Cybercitz

Technology constantly changes. Young people today have many new options to be in touch with friends and family. These new options bring both benefits and potential misuses. The Internet is a tool that can be abused and dangerous if not used safely and wisely. Protect your personal safety on the Internet by never giving out personal information, including your schedule, zip code, or parents' names. Unfortunately, people are NOT always who they say they are on the Internet.

English 6.5, 7.6, 7.7, 8.6

When students use online tools as reference resources, address the general safety issues appropriate for this age group.
History/Social Science USI.1, USII.1, CE.1, WH.1
If students are using online resources for practicing skills or conducting research, address the general safety issues.

• Develop their understanding of the importance Internet safety
  
• Explain basic safety rules
• Create ways to safeguard students in both the classroom and at home
  
• Manipulate and interpret graphs and statistics
• Compare and contrast different ways to illustrate statistics (i.e. pie charts, bar graphs, picture graphs, etc.)

1. In-class activity: Brainstorm and create a set of classroom cyber safety rules. Post these and make them visible around all classroom computers. As students create these rules, ask them to provide a brief explanation as to why that particular rule would be important to have.  A good place to begin in setting general cyber safety rules. (See General Safety Tips)

Example:
Rule--Use anti-virus software and update it regularly
Explanation--We should always use anti-virus software to protect our computers and our information from viruses. Because new viruses occur daily, it is important that we make sure our anti-virus protection is up to date.

2. Take-Home Activity: Print and distribute the “Family Internet Contract” located in the "Related Resources and Links" section to establish ground rules for Internet safety.