Transcript Online Safety - SafeColleges

Online Safety
A Survival Guide for All Educators
FETC 2007
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Welcome!
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Steve Holland
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Educational Consultant
Author, Online Safety Series - Scenario Learning
Former Publisher, Computer Education, SouthWestern Educational Publishing
Mark Stevens
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Executive Director & General Mgr., AOL@School
Former VP, Turner Learning
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Agenda
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Introduction – The Online World Has Changed Again!
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Research – Teens, Tweens & Online Safety – Mark
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Secrets – Truths Your Students May Not Want You to Know
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Social Networking Web Sites: A Primer
LIVE & Uncensored (gulp!) – An Unfiltered Look at
Stefan’s MySpace Page
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Three Greatest Online Dangers for Schools – Steve
1)
2)
3)
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Cyberbullying
Online Predators
Online Threats of Violence
Q & A - Discussion
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Introduction:
The Lines Have BLURRED!
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What does “online” mean
anymore?
Is a cell phone an online
device?
Is a text message or an
IM an online activity?
Does wireless networking
mean your students can
bypass your online
filters?
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Introduction:
The Generation Gap Is Back!
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Your Students …
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Send text messages and
instant messages
Find that evading adult
supervision is fairly easy
and view most adults as
basically clueless
Carry portable,
unsupervised online
devices into your school
each day
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Your Teachers …
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Talk to people and send
e-mail
Believe (or hope) that
student online activity is
controlled through
technical restrictions on
PCs in the media lab
Believe that online safety
doesn’t impact them if
their curriculum doesn’t
involve PCs
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Introduction: Don’t Panic!
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All educators need to learn the basics of online safety.
Teachers can bridge the “generation gap” with some
basic training in teen online behavior.
Schools need to review and modernize policies
involving students and technology.
If your district doesn’t perceive increased physical
danger for students and staff as well as growing legal
liability for schools, then they are asking for trouble.
You can do it!
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Teens, Tweens &
Online Safety |
Mark Stevens | AOL@SCHOOL
Teen research results
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Teens | Who
Technology is central to every teens life
 Online and offline worlds merge into one
 Time spend with technology has increased 47% in
past 5 years
 Media inform, influence and entertain teens
 Communication is central to teens lives
 Technology always for person self- expression
 Social Networking is the 21st century main street
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Teens | What
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Tech Tools
 Computers, Cell phones, DVD burner, Game
player
Online Tools
 Email, IM, MySpace, Online game sites
Learn about tech
 Self-exploration, friends
Favorite Online Activities
 Communications, Music, Gaming
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Teens | Why
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Why do students like to use technology for schoolwork?
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Info is the most accurate – 68%
More efficient – 69%
Allows for collaborative work – 43%
More fun – 66%
Can do multiple things at once – 60%
Less errors – 57%
(Students in grades 6 – 12)
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Teens | Online
Web
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is becoming the hub of ALL media consumption
Music
Communication
Information
Entertainment
Changing habits
“I go on the computer to look
through music, chat with my friends
and play games.”
– Athena, 15, New York
“It’s easy to spend six hours on the
computer if you watch all your TV,
movies and listen to music on it.”
– Tommy, 16, San Francisco
Time Spent with Media and Selected
Non-media Activities in a Typical Day
Activity
Watching TV
Hanging out with parents
Hanging out with friends
Listening to music
Exercising, sports, etc.
Watching movies/videos
Using a computer
Pursuing hobbies, clubs, etc.
Talking on the telephone
Doing homework
Playing video games
Reading
Working at a job
Doing chores
Time
3:04
2:17
2:16
1:44
1:25
1:11
1:02
1:00
0:53
0:50
0:49
0:43
0:35
0:32
Computer activity
Playing games
Visiting Web sites
Visiting chat rooms
E-mail
Instant messaging
Graphics
Total computer time
2004
0:19
0:14
0:04
0:05
0:17
0:04
1999
0:12
0:07
0:05
0:04
N/A
N/A
1:02
0:27
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation (3/2005)
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Teens | Online
Teens
 It’s
are empowered by technology
a part of their everyday lives
“I
get up in the morning, wash my face, brush my teeth, I get [dressed],
go downstairs, get on the computer.”
 Demonte, 14, St. Louis
 They
wouldn’t know what to do without it
“We're
so accustomed to having a computer and having information so readily
available that I couldn't imagine not having it anymore.”
 Alicia, 17, New York
Teen Fact
87% or 21 million of all teens use
the Internet.
– Pew Internet & Trust (7/05)
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Teens | Media
Media
plays a vital and multi-functional role in a
teen’s life
 Media
inform, influence and entertain teens
 Teens are passing through a phase of self-discovery and are
highly susceptible to external influences
 Arguably, media has more of a stranglehold on teen behavior
than do friends and parents
Teen Fact
Each week, American kids spend
more time engaged with media
than the average adult spends
working.
– Kaiser Family Foundation (3/05)
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Engage | Communication
Instant
Messaging
“I have over 264 people in my
buddy list.”
– Katie, 16, Minneapolis
Instant messaging is the ideal way to communicate with friends—
“It’s instant”
 Nearly everyone was emphatic about instant messaging
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 AIM
by far the most popular service
“I’m
always on AIM, I'm on it right now. I'm on
AIM right now.”
Ziyad, 14, St. Louis
 Other
services mentioned were
Yahoo and Google Talk
Teen Fact
Teens typically converse in text,
but also share:
• Funny links (50%)
• Sent photos (45%)
• Music or videos (31%)
– Pew Internet & Trust (7/05)
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Engage | Communication
E-mail
The
terms “e-mail” and “IM” were sometimes
used interchangeably
 Conversations
about e-mail quickly turned into conversations
about IM
“I
have four e-mail addresses… one of them I only give to
certain friends because I don’t want other people to know that
I’m on.”
- Sadie, 13, Minneapolis
 Younger
groups were more prone to talk about IM attributes
during e-mail conversations
Teen Fact
89% of teens send or read email
(down 3% from 2000) while 75%
(up 1% from 2000) use IM
– Pew Internet & Trust 15
(7/05)
Engage | Communication
“You send them an e-mail,
you have to wait for them to
get it. But if you’re AIM-ing,
they get it right back to you.”
E-mail
– Jonathan, 14, San Diego
E-mail
as a primary form of communication is waning
 Social networks and IM are supplanting previous
e-mail activities
“I have a MySpace and everyone I would e-mail
has a MySpace.”
Evan, 17, San Diego
 E-mail is used to communicate with older family members
and other “adults”
 More
“formal” than IM
“With
adults I use e-mail all the time. Everyone else has AIM.”
 Antonella, 17, New York
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Engage | Communication
Social
Networking
Aside
from instant messaging, social networks are popular
destinations for teens online: they combine aspects of “Engage,”
“Assist” and “Entertain”
 Both a lean-forward AND a lean-back experience
“Sometimes, I just look at people’s pictures, others, I chat with
people and mess with ‘em.”
Kiyana, 16, San Francisco
Common-bonds and circles of friends drive
initial adoption
 Younger teens have an insulated view of these networks
“I like the subscriptions—people subscribe to you— I’ve got this
whole group of people at my school to subscribe to me.”
 Mitchel, 13, Atlanta
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Engage | Communication
Social
Networking
Older
teens show a little more sophistication with social network
behavior
 Realizing power of linking virtual and real worlds
 Like-minded connections
Sophisticated behavior doesn’t preclude insulated view
 Even older teens were seemingly unaware that others outside their
interest group may be looking at their profiles
 Some participants were embarrassed that the moderator had seen
their MySpace profile, even though participants willingly gave out
info in the first place
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Engage | Communication
Social
Networking
Parental
concerns
 Particularly among the younger age ranges
 Again—stranger danger
School involvement
 Over the three months of interviews and groups, participants
discussed schools becoming more and more involved with
dangers of putting information online
 Notes sent home to parents
 Suspensions of students for content on public spaces were made
very public/known
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Engage | Communication
Social
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Networking vs. Chat Rooms
picture says a thousand… clicks (at least)
 Most
participants viewed chat rooms as seedy/anonymous;
social networks fun/friendly
 Social
networks allow control over whom you “talk” to
 Pictures often evoke a sense of trust
 Chat room impressions come from parental warnings
“I’m not allowed to go in chat rooms, apparently there’ s bad
stuff in there.”
– Stephanie, 15, Atlanta
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Engage | Communication
Social
Networking
“…you can put your picture
and different characters on
[Black Planet] and everyone
will know who you are, parents
don’t understand this.“
– Joshua, 17, St. Louis
Community
online has come to represent the
culmination of Access, Communication and Expression
“There’re different kinds of people that you can meet
from different States or different towns; just looking
for a friend, somebody to hang out with or
whatever—different age groups and everything.”
 Mallory, 16, St. Louis
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Engage | Self-Expression
Blogs/Journals
Expression is more than fancy backgrounds and colors—it’s also
communicating, writing the days events, or simply putting down
thoughts/impressions of what’s going on, it is central to teens way
of life.
“Every day I write a new Web blog entry in my Xanga… and I visit
other people’s Xanga.”
- Mitchell, 14, Atlanta
Teen Fact
Only 11% of teens feel blogs are an
important part of keeping up with the latest
trends*
– Frank N. Magid Assoc., 2005
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Engage | Self-Expression
Blogs/Journals
“My Mom's a journalist, and
she actually went through
Google and searched for my
blog, found it, and saw
content that she didn't think
was appropriate…
Pictures allow teens to express who they are,
as well as give them something to look at
“I just like it because it has a lot of
…it's just like, OK, I just got
rid of it and basically made
pictures
sure that you can't search for
and I can read about people’s
my name and find it.”
– Tommy, 16, San Francisco
experiences. I like looking at pictures, but
I don’t really talk to
anyone very much.”
Teen Fact
- Chris, 16, New York
Only 11% of teens feel blogs are
an important part of keeping up
with the latest trends*
– Frank N. Magid Assoc., 2005
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Secrets
Shhhhh! A Top Secret Presentation by Kids About
How They REALLY Use Technology and Evade Adult
Supervision
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Social Networking Web Sites
Introducing … Stefan, a typical 8th grader, and his MySpace.com
Web page. (Please don’t tell him I showed you this!)
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Social Networking Web Sites
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The fastest growing phenomenon involving young people and the Internet
are so-called “Social Networking Web sites”. These free services make it
easy for anyone to create a personal Web page. The best-known
companies among students are MySpace, Facebook and Friendster.
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To illustrate this growth in popularity, MySpace has ballooned to over 90
million members in only three years. According to research by the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 61% of children between the
ages of 13-17 have personal profiles on a Social Networking Web Site.
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Social Networking Web Sites allow anyone to create their own personal
Web page featuring pictures, music, video, a personal diary and even a
blog.
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Social Networking Web Sites
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From their page, members can also:
complete “personal profile” forms (revealing
potentially sensitive information)
 post personal information
 contact friends and strangers
 leave messages on pages of other members
 e-mail text and photos
 instant message
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Social Networking Web Sites
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While most students’ Social Networking Web pages are just a fun way
to communicate with friends and family, this technology can be
exploited by cyberbullies, online predators and students involved in
criminal activities such as drug dealing.
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In each case, school safety can be impacted even though the activity
may originate from home.
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Online Dangers – Overview
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The dangers posed by the online and electronically-connected world
are nothing new. The problem is that popular technologies are
increasingly being exploited in dangerous ways. This has created new
liabilities for schools from some familiar nemeses.
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The challenge is that electronic communication allows easy access to
and instant dissemination of messages.
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Online Dangers – Overview
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The good news is that most school districts already have policies and
procedures in place for dealing with these problems. The key is for educators to
be knowledgeable about these dangers, identify the warning signs and know
when to take action according to their district’s policies.
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The three greatest online dangers for schools are:
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Cyberbullying
Online Predators
School Violence
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Online Dangers – Cyberbullying
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Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that is experiencing an enormous
growth in schools. It occurs when a bully uses communication
technologies – such as cell phones and computers – in a way that
meets the definition of bullying.
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Online Dangers – Cyberbullying
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Bullying occurs when three criteria are met. The criteria are:
Harm – the bully intends physical or emotional harm for the
victim
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Unfair Match – the victim cannot fairly defend themselves
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Repeated – occurs more than once
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Online Dangers – Cyberbullying
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Cyberbullies use voice messages, e-mail, text messages, instant
messages, photo images, videos, polling Web sites and/or personal
Web pages in a deliberate attempt to repeatedly harass, intimidate or
embarrass another person or group of people.
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Cyberbullies inflict emotional harm and create an “unfair match”
because victims cannot defend themselves from electronic distribution
of the bully’s messages.
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Online Dangers – Cyberbullying
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According to research by attorney Parry Aftab, one of America’s leading
specialists in cyberlaw, more than half of the children between the ages
of 9 -14 have either experienced cyberbullying or had a close friend
who did or had cyberbullied another.
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Most of your students have probably already had some exposure to
cyberbullying.
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Online Dangers – Cyberbullying
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Cyberbullying is just as serious as bullying that happens on the school
playground. In fact, cyberbullying can happen anytime and anywhere.
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This can create even greater problems since the bully’s message can be sent to
students throughout your school in seconds – and forwarded to students in
schools throughout your district in minutes. Although the bully’s activities may
originate away from school, his or her actions can directly impact school safety
and the learning environment.
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Online Dangers – Cyberbullying
If you become aware of cyberbullying:
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Take bullying seriously
Document all evidence. For instance, print and
record e-mail, instant messages, text messages,
digital images, Web pages and URLs. In addition,
threatening phone messages should be saved.
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Online Dangers – Cyberbullying
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If cyberbullying occurs on campus or during school hours, report
bullying incidents immediately according to your school district’s
policies and procedures.
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If the cyberbullying takes place away from campus and outside of
school hours, schools may not have disciplinary authority. However,
they can notify and work with parents.
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Threats of violence are always illegal, whether they occur at school
or not.
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Online Dangers – Cyberbullying
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According to Aftab, all schools should consider adding a
provision to their “acceptable use” policy reserving the
right to discipline students for actions taken off-campus if
they are intended to have an effect on a student or they
adversely affect the safety and well-being of a student
while in school
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Online Dangers – Online Predators
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According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
(NCMEC), 1 in 5 children online is sexually solicited.
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Experts have referred to the online world as the “Wild West”. Students
have unprecedented opportunities to meet other kids who share the
same interests. Despite parental controls and other types of safety
systems, the openness of the internet still creates a fertile ground for
online predators.
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Online Dangers – Online Predators
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Online predators are usually adults who are looking to exploit
children’s undeveloped critical thinking skills and lack of life
experience. Those who become victims of predators may be the
smartest or most technology-savvy in your school. In fact, online
predators depend on the overconfidence and naiveté of young
people.
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Online predators commonly seek out young people in chat rooms or
Social Networking Web Sites. Because online service providers do
not verify age or identity, a predator is able to create any identity
they wish. For instance, any person can create a Social Networking
Web page with photos, music and messages typical of a young teen
peer.
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The ultimate goal of the online predator is usually to win sufficient
trust of their target (a process called “grooming”) so that the child will
meet them in real life away from parents and other adults.
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Online Dangers – Online Predators
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Recent research by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on
teen online behaviors revealed that:
14% of teens between 13-17 have actually met with someone they
know only from the Internet;
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30% have considered meeting with someone they only know online;
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71% received messages from an unknown person;
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Online Dangers – Online Predators
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Recent research by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
on teen online behaviors revealed that:
45% have been asked for personal information from someone they
don’t know; and
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40% will chat or communicate with a stranger who contacts them on
the Internet.
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Educators should be aware of these facts in cases where their adult
judgment may help ensure a child’s safety.
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Online Dangers – Online Predators
Adults should keep the following in mind:
Be skeptical. Remember that the goal of the online predator
is usually to arrange a meeting with children away from
parents.
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If a child tells you that they plan to meet with someone they
only know from the internet, this is a potentially dangerous
situation. Always advise students to consult with their parent or
guardian before agreeing to meet anyone they only know from
the internet.
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Online Dangers – Online Predators
Adults should keep the following in mind:
Do not allow a child to be picked up from school by someone whom
they have never met before.
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Teach children to follow the “NetSmartz” online safety rules
published by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
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Children should never post any personally identifiable information
online. Children are often not aware that strangers can see this
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information.
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Online Dangers – Online Predators
If a child has a Social Networking Web page, they should set
the preferences to “Private” (if possible) so that only invited
friends may communicate with them or view their images or
content.
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The safest decision is always for a child to never agree to
meet in real life with a person they only know online.
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Online Dangers – School Violence
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The danger of school violence exists when an individual or a group
threatens physical harm to themselves, an individual student, a group of
students, school staff or the school itself. Those threatening violence
increasingly use technology to communicate among themselves or with
other students.
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In recent years, it has been common for potentially violent students to
document their threats and their plans in the form of online diaries,
blogs, e-mail, instant messages, text messages, online chat sessions
and personal Web pages. Other students may become aware of
threats and report them to you.
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Online Dangers – School Violence
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If you become aware of any threats of violence, remember:
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ALL threats of violence should be taken seriously
Immediately report any threat of violence to the school
principal or school resource officer and follow your
district’s procedures.
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Do not attempt to resolve the threat yourself before
notifying school authorities.
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Differentiate between an actual threat of violence and
common complaining about other students, teachers or
classes.
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Thank You!
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Thanks for attending FETC and joining us for this
session!
Don’t forget to fill out your evaluation forms.
Resources from this session will soon be posted at this
Web address: http://www.safeschools.com/fetc2007
Contact me if you have any questions!
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Steve Holland
Holland & Associates
Atlanta, GA
404-909-1212
[email protected]
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