Internet safety-UK guidelines

Schools and social networking:

Fear or education

Cecilie Murray international guidelines for safer use of

social networking services, such as Facebook,

MySpace and Bebo have been launched in the

UK Parliament.

Internet safety

New international guidelines for safer use of

social networking services, such as Facebook,

MySpace and Bebo have been launched in the

UK Parliament.

Tips for other schools include:

• Watch videos on cybersafety, consult online sites

and hold classroom discussions to establish

safe and responsible online behaviours;

• Constantly reinforce the need for safety during

class, for example, use no surnames, no

addresses or phone numbers or other personal

details when online;

• Each student creates their own avatar using

MS Paint or another avatar when creating

websites. This is their personal ‘photographic

ID’ for blogging purposes, voicethreads and

other online sites. (See image below);

• Parents sign permission forms agreeing to the

publishing online of student work and online

photographs, on the condition that no names

are attached. Group photos are used where

possible;

• A checklist enables teachers to ensure these

conditions are adhered to;

• A partnership with parents is essential. At

information evenings with primary years

parents, outline the pedagogy for the use of

blogs and other Web 2.0 tools and highlight

cybersafety issues;

• A ‘techno corner’ article appears weekly in

the school and community newsletter;

• Parents are encouraged to ‘adopt’ a student

who may not have the internet at home;

• Staff and Principal add comments to student

blogs, so students are aware that they are

constantly being monitored;

• Teachers have joint administration rights with

students on their blogs, so comments, posts

and incoming links are moderated;

• An RSS reader on teacher Google readers

alerts teachers to new posts from students.

Title: Schools and social networking : fear or education.

Personal Author: Murray C

Author Affiliation: Delphian eLearning

Source: Synergy; v.6 n.1 p.8-12; 2008

Journal Title: Synergy