Are you a parent? Are you a teacher? Are you concerned about the well-being and education of our children? Do you know what computer classes are being taught at your elementary, junior high and high schools? Many of us can answer yes to one of the first 3 questions, but that 4th one…. You might be aware that there are classes, but what is being taught? The sad truth is, not much.
A recent study by the National Cyber Security Alliance titled 2010 State of Cyberethics, Cybersafety, and Cybersecurity Curriculum in the U.S. indicated that less than 25% of our students are being taught about safety on the internet (social networks, scams, fraud, safe passwords) and more than 75% of teachers reported receiving less than 6 hours of professional development on these topics. This basically means that one quarter of the children of America are being taught by untrained professionals about the dangers of computers and the internet. Very scary numbers. I think that a similar poll of American adults would reveal the same lack of understanding, so who is going to educate these young minds?
Like riding a bike, learning to tie shoe-laces and proper manners, “internet education” might have to be a lesson taught at home. This means that parents must take an active role in what children are doing on the computer, what web sites they are visiting and how they are doing these things. To do this properly, parents must educate themselves first. This is easily said, but parents must have the proper resources and be willing to put in the time.
Tools and Resources
JumpstartMyPC.com Blog
JumpstartMyPC.com was created to help PC users get the most out of their computer and the articles we have written in our blog often deal with security, safe surfing, recent malware attack warnings and social networking.
Link: http://www.jumpstartmypc.com/blog
There are over 100 articles on getting the most out of your computer that can be accessed at the link above. You can search by keyword or category to find articles on a certain subject.
Recent Articles of Interest:
- My Web of Trust – You Cannot Afford to Surf Without It
- Seriously! – Your Password is What? Are you kidding?
- Social Media Credit Score – a series of articles dealing with what people post on social networking sites.
NCSA – The Stay Safe Online Blog
The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) has designed some educational tools, including this blog, based on three key pillars Cyber Security, Cyber Safety and Cyber Ethics.
Link: http://www.staysafeonline.org/blog
“The Second Nature Blog explores a varierty of cybersecure issues including how to stay safe and secure online, emerging trends in security, the integration of cybersecuirty, cybersafety, and cybersecurity into K-12 education, and our emrging digital lives.” - as taken from their web site
Recent Articles of Interest:
- What will we teach our children?
- Managing your online reputation is a good idea
- Stalking and cybersecurity
USA Today Education – Technology Web Site
NCSA teamed up with USA Today Education Foundation and the Department of Homeland Security to develop seven lessons during the 2009-2010 school year targeted at 8th-12th graders. Lesson plans use recent news stories about cyber security issues.
Link: http://www.usatodayeducate.com/wordpress/index.php/technology-cyber-security
Most of the “lessons” shared on this site were written within the last 2 years and are available as PDF’s. There are also a number of “Resources for Elementary Teachers” and helpful links to other web sites.
Recent Articles of Interest:
Tags: children, cyber, education, ethics, Malware, parents, Passwords, safety, Security, students
