to initiate the transaction! You will *NEVER* be asked by your bank,
your ISP, by anyone for this information. Even over the phone, do NOT give out your password. If they say they need it to access your account, tell them to change the password on your account and let you know what they changed it to. They do not need your password to change it, if they are legit.

15. (Added after the preso): Colleges, employers, community will look at your online presence. What you post can affect your future. Be smart about what you post, or be prepared to address/answer for your words, photos, etc.

Resources:

Netsmartz.org
iSafe.org
Kidshealth.org
Safekids.com
Disney Internet Safety
Internet Safety Games