1. Parents’ Briefing on Cyber Wellness1

2. Objectives To share on: Latest Technological Trends
Value and Potential Risks of Technology
Cyber Wellness Education (MOE)
Parents as Partners
A warm welcome to all
Today, we will be sharing on some trends with regard to children’s use of technology in general. We will also talk about what cyber wellness is all about and your role in implementing a holistic cyber wellness education. We will spend some time to understand research findings and provide useful ideas and resources in the area of parenting in the digital age.
Structure
Technological Trends
Value and Potential Risks of Technology
Cyber Wellness Education (MOE)
Parents as Partners

3. Latest Technological trends

4. Latest Technological Trends
Data taken from ‘We are Social’, a Singapore-based social media agency. This is a snapshot our ICT penetration and use, as of January 2015.
At 152%, every Singaporean owns a mobile phone, with some citizens owning more than 1 set.
Internet penetration stands at 81%, which is double of the world average rate (elaboration next slide)
Reference:
Shared with permission from ‘We are Social’, a Singapore-based social media agency

5. Latest Technological Trends
Singapore Internet Penetration: 81%
World Average: 42%
Internet penetration rate refers to the percent of the population using the internet.
As of 2015, Singapore has a internet penetration rate of 81%, which is top 10 in the world, and almost double the world average of 42%.
Reference:
Shared with permission from ‘We are Social’, a Singapore-based social media agency

6. VALUE and Potential Risks of Technology

7. Harnessing Technology for Learning
Access to information
Learn anytime and anywhere
Greater personalisation of learning
The internet provides for an ubiquitous access to technology for learning and students are able to access information easily for their learning. Coupled with the availability of mobile devices, students can now learning anywhere anytime. In addition, ICT also helps to bring about a greater personalisation of learning as it provides students with a choice in the materials that they can learn from, how they want to learn, and the pace of learning as well as receive more individualised feedback even as they learn.

8. Harnessing Technology for Good
Reference:
Besides harnessing technology for learning, technology can also be used to promote kindness, both online and offline.
Here are some examples of social media can be leveraged to help people to learn and get connected.
They could also be used to create empathy towards social issues and people around them.
For example, While You Were Sleeping
A social campaign that encourages students to carry out a simple act of kindness while someone is asleep while studying (especially during exam times)
Garnered support through a video posted on social media

9. Managing Potential Online Risks Being a Digital Citizen :
REGULATING
time and activities
MANAGING
online reputation
DISCERN
inappropriate content
RESPECT
intellectual property
Clearly, while technology puts immerse power of anytime everywhere learning in the hands of children, it is also a double edged sword that presents risk, which children must be guided to discern and manage. Issues like:
Managing their online reputation to prevent posting content they may regret;
Regulating the time and type of activities they do online to prevent addiction
Respecting intellectual property
Being able to discern inappropriate content and act accordingly
Parents and teachers must work together to provide a learning environment where children can grow up digitally in ways that are safe, informed and optimistic, with a balanced view of what it means to be empowered but responsible in the digital space.
In school, we have in place structured cyber wellness education
Reference:
Ohler, J. B. (2010). Digital Community: Digital Citizen. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.
Being a Digital Citizen :
“Balance of individual empowerment with digital technology with the sense of personal, community, global responsibility”
(Author of “ Digital Community, Digital Citizen”, Jason B. Ohler, 2010)

10. Cyber wellness education (moe)
To help our students thrive in the cyber space, MOE provides a holistic cyber wellness education.
Cyber wellness education (moe)

11. What is Cyber Wellness?
Positive well-being of Internet users
Understanding of the norms of appropriate use
An awareness of how to protect oneself and other Internet users
An understanding of the risks of harmful online behaviour
Recognition of the power of the Internet to benefit oneself and the community
According to MOE and MDA, Cyber Wellness refers to:
Positive well being of Internet users
Understanding of the norms of appropriate use
An awareness of how to protect oneself and other Internet users
An understanding of the risks of harmful online behaviour
The aim of the cyber wellness education is to help students recognise the power of the web to benefit oneself and the community , so that they have the skills and knowledge to thrive in this new world.
Source: MOE and MDA

12. Key Messages for Cyber Wellness
ICT is an integral part of the learning environment
Cyber Wellness education should move in tandem with the use of ICT for learning
Partnership between parents and schools is essential for a holistic Cyber Wellness education
Here are the key messages for cyber wellness that guides and aligns governmental cyber wellness efforts.
ICT is an integral part of the learning environment. While ICT plays an essential role to facilitate and enhance students’ learning, there should be judicious use of ICT.
In addition, Cyber wellness education should move in tandem with the use of ICT for learning. With the increasing use of ICT for learning, schools need to put in place a holistic cyber wellness education to overcome the potential dangers.
Lastly, to complement the schools’ efforts, partnership between parents and schools is essential for a holistic cyber wellness education

13. Cyber Wellness Education -
MOE Framework
Since 2008, MOE has provided schools with a Cyber Wellness framework that guides schools in their planning and implementation of their Cyber Wellness programmes
* School may like to introduce their own school cyber wellness framework (if any) at this point to show how their framework is aligned to MOE’s

14. Cyber Wellness Education: Goal of MOE’s Cyber Wellness Curriculum
To equip our children with life-long social-emotional competencies and sound values so that they can become safe, respectful responsible users of ICT.
The goal of the MOE CW curriculum is to equip our children with life-long social-emotional competencies in the areas of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management and responsible decision making.
We also seek to anchor our children in sound values
so that they can become safe, respectful and responsible users of ICT.

15. Cyber Wellness Curriculum
CW (Sec) Curriculum Implementation Training March 2014
Cyber Wellness Curriculum
2 Principles
3 Big Ideas
4 Themes
8 Topics
CW Curriculum
in Pri (FTGP) & Sec (CCE Guidance Module) CW
within Pre-U CCE lessons and school-based CCE
CW Framework
Respect for
self and others
Safe and
responsible use
Identity
Cyber Identity:
Healthy self-identity
Cyber Use:
Balanced life and balanced use
Online Identity and Expression
Balanced Use of ICT
Pre-U students will build on the foundation of ten years of Cyber Wellness education to apply and advocate cyber wellness Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes and Values in the context of the total school experience [will be rolled out in 2016].
Relationships
Cyber Relationships:
Safe and meaningful
Netiquette
Cyber Bullying
Online Relationships
Choices
Cyber Citizenship:
Positive presence
About the Cyber World
Handling Online Content and Behaviour
Cyber Contacts
The new curriculum continues to use the Cyber Wellness two principles.
Respect for self and others.
Safe and responsible use.
With the integration of the cyber wellness curriculum into CCE, the new curriculum adopts the three big CCE ideas.
There are four cyber wellness themes.
Cyber use promotes balanced use of ICT. Are our students in control of their ICT use or are they a slave to technology?
Cyber identity promotes healthy self-identity online. A well-developed identity enables us to know our strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. Are they the same person both online and offline? How do our students manage their online reputation?
Cyber relationship helps students maintain a safe and meaningful one online. Do our students interact online with social-cultural sensitivities? In the lesson on cyber bullying, we teach our students to stand up for and to reach out to peers who are bullied online.
Cyber citizenship promotes positive presence through helping students understand the cyber world, know how to handle online content and manage contacts. Students learn to make informed decisions about their online participation. Are free Apps really free? How can students create and share their works online? The choices we make are guided by values and reveal our character and value system.
© Ministry of Education 2014

16. Secondary CCE Curriculum
FTGP CW Lessons
P1 – 1 Lesson per year
P2 – 2 Lessons per year
P3 – 3 Lessons Per year
P4 – 2 Lessons Per year
P5 – 2 Lessons Per Year
P6 – 4 Lessons per year
(As of 2014)
Cyber Wellness
Guidance Module
Secondary CCE Curriculum
CCE Sec CW Lessons
Sec 1 to 4 -
4 hrs for each academic level per year
Sec 5
2 hrs per year
(From 2014)
The syllabus is designed with students’ developmental needs in mind, and the content is structured to build up from what students have learnt at the primary level. They progress from the Awareness stage, to the Application stage and finally to the Advocacy stage.
There are 13 Primary school lessons conducted during Form Teacher Guidance Period, 18 lessons during Character and Citizenship Education in Secondary schools. At Pre-University level, we will have 2 CW lessons and 3 lessons with CW contexts which would be rolled out in 2016.
Pedagogy will encourage reflection that leads to action and behavioural changes including peer-led teaching approaches
Assessment will be used for feedback purposes and to inspire students’ motivation for changes in attitude and behaviour
Parental involvement activities will be included to enhance students’ learning, where possible.
Form Teacher Guidance Period - Primary CCE curriculum

17. Key Messages to Students
MOE’s Key Message to Students 1
Embrace ICT yet maintain a balanced lifestyle between the physical and the cyber world
Harness the power of ICT for positive purposes
Maintain a positive presence in cyberspace
Be a safe and responsible user of ICT 2 3
To sum up, MOE’s key message to students are
1. Embrace ICT yet maintain a balanced lifestyle between the physical and the cyber world
2. Harness the power of ICT for positive purposes
3. Maintain a positive presence in cyberspace
4. Be a safe and responsible user of ICT 4

18. Parents play an important role as partners, giving the child a holistic cyber wellness environment to harness technology for learning and innovation. In this section, we share some strategies that parents can adopt as our students navigate the cyber world.
Parents AS Partners

19. Do you know your child’s online social lives?
Content Sharing sites
Social Networking sites
Messaging apps
Do you know your child’s online social lives?
The risks they face depend on Who they Follow, Who they are Friends with, and What they Share.
- Does your child know about privacy settings and what can be shared and what is private info?
- Can your child deal with criticisms and bullying online?

20. From EU Kids Online Final Report (2009) Research: Active Mediation Strategy
Key findings:
Children’s exposure to online risks tends to be less when parents actively mediate their children’s use.
Active mediation is linked to MORE (not fewer) online activities and skills
Activity 1:
View Videos from Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) or ThinkUKnow YouTube Channels together with your child and discuss the following questions after viewing each video:
Why do you think the incident happen?
What would you do if you are the character in the video?
What do you think the parent of the character should do/could have done? Why?
Reference:
EU Kids Online Final Report (2009)
In the large scale research EU Kids Online in 2011, it is found that parents play a vital role in empowering their child to lead a healthy digital life and stay safe online.
Active mediation means role modelling and having open discussions about the risks present in online spaces. Parents may make use of relevant news articles or stories to inculcate values and encourage their children to talk about their own experiences online.
Parents can engage in regular conversations with children by seizing learning moments such as using relevant news or TV programmes or use the self-sess.
These cases would highlight the dangers of the online world and are able to bring out relevant contexts for the discussion of values in complex situations. Real-life stories have been recognised as an important pedagogical/teaching strategy for teaching values and character.
Alternatively, parents can view videos created by CEOP or ThinkUKnow to together with their children discuss questions such as:
Why do you think the incident happen?
What would you do if you are the character in the video?
What do you think the parent of the character should do/could have done? Why?

21. Activity 2: Use the self-assessment checklist with your child to engage him/her in an open discussion on his/her digital lifestyle so that you can better support him/her home cyber wellness education
In addition, parents can also use this self-assessment checklist with your child to engage him/her in an open discussion on his/her digital lifestyle so that you can better support him/her home cyber wellness education
If your child has more than 5 “Yes” for the questions, there is a concern of unhealthy internet use.
Reference: Adapted from Choo, H., Gentile, D.A., Sim, T., Li, D., Khoo, A., & Liau, A.K. (2010). Pathological Video-Gaming Among Singaporean Youth. Annals Of The Academy Of Medicine Singapore, Vol 39(11), pp
Source: Adapted from Choo, H., Gentile, D.A., Sim, T., Li, D., Khoo, A., & Liau, A.K. (2010). Pathological Video-Gaming Among Singaporean Youth. Annals Of The Academy Of Medicine Singapore, Vol 39(11), pp

22. Be informed and aware of healthy online practices and activities.
From EU Kids Online Final Report (2009) Research: Active Mediation Strategy
Be informed and aware of healthy online practices and activities.
Discuss online activities with your children to stimulate better critical thinking skills
Encourage your children to be active participants, instead of passive recipients, of online content and interactions
Role model positive online behaviour.
Hence, to help manage your child’s internet use, you need to practise the active mediation strategy.
Our children are no longer passive recipients of online content. Instead, they now also actively contribute to the space. As parents, we have to actively mediate their online behaviour so as to guide and encourage them as they harness technology to improve their learning and knowledge.
It is also important for parents to role model balanced use and balanced lifestyle at home, e.g. disconnect from electronic gadgets during meal or family times to connect with family members. For example, a good reflection question to check ourselves is “Do we, adults, make it a point to disconnect from our Whatsapp/ /Social Media or phone calls over a meal or when we are interacting with our kids?”
Reference:
EU Kids Online Final Report (2009)

23. Restrictive Mediation
From EU Kids Online Final Report (2009) Research: Other Parenting Strategies
Monitoring
Technical Mediation
Restrictive Mediation
Ensure that passwords are secure and updated regularly
Set parental control on devices to regulate children’s use
Set rules for ICT usage to control the amount of time spent online
‘Friend’ their children on social media platforms.
Set parental filter on web browsers to sieve out inappropriate content
Do not allow children to have their own personal device or data-plan.
Check the cache regularly
Here are other parenting strategies that can accompany active mediation.
Although setting parental controls and limiting ICT usage are useful, it is important for parents to practise active mediation as the main strategy in order to engage their child offline, ensuring that there is balance in both online and offline interactions.

24. Reinforcing Learning at Home
“Family Time” activities in Primary Lessons:
Sample Activities
P1 Lesson on Surf Safe
Pupils share the three Surf Safe Rules with parents/guardians and have them sign on the journal page
P4 Lesson on Too Much Too Little
Pupils enlist the help of family members to keep track of their ‘Screen Time’ habits.
Pupils initiate conversations with their family members to have them reflect on the role of media-related technology in their everyday lives.
As a start, you can look at some examples of the CW content covered at the Primary levels and how as parents, you can support your children’s learning:
Embedded within the CW lessons, is a segment called “Family Time” for children to share their learning with their parents or other family members. This provides opportunities for parents to be aware of what our children are learning in school and to help reinforce the learning at home.
In the P1 lesson on “Surf Safe”, your child will learn 3 simple rules to help them surf the internet safely. Your child will be encouraged to share the 3 rules with you. Parents can then reinforce the application of the 3 rules whenever your child is online at home.
For parents of upper primary children, you help them think deeper by discussing some of the CW-related issues with your children. In the next example of a P4 lesson entitled “Too Much Too Little”, your children will learn how to evaluate their on-screen time. During “Family Time”, your children will be encouraged to enlist your help to keep track of their weekly ‘screen time habits’ using a media log.
As our children grow up into teenage years, the role of parents in promoting CW continues to be important. Parents should seek to stay in touch with what is happening in our teenagers’ cyber world. We should seek to understand their motivations for their interests and activities in the cyber space.

25. Every Parent, A Supportive Partner
In conclusion, as a parent, you have a unique overview of the home and school environments that will greatly influence your child’s attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviour. You want the best for your child and to help your child get the most out of his/her school experience. 
As schools make the shift to 21 st century learning, parents need to partner schools to grow each student into a healthy, well-adjusted adult who is undergirded by strong values and an outstanding character so as to create a better Internet for everyone. Together, play an important role in your child’s life.