How to support your child to be safe online

Mulgrave Primary School, 2015

Presented by Jess Mann

The current digital landscapeDigital Natives are those born after 1990.

97% of them play video games or games online

75% have mobile phones68% use or have used instant messaging.70% are linked to a social networking site.

Digital natives easily adapt and adopt new technologies. They use technology as part of their everyday lives.

How long do we spend onlineThe average child (between the ages of 8-15) spends on average 14 hours per week online. To put this in perspective, if your child gets up at 7am, and is in bed by 9pm, that is one whole day of their week they are online. This doesn’t account for school hours either.

Social networking and gaming dominate that time.

Paediatricians recommend no more than 2 hours per day for people under 16.

How old are you supposed to be…Social Media sites Age restrictionTwitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pintrest, Google+, Tumblr, Reddit, Snapchat

13

Linkedin 14

WhatsApp 16

YouTube, Kik, Flickr 18 (or younger with parent permission)

Cyberbullying – What is it?Cyberbullying is any bullying that occurs

through digital technology. It can be mean or hurtful messages, photographs that may have been altered, or threats of physical violence.

How is cyberbullying different to other forms of bullying?It can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It can reach a child when they are on their own, and no one else can witness it.

Some cyberbullying messages can be posted anonymously and distributed quickly to a wide audience.

What to do if you encounter cyberbullyingPreserve the evidence – this may help in identifying

who is behind it. Take a screen shot or print out messages.

Use available blocking technology (eg. block the user on friends lists, block their number on your phone or bar their email address)

In serious cases, you can seek assistance from the police. (eg. if there are threats of physical violence, or if the bullying is unrelenting)

https://esafety.gov.au/complaints-and-reporting/cyberbullying-complaints/i-want-to-report-cyberbullying

eSafety for parentshttps://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources There are many great resources for parents to help become aware of cyber issues, and advice on how to talk with your children about them.

Protect yourself.Use strong passwords and change them

regularly.Never give your passwords to anyone.Don’t communicate with people online that you

do not know in real life.Enable and elevate all your privacy settings on

programs such as Facebook and Twitter.Don’t allow Skype calls from people who are not

on your contact list.Teach your children about responsible

communication.

Protect yourself.Don’t share specific information about

yourself, such as family information, where you live, school you go to etc.

Use an alias for Web communications, not your real name.

Don’t open email attachments unless you know who they are from.

Use the internet content filters that are available on your devices.

What can you do to help your childHere are some tips to help keep your child safe onlinePut the computer in a high traffic place in

your home. If your children are using laptops or tablets, get them to work on them in a communal space, not in their bedrooms.

Keep yourself up to date with the programs that your children are using.

Teach that internet access is a privilege, not a right.

Regularly change your wifi password, or turn the modem off after a certain time at night.

Check the sites visited in your computers browser history.

Use parental controls on computers and tablets.

Minimise screen time, or at the very least, break it up through the day.

Most importantly – Talk to your child about the social web, about

safe internet usage and about appropriate game/site usage.

GamingCheck the age rating of games your child is

playing. Be very selective about what games they play, and make sure you are familiar with the content before you let your child play.

Some popular games ratingsGame Rating

Five nights at Freddy’s 12+ (ranks a 3/5 for violence and horror)

GTA 18+ (ranks 5/5 for alcohol/drug use, explicit sexual imagery, language, violence)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 M15+ (ranks 5/5 for violence and language, 3/5 for sexual themes and drug use

FIFA 15 8+

Too much time online?Parents commonly express concern for the amount of time their child is spending online. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86s2IOZxaHc

What are we doing at school?

Junior years

Middle years.

Upper years

Grade 6 students

eSmart Digital licenceA year long program that covers the following units –

Digital devices Social networking & Gaming

Protecting privacy Communicating safely online

Searching & Researching

Friends & Strangers

Creating & Sharing Managing money & online credits

School devicesAt Mulgrave Primary School all devices (laptops,

desktops and iPads) have strict filters that ensure students cannot access inappropriate content.

Most gaming and flashsites are blocked, but they update and change so quickly, it is impossible to block them all. We immediately block new sites that we come across as they pop up.

Pop-up blocks stop most advertisements opening on the screens.

Students are closely supervised when using technology.

Students own devicesStudents are to hand in all technology

devices to their teacher. These are sent to the office where they are held for the day, and not accessed by the students. This includes computers, iPads, iPods, phones and any other devices. This is to ensure that students are not using technology inappropriately or unsupervised, and to ensure safety in case of loss or damage.

Further questions?If you have further questions about digital safety, please look at the following resources –

– Cyber Patrol: http://www.cyberpatrol.com– CyberSitter: http://www.cybersitter.com– eSafety : https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources – Parent information : https://esafety.gov.au/esafety-information– eSafety for parents: https://

www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/parent-resources/esafety-for-parents-basics – Social media regulation: https://www.esafety.gov.au/social-media-regulation – Department of education info: http://

www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/lolrescybersafety.aspx – Common sense media (game reviews/information):

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/