7th Grade Technology

We are attempting to begin a community service project at our school centered upon cyber-safety and “netiqette”.  We live in an online world and it is only expanding, yet what we do online and how we live online has serious implications attached.  I wasn’t able to go to Chris Hansen’s talk at UConn on October 1st but did contact the police department support team and hope to be working with them to have our students at Scofield become ambassadors of safety and and security.  I am posting some lesson content for you to look at from Nortel.

First, this is from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/poll-schools-teach-online-etiquette

I noted that parents responded at Open School night of not having their son or daughter on social networking types of sites and that is commendable.

Here is something to look at then and look at the sites:

How is your Cy-Q?   How well do you really understand the way the Internet works?   How can you tell if what you read is true or false?   Have you ever given your password to anyone?  What do you do when you come across inappropriate materials in your email or on a web site?

Students are using the Internet for email, messaging, surfing and who knows what else.   But there are difficulties and dangers associated with all of these things.   Isn’t interesting that the rules we all learned so well as young children can be applied to Internet use.  But do we apply them?

•    Don’t talk to strangers.  (pretty obvious)
•    Don’t take rides or candy from strangers. (offers of gifts, meals etc)
•    Look both ways before you cross the street. (or information highway)
•    Treat others the way you would like to be treated.  (don’t be mean)
•    Don’t tell secrets and don’t gossip. (don’t bully)

Assignment
Your assignment is to teach others about sensible use of the Internet and improve their CY-Q.   You will provide an overview of the topic and create a three-fold poster or PowerPoint presentation to display your information to the class and at the Cyber Safety Fair.  Each group will have a table at the fair to display their materials.  You need to produce a one page brochure or pamphlet that summarizes your information.    As you work through the web sites below, record your findings using a word processor. Make note of interesting images or additional links.

Think about the following things to help you focus:

•    Describe the problems faced when using the Internet. (a general overview)
•    Can you find a list of top 10 safety tips for kids?  What about for parents?
•    Should you purchase items online?
•    How do you know the true identity of who you are talking to?
•    What should people know about passwords?
•    How can you tell what you read on the net is true?

Try to find as much information as you can about Cyber Safety.  Look for information about the types of mistakes kids typically make and ways you can avoid them.  You should try to find some additional web sites to add to our class resources.

Before you begin, review the Explain section to provide additional focus to your work.  Your goal is inform others about this very important topic.  Your information needs to be complete and accurate.

KEY RESOURCES
1.    Highly recommended as a starting point for you.  Nortel LearniT: Online Safety and Digital Ethics http://www.NortelLearniT.org
•    Online Safety: http://nortellearnit.org/technology/Online_Safety/
•    Imaging technology training videos: http://nortellearnit.org/technology/Imaging/
•    Discovering the Internet technology training videos: http://nortellearnit.org/technology/Discovering_the_Internet/

2.    A detailed cybersafety table of resources is provided at the end of this lesson plan.  These are all online resources suggested by our cybersafety team, organized into categories by topic and by audience.  Note:  There are a few that are specifically targeted to parent and adults and some that are just children or teens or those working with those age groups.  It is best to provide the proper subset of this table to your students/learners.
IMPORTANT: You should document your Internet research, taking notes as you go along and writing down your sources.

Poster or PowerPoint Presentation Development

Before we plan your poster or PowerPoint (discussed on following page), let’s think about the one page summary and what you have learned during your research.

You may want to provide an overview of the topic or some general information about the topic followed by specific details about one of the topic areas:
•    In your own words, describe what it means to have a good Cy-Q.  What does a person need to know?  What kinds of things should they avoid?
•    Can you make a list of the most common mistakes that kids make? (This would make a great list of points for your poster).
•    Can you find information that parents can use?  They will be part of your audience.
•    What can you do to improve your own CY-Q?
•     Can you provide a list of good resources for kids that deal with Cyber Safety?    How about parents?
•    What safety tips would you put on a poster?

Investigating in detail
If you want to be more specific, you can investigate the following areas or talk to your teacher about an area you would like to investigate in more detail:

•    Email
•    What is spam?
•    What kind of attachments should you open?  Should you open any?
•    Who should you give your email address to?

•    Passwords
•    What should your password contain?
•    How often should you change it?
•    Who should have your password?
•    How should they be managed

•    Internet Surfing
•    How do you know who produces the site?
•    What do you do if you come across inappropriate materials?
•    How do you know if the information is true?

•    Identity
•    When should you give personal information online?
•    What personal information should you give?
•    How can you protect your privacy online?

Poster:  If you have chosen a poster for your display, remember that good displays have eye-catching materials that draw people closer.  You should focus on making a few very important points with great graphics and images.   Do not use up all of your poster space with long passages of text in very small fonts.  Your brochure or pamphlet can provide all of those details.   A typical three-fold poster has plenty of room to display information.

Take some time to organize your materials.  Carefully select the position each one will hold on your poster.   Remember, you only have one chance to make an impression to people walking by.  They should want to come in for a closer where you give them the brochure.

Each brochure should contain an overview of the topic and the specifics of one of the sub-topics.  You should also include some web sites they can go to for more information.    Remember to proof read your work and submit it to the teacher for assessment and copying.

Present your work at the Cyber Safety Fair or in class.  Be prepared as a team to answer questions.

PowerPoint:   Review the materials found at www.NortelLearnit.org dealing specifically with PowerPoint presentations.

Create a slide outline for your presentation.  Remember that people will be walking by and your presentation must encourage them to come closer.  Sound, colors and graphics are all good for that purpose.  Carefully plan out each slide.  Do not put lots of small text on your slides.  People will be watching it in groups standing around so the materials must “jump out” at them.   Hopefully your school will have a projector or larger screens.

You must also have a one page pamphlet or brochure to hand out.  Remember to proof read your work and submit it to the teacher for assessment and copying.

Present your work at the Cyber Safety Fair or in class.  Be prepared as a team to answer questions.

Share, share, share!  You are the computer experts.  You should share this information with friends and family members.  Make sure that they improve their CY-Q.

Perhaps you could suggest moving your Cyber Safety Fair to the public library or a local mall for a day.  Now that you have all of the materials it would be a shame to use them only once.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, continue to visit the sites you have researched and keep your knowledge of this topic up to date. You are in the process of becoming a lifelong learner.   This type of knowledge changes rapidly and it is important that you keep up.

Table 3:  Online Cybersafety Links
URL    Content    Of Interest to http://nortellearnit.org/technology/Online_Safety/

Nortel LearniT online safety videos
•    Passwords
•    Identity
•    Cookies
•    Spyware
•    Firewalls
•    Viruses
•    Wireless networks    ALL http://www.bewebaware.ca/english/default.aspx
Some great information for kids and parents – categorized by age

www.wiredsafety.org    Very good site for many topics, includes information on popups, spam, viruses, hoaxes, and cookies

http://www.staysafeonline.info/
Good information – 8 excellent tips for Cyber security

http://www.getsafeonline.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1168
Good overview and information all of our topics

http://www.safesurf.com/
Rates and recommends web content (software, ratings)    ALL
http://nortellearnit.org/technology/Discovering_the_Internet/    Positive ways to use the Internet    ALL
http://www.ikeepsafe.org    From the Internet Keep Safe coalition    ALL
http://www.msn.staysafeonline.com/
Games and engaging ideas    ALL
http://www.mcgruffspo.com/cybersafetysat.html Cybersafety rules    ALL
http://www.cyberbullying.ca/    Cyberbullying Overview site ALL
http://www.bullybeware.com/    Cyberbullying Overview site ALL
http://www.bullying.org    Cyberbullying Overview site ALL
http://www.getsafeonline.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1168

http://www.netbullies.com/pages/1/index.htm    Cyberbully examples site.  Maintained by Parry Aftab, The Privacy Lawyer columnist for Information Week.  Note: page give specific cyberbullying verbiage    PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070721/news_lz1c21cliffor.html
Article:  Is your child a cyberbully?    PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041016/news_lz1c16cyber.html
Article on adolescent bullying    PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/special_initiatives/wa_resources/wa_shared/backgrounders/challenge_cyber_bullying.cfm
Challenging cyberbullying    PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://familyinternet.about.com/cs/internetsafety1/a/safety07.htm
Good overview information    PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://pbskids.org/license/
“Rules of the Road” test to earn your official PBS Kids Web license (younger children)    PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://www.surfnetkids.com/
Reviews websites
PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://www.wiredsafety.org/
WiredSafety is a volunteer organization that provides help, information and education to Internet and mobile device users of all ages, helping victims of cyberabuse ranging from online fraud, cyberstalking and child safety, to hacking and malicious code attacks.    PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://www.enough.org/
Enough Is Enough (EIE) is dedicated to protecting children and families so that they can enjoy the enormous benefits that the Internet offers.    PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia/
PBS Guide to Media Use (also in Spanish)    PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://www.cybersafety.us/aboutus.html
Cybersafety overview for households with children under 12    PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY
http://privacy.getnetwise.org/
Privacy, shopping, sharing information    TEENS, PARENTS, EDUCATORS, COMMUNITY