The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released Cybersmart Networking – a new online safety resource for students aged 12 to 14 years.
Cybersmart Networking uses a realistic online environment to teach young people how to stay safe on social networking sites, without exposing them to real risks.
Using the message ‘Private Lives in Public Spaces’, Cybersmart Networking teaches children about social networking in a protected environment.
“Cybersmart Networking has been tailored to provide new social networking users, and those who will shortly be venturing onto this space, with real experience of the potential issues and how to manage them,” said Sharon Trotter, Manager of Cybersmart Programs.
Students work online and in real time to solve an internet-based problem from the safety of their school. Cybersafety experts including police, education, government and child welfare advocates, New online safety resource from Cybersmart act as guides to help students navigate through the scenario.
The activity is part of the ACMA’s suite of Interactive Shared Learning activities that are designed to educate and empower students so that they can manage cybersafety issues, discover what information is safe for them to post online, and negotiate the balance between their private and public online lives.
The 50-minute activity is provided free of charge to schools across Australia. It is accompanied by comprehensive lesson plans reinforcing the learnings from the activity itself, and instructions for students and teachers.
Thirty-thousand students nationwide have already participated in Cybersmart’s online Interactive Shared Learning activities. Cybersmart Networking has been tailored to provide new social networking users with real experience of what can go wrong and how they can stay safe. It complements Cybersmart Detectives, which addresses online grooming and protecting personal information, and Cybersmart Hero, which addresses cyberbullying.
Sign up your school to participate in Cybersmart Networking by completing the online form.
Schools wishing to participate in upcoming events can email isl@acma.gov.au or register your school at: www.cybersmart.gov.au