Internet Safety Resources for Parents and Students *

We all want to keep our children safe from harm. Since they were old enough to understand, we have told them "Don't talk to strangers," "Don't take rides from strangers," "Never go someplace with someone you don't know," and "Always tell me where you're going and with whom." Yet, many of us are reluctant to do this when it comes to the relationships our children have online. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 1 in 7 children have received an online sexual solicitation, 1 in 3 has had unwanted exposure to pornographic images and 1 in 11 has been threatened or harassed.

Where do you start, though? There's so much to learn and there are so many new things popping up every day. Somehow, the kids are keeping up, but many of us are being left in the dust. We can't possibly help to guide our students if we don't have at least a working knowledge of what they're doing! With that in mind, we have assembled a list of websites about online threats, how to avoid them and what to do if something should happen. Armed with the information from these sites, you will have enough information to begin having a conversation with your child about using technology and staying safe.

The positive and negative sides of wikis, blogs, podcasts and social networking sites

- An essay by Cheryl Wolotira, our Educational Technology Coordinator.

General Resources

• Netsmartz.org - Interactive activities, real-life stories about cyberbullying, online harassment, inappropriate activities, and stranger contacts. Sponsored by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
• iSafe.org - Funded by the US Congress, iSafe provides resources for parents and educators about ways to be safe on the Internet. The iParent Times is a monthly newsletter (in .pdf format) with information abut new threats, safety ideas and technology tips. Kewltimes is a similar newsletter written for teens.
• Washington State Attorney General's website has information on how to report such cybercrimes as spam, phishing, and identity theft. They are developing materials for students on their SafetyNet site.
• Safety tips from the mouths of teens, from Teenangels and Tweenangels, divisions of WiredSafety.
• Ask Parry - Parry Aftab, noted internet safety expert, answers questions about online dangers and internet safety. Also, from WiredSafety, Internet 101, everything you need to know, written by a non-techie!
• Use these contracts for parents and kids as a starting point for what safe and responsible internet use should be in your home. Don't forget to sign them!

Specific Information

• A Parent's Guide to MySpace - Helpful information for parents about MySpace.
• A guide to safely using social networking sites (MySpace, FaceBook, etc.)
• Protecting yourself and your information on the social networking sites (MySpace, FaceBook, Xanga, etc.).
• Kids, blogs and too much information - Most personal information should never be disclosed, yet kids do it all the time! View "Tracking Teresa," a real story about how easy it is to find figure out how to find someone from their online profiles. (Scroll down the page)
• Why parents must mind MySpace - MSNBC reports on how kids are revealing far too much personal information on their MySpace pages, leaving themselves open to online predators, and why parents have to monitor what their children are doing.
• Spyware defined by Wikipedia.
• Spyware, what it is, how to detect it and what it does to your computer. This page, from Microsoft, has some very good definitions and ideas about how to protect yourself from spyware and malware.
• Phishing defined by Wikipedia.
• Phishing: How not to get hooked - A consumer alert from the Federal Trade Commission.
• Cyberbullying: Combating online social cruelty in all its many forms
• What is cyberbullying? - The introductory slide show is particularly good.
• Online predators - This article about online predators and how they work is a very good one. It is from a Canadian organization, so it discusses Canadian law, but predators are predators on either side of the border.
• Don't believe the type - Information on how to avoid being victimized by online predators from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
• Online predators and how to help your child avoid them - Another tipsheet from Microsoft.
• Love Me Not - The Los Angeles County District Attorney's site of information on cyberstalking.
• Internet safety: What parents need to know - Information about internet safety broken out by age group. The simple set of rules are particularly noteworthy.
• This is a list of the acronyms kids often used in instant messages, emails and text messages. Take the mystery out of what your children are saying to you and to each other.

* The information and links available in this section were compiled by Cheryl Wolotira, Educational Technology Coordinator for The Northwest School.

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