The Internet today offers great scope for learning, creating and connecting with friends and family and people all over the world. The British Royal Family has its own YouTube channel, and the Queen broadcast her Christmas message online. However, parents and educators alike are understandably concerned about illegal and anti-social behaviour online.
Online safety is a broad and varied subject which can include the responsible use of mobile phones and texts, chat rooms and instant messaging, e-mail, social networking sites and on-line games. Digizen say that, ‘digital citizenship’ isn’t just about recognising and dealing with online risks and hazards. It’s about building safe spaces and communities, understanding how to manage personal information, and about being internet savvy. A recent Ofsted report: ‘The safe use of new technologies‘, found that of ”the five schools where provision for e-safety was outstanding all used ‘managed systems’ to help pupils become safe and responsible users of new technologies.”
Recent media coverage of social networking services has reported the sad reality of the risks young people may encounter online. Illegal and inappropriate behaviour including, grooming, impersonation and identity theft, cyberbullying, spamming and sending or publishing offensive material is all an unfortunate fact of human societies, whether it takes place online or offline.
Most responsible social networking services employ people to post-moderate anti-social activity, although it is really important to note that it is essential that young people are trained and feel enabled and empowered to report anti-social and illegal or suspicious online behaviour to their social networking services, peers, parents and tutors.
At tpm we consider it our moral and professional responsibility to support young people to effectively recognise, manage and negotiate risk for themselves. Just as in the real world, we need to approach on-line risk in a balanced and realistic way in order to best manage it. This is why we have developed and regularly review rigorous policies and procedures to safeguard and help our young people become responsible digital citizens.
In October 2009 tpm published a Bullying Blog, launching our Cyber-bullying Campaign and publicised our Zero-Tolerance Promise stance on bullying and ‘telling culture’ on any form of discrimination. This year, further to our review of ICT Policy and procedures in 2009, we have developed Online Safety Guidelines for learners.
There is a wealth of information advice and guidance available to young people, parents and educators about staying safe online and we have provided links to some here, that we have found really helpful in further developing our safeguarding policies and ICT procedures.
Wise Kids have a great website for parents, young people and educators full of great tips and advice on promoting innovative, positive and safe Internet use. Social Networking Sites like Bebo.com, Facebook.com and MySpace.com are all popular with young people who use them to socialise and network with friends online. To access further information on how to use these sites safely, visit www.blogsafety.com also Childnet have an excellent website on ‘chat danger’ which offers advice on how to keep safe when chatting online, http://www.chatdanger.com whilst CEOP have an excellent educational website full of appropriate resources for all ages including parents and teachers, http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk
Are you a responsible digital citizen? How internet savvy are you? Do you know how to stay safe online or report your concerns about anti-social behaviour? Let us know if you find this blog and the links and documents within useful to you and remember if you are concerned about your online safety speak to a parent, carer or tutor now!
March 31, 2010 at 3:56 pm |
I have been using the internet for a long time and I have witnessed cyber bullying and I think it is wrong and that these sites should be monitored regularly because it’s awful what kids get called on the internet and it’s awful that people impersonate kids to groom them. I strongly believe that the internet should be monitored and not for my safety as I know what to do but for young kids and people who don’t know what to do when that sort of situation occurs.
March 31, 2010 at 3:57 pm |
I feel this subject is becoming more familar to parents and the need to safeguard young people on Internet sites. You seem to have different stories on worldwide news stations about people being abducted over internet grooming, people taking their own lives over bullying.
I will be taking time out to look over digizen’s website closely.
Thanks for the link attachments.
April 1, 2010 at 8:46 am |
By its very nature, the internet is developing at break-neck speed, and by the time we’ve come up with specific ways of tackling online safety, the parameters have changed, with new dimensions to consider. However, this shouldn’t put us off. As a society we need to become much more aware of the dangers of the online environment and tpm’s online safety guidelines are exactly the type of tool we need.
I think as well as danger from others on the internet, we need to realise the online pitfalls we can create for ourselves. For example, criticising people or organisations publicly online can be disastrous. A girl was recently expelled for setting up a Facebook account cirticising her headteacher. At worst, situations like this could lead to accusations of libel. Before you post something up on a social networking site, think. Could it be misinterpreted? Are you causing offence? If you wouldn’t be comfortable with your comments printed publicly in a newspaper, don’t post them online.
Also, we all know it’s now common for employers to check Facebook, You Tube & Twitter to find out more about candidates who’ve applied for jobs. Even if you’ve protected all your posts, there is the potential for people to access information, or for one of your friends or followers to pass things on. All your online communications will exist forever, trackable in cyberspace. Who knows what tools might exist in the future that will allow people to retrieve comments, material etc that was posted years ago? Whenever I post something on a social network I ask myself if I’d be happy to have it reproduced on a poster stuck to my front door. We must always self-regulate.
But let’s not forget: the internet is a great phenomenon. We must embrace it and the exciting opportunities it offers. We just need to become more sophisticated, considered and responsible in how we use it.
Thanks for a thought-provoking blog.
April 6, 2010 at 10:46 am |
As our children fast become more advanced than us, as parents we need to keep abreast of the support out there to allow us to monitor what is happening to our children on internet sites. The world is a very dangerous place and children are very trusting of each other and adults.
I am very interested in what ‘digizen’ has to offer and will be trying to educate my childs grandparents too as the summer holidays approach and she will be spending a lot of time at their house. This blog and the links within it will be invaluable. Thank you
April 14, 2010 at 9:30 pm |
Safety on the”net” has never been as important as it is to day. tpm have posted a number of sites which I didn’t know existed so thank you very much for this information, but there are that many sites it is becoming hard to keep up with them all, not only that, just when you think you have safeguarded your children they have found a way through all your blocks.
Keep ahead of the game to keep your children safe whilst using the net.
April 28, 2010 at 6:32 am |
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May 5, 2010 at 8:56 am |
Its a pity that a corporate organisation such as Facebook cant even put on a “panic button” in order to protect young people.
As a father of Two young girls its difficult to monitor thier activity on the various social network sites and unfortunately I can only hope that they have been given enough guidance and understanding of how to deal with any unwanted approaches or harrasment.
May 5, 2010 at 9:22 am |
I strongly believe that the internet should be monitored and not just for my safety and respect. I can’t tell you the number of times I have clicked on a site and been confronted with porn. I know I get shocked but for the young children to be confronted with something like that it is outrageous. Young people are shot because of comments they make on facebook, not thinking about the number of people who will read them or the consequences of their actions. As we become more aware of the dangers of the online environment I feel tpm’s online safety guidelines are exactly the type of tool we need.
July 5, 2010 at 7:36 am |
This is a good,common sense article.Very helpful to one who is just finding the resouces about this part.It will certainly help educate me.
July 6, 2010 at 4:10 pm |
I believe the work tpm do is fantastic and they give real education to staff and learners alike.
July 9, 2010 at 3:52 am |
Helpful piece of writing. I can consider it be the case of course not normally. I usually don’t publish though I would like to chime in this time and let you know I appreciate the blog.
January 26, 2011 at 5:28 pm |
[...] tpm can use our Internet Lounge in the reception anytime they like. We are committed to providing safe access to the Internet for everyone we work [...]