Have a Great SafeOnline Summer! Summer is here and before your students head out the door, I'm sending you a link to a list of safe, educational and pro-social websites I recommend for students to explore over the summer. Please feel free to distribute it to your Parent Advisory Council, parent mailing list or other education contacts. Thanks to all of you who have invited me into your schools over this past year. I do appreciate the trust [...]
Parents less aware of impact of trolls* in online gaming According to Canadian statistics, Canadian girls grades 4-11 face stricter rules about their online activities than boys do. At the same time, boys (60%) are more likely than girls (27%) to access the internet through gaming platforms. (Reference) While it is true that online environments in general ARE more hostile to girls and women (Wikipedia) and that may justify having stricter rules for girls, SafeOnline advocates paying more attention to [...]
"In 2012/2013, we delivered 140 presentations to 17,927 people in various regions of British Columbia including: Brackendale, Victoria, Port Alberni, Kelowna, Penticton, Sorrento, Salmon Arm, Summerland, Revelstoke, Prince George and the Lower Mainland, Greater Vancouver areas." Click to read Solos 2013 Annual Report Post AGM
Last Friday, TELUS launched an ambitious education initiative aimed at parents and students. I was happy to attend and meet with the movers and shakers behind this great project and applaud their support for internet safety education. Strathcona Elementary School accepts donations from TELUS I also wrote a blog post about this initiative and the anniversary of Amanda Todd's death here.
When 'A Platform for Good' asked me to write a post for their blog, we were thrilled. Choosing a topic wasn't easy though. So many worthy subjects that we could choose from in our field - Internet Safety. I chose to write about our Youth-2-youth Program, one near and dear to my heart, especially because it incorporates so nicely restorative justice principles.
Life online in the late-nineteen-nineties was fluid. I could be anyone, i could talk to anyone, argue any point of view. They called it the "information superhighway" then and I was working with 'street kids'. My frustration as a youth worker then was that the only people youth seemed to meet online were predators or or pedophiles. The people who care most about youth where NOT the early adopters of the Internet.
I spent fifteen years as a youth worker and when I wrote my first article about children, youth and the internet, the prevailing concerns were about online sexual exploitation and the vulnerabilities inherent in letting children loose in the un-restricted wild west show that was the internet. Then, we were concerned about MSN instant messaging and pedophiles who might lure young people out of their homes to be sexually assaulted.
"Wow! It was a great talk. I wish even more parents had the opportunity to see hear/see it. I hope we can get them to come in to present to our students (at least the older ones)." Toni.
WebweWant was/is published in part, with participation from the European SchoolNet and InSafe, both of which have excellent reputations and track records in this field.
Amongst the sincere sentiments today will be some girls and boys who know that they have sent hurtful or untrue text or humiliated someone online or forwarded a personal message to the whole school or re-shared nude pictures of one of the girls in their school. They too will wear their pink shirts.
