Teaching Online Safety to Kids

Online Safety is the ability recognize threats that exist online and figuring out how to avoid them. This includes protecting your personal information as well as avoiding malware and recognizing illegal or harmful content.

Cyber security is crucial for students who increasingly spend their lives online. They must be aware of the potential risks to their privacy and security including cyberbullying, as well as identity theft. They should also know that reckless or negligent Internet actions can have severe consequences. A New Hampshire politician, for example, lost his job because he posted inappropriate pictures and websites comments on social media regarding his opponents.

While shopping, playing or chatting with friends, there are plenty of things that could go wrong. It’s very easy to click a malicious link in an email, a text message, or even an online advertisement, which could make your device infected with malware. Once an embarrassing or offensive comment or image has been uploaded and is not easy to remove.

Teachers can engage students in a variety engaging activities to help children understand more about cyber safety. Students can make an animated digital cartoon about the dangers of bullying, or meet a person they met online in person, to spark discussions in the classroom and help develop critical thinking and media literacy. In the same way, creating a mock news story can be a good method for students to test their writing and research skills while learning about cyber safety.