1. HELPING CHILDREN USE THE INTERNET POSITIVELY & SAFELY

2. THIS PRESENTATION TAKING A BALANCED APPROACH ! Why is this issue important? What can you do now? What are the dangers for Children? What is so positive for Children? Practical resources + Questions

3. WHAT IS CHILDNET? A charity working to help make the internet a great and safe place for all children.

4. Connects you to the world Like bringing a city into the home or classroom The good & The bad Let’s make sure the good outweighs the bad! WHAT IS THE INTERNET LIKE FOR CHILDREN?

5. A bit about you…. How many of you have internet access at home ? What sort of things do your children like doing on the internet ? What sort of concerns do you have about your children’s use of the internet ?

6. WHY IS THIS PART I IMPORTANT

7. PART I Whilst there are enormous benefits for children using the internet at home and at school there are potential dangers for children using the net unsupervised. These can broadly be grouped into 3 C s: 1) WHAT ARE THE DANGERS ? ContentContactCommerce Pornography Racist content Inaccurate information Threatening e-mails Strangers in Chat rooms Blur between advertising & content Invasions of privacy & SPAM

8. PARENTS Mostly e-mail and web for research DO YOU KNOW HOW YOUR CHILD USES THE NET? WE NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN OUR CHILDREN’S ONLINE ACTIVITY, VALIDATE THEIR SKILLS & LEARN FROM THEM YOUNG PEOPLE Interactive chat, IM, Music, Games, 2) ADULTS + CHILDREN USE THE NET IN DIFFERENT WAYS PART I

9. KNOWLEDGE Many children pick up technology quicker ! HELP YOUR CHILDREN TO UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT TECHNOLOGY IS THROWING UP NEW IMPORTANT SAFETY ISSUES WHICH CHILDREN MAY NOT SEE WISDOM Understanding how to behave in a virtual world 3) THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE + WISDOM PART I

10. IN SCHOOL Generally supervised, protected and monitored WE NEED TO DO MORE THAN SUPERVISE- WE NEED TO HELP EDUCATE CHALLENGE = to ensure that children are safe wherever they use the internet OUT OF SCHOOL Often no filtering, supervision or monitoring 4) SUPERVISED/UNSUPERVISED ACCESS POINTS PART I

11. PART II WHAT’S SO POSITIVE

12. WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH THE NET? DiscoverConnectCreate Search Homework Projects The biggest library in the world E-mail Newsgroups communities and clubs Chat Brings kids together at local call rates Web sites Text, art, music, photos, video... Anyone can become a publisher

13. WHAT WE DID WITH THE PUPILS THIS AFTERNOON

14. Three examples which shows the power of the Net for children to… Discover Connect Create

19. PART III WHAT ARE THE DANGERS

20. THE DANGERS TO CHILDREN ContentContact Commerce Pornography Racism Inaccurate information Threatening e-mail Paedophiles in chat rooms Invasion of privacy Blur between advertising & content

21. PORNOGRAPHY Promotes a demeaning view of women (& men) Encourages false fantasies Can be used to sexualise young children Addictive Easily available on the Net SMART TIP Consider using filtering Be careful to type in the correct web site address!

22. RACIST & HATE SITES Web an ideal medium for small extreme groups Some pose as churches, or other “acceptable” groups Some target children See www.adl.org for details of sites to avoidwww.adl.org SMART TIP

23. INACCURATE CONTENT Spoof sites URL mimickers eg www.microdoft.com www.microdoft.com Historical revisionist material Inaccurate health information Look for source, date, links & references See www.quick.org.uk for helpful checklistwww.quick.org.uk SMART TIP

24. Interactive services online Chat –web based Instant Messaging Games – MOO, MUD, MUSH etc. Cyber sex Contact Get your kids to explain how chat and IM work! SMART TIP

25. What is Instant Messaging? Instant Messaging (sometimes called “IM,” “IMing,” or “Messaging” ) is the ability to: easily see whether a chosen friend or co-worker is connected to the internet and, if they are, exchange text messages with them. Instant Messaging differs from ordinary email in that the messages are delivered immediately, making dialog much easier than with email. Definition courtesy whatis.com

26. Other Common IM Features Chat Join a number of your contacts to exchange messages in a private chat room. File transfer Send and receive computer files. News headlines or alerts Instant notification of breaking news. Source: Technology & Learning, 11/02, p.48

27. Talk Speak directly to your contacts –You need a sound card (standard on all computers these days) and a microphone. E-mail notification The IM system flags new e-mail Source: Technology & Learning, 11/02, p.48 Other Common IM Features

28. Why is IM Important to Parents? 74% of online teens use instant messaging. In comparison, 44% of online adults have used IM. 45% of online teens use Instant Messaging each time they are online. 69% of online teens use IM at least a few times each week. Data courtesy www.pewinternet.org

29. 37% of online teens have used IM to write something that they would not have said in person. 41% of online teens say they use email and instant messaging to contact teachers or classmates about schoolwork. Why is IM REALLY Important to Parents? Data courtesy www.pewinternet.org

30. Safety Concerns IM is used in the grooming process because its more private than public chat rooms IM and Chat are closely linked products and moving from one to another can take just one click The alert function means that people know when you online.

31. Here are a few tips to avoid potential pitfalls: Choose products with parental controls Each IM product asks you to fill out a profile of yourself. Be sure not to include private information such as phone number and address or school name. Never click on unknown or suspicious hyperlinks. Never accept files, or send them to people that you don’t know. Keep IM address secret in Chatrooms

32. You don’t know who people are People lie about their age and other interests Flattery can make kids feel important Determined adults can seek abusive relationships Contacts shift quickly to messaging, e mail and mobile phones Chat is just a click away! E.g. THE DANGERS IN CHAT

37. ONE FAMILY’S STORY.. My daughter was contacted starting in February this year by a pedophile whilst using a chat room. He quickly moved to e-mail and shortly afterwards sent her pornography, purporting to be pictures of himself. My daughter was just 12 at this time. After grooming her for some weeks, he made telephone contact and eventually persuaded her to miss school and meet him. In total, he met her five times and took her back to his flat where she was sexually abused… … I have worked in the computer industry for 18 years, latterly with the Internet, and had no idea what went on in these chat rooms. Surely there is some regulatory body that can make the ISPs monitor at least the teenage chat rooms to make sure kids aren’t in danger…. Perhaps you can offer some guidance?”

38. The response to this case www.chatdanger.com Aimed at chat users and parents Celebrity introduction Cartoons and a chat safety banner in open source html Simple non-technical language for parents

39. Links with handphones & text messaging Mobile phones are personal & private Kids love text messaging You can send text from many web sites anonymously You can have text chat What next ?……. Encourage your kids not to give out their mobile no. SMART TIP

40. Eat kelloggs cereal Find codes in box Punch them in to get points Use points to get cool stuff.  Blur between much content & advertising  Subtle request for information (games, auctions competitions  Collection of information makes net marketers dream  Many parents unaware of dangers Subtle Pressure Be careful about filling in online forms! SMART TIP Commercialism on the net

41. INTERNET ADDICTION  Using the internet can be addictive  Signs are –  compulsive use – no interruptions  long hours  secretive use  If combined with high risk activities can be dangerous Link internet use to offline interests eg sport SMART TIP

42. PART IV SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO NOW

43. 2) Support the school – Sign the Acceptable Use Policy and take an active interest in what your children are doing in ICT at school. 1) Get involved in your children’s online activity at home. Check you know what applications they are using, especially chat rooms and games played with others online. Ask who their “e-pals” are. Get them to teach you about how things work. 3) Encourage internet use that builds on offline activities. It helps to keep the computer in a family room not tucked away in a child’s bedroom. Help your children to use the Internet for home work and leisure interests. SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO NOW ? 4) Use some of the tools on the computer to help you.

44. 4) TOOLS TO HELP  Website addresses + favorites folders  Browsers (history)  Search engines  E-mail accounts – reputable and supervised (hotmail)  Filtering tools  Mobile phones.

45. 5) Filtering and Blocking Different types –Access to sites –Time limiting –Outgoing content –Monitoring –Kids search engines Recognise the limitations Never 100% effective See www.getnetwise.org lists over 140 tools SMART TIP

46. 6 ) REINFORCE THE “SMART” RULES WITH YOUR CHILDREN SAFE – Staying safe online involves being careful and thinking about whether it is safe to give out personal information

47. MEETING – Meeting up with someone you have contacted in cyberspace can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent’s/ carer’s permission and then when they can be present.

48. SAFE – Staying safe online involves being careful and thinking about whether it is safe to give out personal information MEETING – Meeting up with someone you have contacted in cyberspace can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent’s/carer’s permission and then when they can be present. ACCEPT – Accepting e-mails or opening files from people you don’t know can be dangerous. – they may contain viruses or nasty messages.

49. SAFE – Staying safe online involves being careful and thinking about whether it is safe to give out personal information MEETING – Meeting up with someone you have contacted in cyberspace can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent’s/carer’s permission and then when they can be present. ACCEPT – Accepting e-mails or opening files from people you don’t know can be dangerous. – they may contain viruses or nasty messages. RELIABLE – Anyone can put anything on the net and remember people can lie and not be who they say they are in chat rooms.

50. SAFE – Staying safe online involves being careful and thinking about whether it is safe to give out personal information MEETING – Meeting up with someone you have contacted in cyberspace can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent’s/carer’s permission and then when they can be present. ACCEPT – Accepting e-mails or opening files from people you don’t know can be dangerous. – they may contain viruses or nasty messages. RELIABLE – Anyone can put anything on the net and remember people can lie and not be who they say they are in chat rooms. TELL – Tell your parent/carer or teacher if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried.

51. See www.kidsmart.org.uk/smart for more info.

52. KIDSMART LEAFLETS FOR YOUR SCHOOL AND PARENTS ! "The internet is great fun and a brilliant way to keep in contact with friends. However, it is really important that we all use the Net safely and always remember these SMART rules to stay safe online."SMART rules Ant and Dec

53. By learning together, taking care and supporting our children we can help our children get the benefit, avoid danger and use the internet to fully Discover Connect Create

54. www.chatdanger.com www.kidsmart.org.uk www.childnet-int.org Produced by Childnet International. Copyright 2003 QUESTIONS?