Two days ago, “the world” celebrated Safer Internet Day 2010. Unfortunately, and as I predicted, you probably didn’t hear anything about this event unless you read it here on the JumpstartMyPC.com blog. I am not quite sure why, but this movement didn’t get any exposure or hype in the United States. The real issue with this is that we desperately need to educate our children, teens and even adults on the harm that can be caused by posting inappropriate materials anywhere on the web.
Computers have really changed since the days of the apple IIe. No longer are they giant beige boxes with floppy disc drives. Today, computers come in all shapes and sizes and it seems like you can’t turn on a device without connecting it to the internet. Phones, cameras and even game systems make it possible for anyone with the ability to punch a button to post material to sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Flickr…. the list goes on and on. Yet, there are no warnings of the potential dangers associated with your behavior behind that keyboard and mouse. So how do we educate the children and teens of today to prepare themselves for the world ahead?
Education is key! This slogan is used for every movement under the sun, from drug use to sexually transmitted diseases. Why, because it is true and it helps. So how do we educate and inform? My opinion is that we use the very medium in question (social networking) to convey the message. Kids are drawn to televisions and computers. Just look at Sesame Street, which has been a great educational tool for decades. So how about a video?
One of my very favorite companies is CommonCraft. They design educational videos for just about any topic in the world, but seem to focus on computers, software and technology. According to their motto their “product is explanation” and they do a fantastic job as just that. They explain things in using short, easy to understand videos and it just so happens that they have a video titled “Protecting Reputations Online in Plain English.” The video is only available from their web site currently, but we have provided the link below:
http://www.commoncraft.com/protecting-reputations-video
“Aimed at young or inexperienced Web users, this video explains the long term risks of sharing inappropriate information online.” The video is not free for distribution, but CommonCraft does offer licensing options for individuals and sites. Wouldn’t this make a great tool for a classroom?
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Tags: commoncraft, education, Facebook, reputation, twitterr, video
