NetSmartz Workshop

Take the NetSmartz Digital Citizenship Challenge

Mon, 01 Jun 2015 10:01:28 -0400

How often do you think about online safety?

At NetSmartz, we think about it every minute of every day. It makes our office gossip…a little different.

So when June finally rolls around, we get…excited.

It’s National Internet Safety Month!

That’s right. A whole month dedicated to our ongoing mission: keeping children safer online. This Internet Safety Month we’d like to invite you to take the NetSmartz Digital Citizenship Challenge.

Why?

Because kids are not the only people online!

In order to really create a safer online environment, adults have to be just as dedicated to being good digital citizens as we ask kids to be. Otherwise, it’s like insisting they eat their vegetables while we hide ours in our napkins. So get ready to eat your broccoli!

Consider adding the good digital citizenship practices below to your online habits this June (and beyond!). After all, if we’re going to help kids to prepare for a better, safer, more respectful Internet, we’d better get busy making sure they have one.

The NetSmartz Digital Citizenship Challenge

When I’m online…

I change my password often.
I’m careful about sharing personal information.
I don’t download copyrighted materials illegally.
I don’t email in all-caps unless I mean to shout.
I’m polite and respectful when I disagree with people.
I follow websites’ rules and respect their terms of service.
I think before posting potentially offensive comments or images.
I stand up for other people who are being bullied.
I give credit where credit is due when using videos, images, etc.

Anything you’d add to the Challenge? Tell us in the comments below.

A NetSmartz PSA: Digital Ethics Matter

Mon, 18 May 2015 09:53:56 -0400

Last week, NetSmartz was preparing to moderate and judge entries from our contest, Speak up for Safety. We asked teens to tell us what they thought was the most important thing other teens should know about Internet safety in a PSA. And without meaning to, they told us exactly what teens need to know more about—digital ethics.

As the contest entries began to come in, we noticed that some of them included copyrighted songs and images likely found during a quick Internet search. The original works were usually not cited. Hot topics like sexting and cyberbullying are receiving tons of attention in the press, but it is vital for kids to understand that digital literacy and ethics are also important.

Start the Conversation

Many teens may not fully understand why using copyrighted works without permission is wrong. It’s clear that the teens using these songs and images didn’t mean any harm. They found them online and thought they were OK to use. But that’s not always the case. It’s important for adults to help guide them so they know what’s fair game and what’s not.

Here are quick lessons about digital literacy and ethics you can share with kids and teens:

Define the important terms.
Kids may not know what copyright really means. Tell them that copyright protects the owners of creative work by requiring others to get permission before using it and that piracy is stealing copyrighted work without permission and/or payment.
Just because it’s easy doesn’t make it right.
When kids think of stealing, they may envision a physical possession being taken, like a car or laptop. Explain to kids that creative works are the possession of the creator and that taking that work without asking, though easy, isn’t right.
Look for royalty-free works.
Just because you find it on Google Images doesn’t mean it isn’t a copyrighted image. Teach kids how to find creative works they’re allowed to use. One easy place to start is with a search on Creative Commons.

Barbie Talks Back

Mon, 04 May 2015 10:01:22 -0400

Children have been talking to and confiding in Barbie for years. And now Barbie is talking back.

Hello Barbie, is the first truly interactive Barbie. She learns, listens, and responds. The technology used in the Hello Barbie doll isn’t new to children as they have grown up with everything from smartphones to smart TVs. While this may be a revolutionary development in toys, some people think conversations with Barbie should stay in the imagination.

How does it work?

Hello Barbie

is Wi-Fi enabled
uses speech recognition technology to have unique two way conversations
learns about the user’s interests and incorporates them into conversation
gives parents access to the audio files of their children’s conversations with Barbie

What are the concerns?

By learning about the user’s likes, dislikes, interests, and conversation patterns, Barbie can develop a unique relationship with each child. Some see Hello Barbie as a good listener, while privacy advocates think Barbie is eavesdropping.

Everything Barbie says is written by employees. They analyze what children are saying to develop responses tailored to each child.

This type of data collection has raised concerns about the toy complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This law went into effect in 2000 and doesn’t allow information to be collected from children under 13 without parental consent.

The companies behind Hello Barbie compare the technology of the doll to well-known products like Google Now, Siri, and Cortona, and claim that Hello Barbie was designed to meet COPPA standards.

Others are less concerned with data collection and more with how using this type of technology will affect a child’s real world social skills.

“Computer algorithms can’t replace—and should not displace—the nuanced responsiveness of caring people interacting with one another. Children’s well-being and healthy development demand relationships and conversations with real people and real friends.”
- Dipesh Navsaria, University of Wisconsin Public Health professor

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has even started a petition to keep Hello Barbie off the shelves, fearing that the information Barbie collects could be used unfairly to market to children and families.

So, what do you think - has Barbie merely improved harmless fun or has she taken it too far?

Teens Take Over NetSmartz

Wed, 15 Apr 2015 10:18:01 -0400

A lot of kids feel like they are bona fide Internet geniuses by the time they get to middle and high school. At the very least, they may believe they know more about how the Internet works than you.

So when you try to talk to them about Internet safety and digital citizenship?

That’s why NetSmartz wants to help you try something new.

On April 15, we released an updated version of our teen volunteer kit, the NetSmartz Student Project Kit. It gives teens age-appropriate projects and language to help them talk to younger children and their peers about topics like cyberbullying, digital ethics, and online privacy.

Teens can use the kit to:

Give a presentation
Perform a skit
Or lead a classroom activity

Yes! The research backs it up.

A study in the Journal of Reading stated that “peer mentoring programs increase the use of critical thinking skills, interpersonal skills, and conflict resolution skills.” These skills can help kids make smarter online decisions like what to post, who to talk to, and how to talk to them.

And as a bonus? Teens can use the kit’s issue guide to review important online safety messages while preparing to deliver their projects.

So – teens teaching teens and learning while they’re at it? At NetSmartz, we’re pretty sure that’s what winning looks like.

Encourage your school, after-school program, or volunteer youth group to use the kit during times where your community is focusing on online safety, such as Safer Internet Day or during Internet Safety Month in June.

Download the NetSmartz Student Project Kit today.

NetSmartz Invites Teens to Speak Up for Safety!

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:31:23 -0400

NetSmartz is very excited to tell you about our new PSAcontest for teens – Speak Up for Safety! Together with Lockheed Martin, we’re inviting teens (ages 13-18) to submit a 30 to 60-second video that answers the question “What’s one thing teens need to know about being safer online?”

Why teens should speak up
Have you ever stood in front of a room full of teens and struggled to keep their attention? We know the feeling!

One thing we’ve learned about peer-to-peer education is that teens listen to other teens. They are uniquely positioned to deliver powerful messaging because they know what they want to hear. This is a great opportunity for teens to take center stage and share their thoughts, stories, ideas, and tips about being safer online.

The prizes
Three teens will win up to $500!

1^st place - $500
2^nd place - $350
3^rd place - $150

We’ll also post the winning PSAs on our websites and social media channels.

Important Dates!
Contest opens: March 31, 2015
Deadline for entries: May 12, 2015
Deadline for voting: May 19, 2015
Winning PSAs released online: June 10, 2015

Spread the word
Encourage teens to speak up for safety! Send them to www.NetSmartz.org/contest to get contest details and enter. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite entries!

You can also post this contest flier in your schools, libraries, community centers, and other public places to spread the word.

Good luck to all the entrants!

Apps Fight Back Against Cyberbullying

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 10:01:16 -0400

It seems like every day a new social media app is popping up online, and before long stories of people using those apps to bully begin to surface. But not all apps are a scary new trend. Some apps are fighting back against cyberbullying.

<<Read more>>

Apps like STOPit and Censorgram were developed to help kids cope with cyberbullying. After hearing about thedeath of Amanda Todd, STOPit creator Todd Schobel cameup with the idea to develop an app that would allow students to submit anonymous bullying reports directly to their school administrators. Schobel believes it’s important for school officials to be involved in instances of cyberbullying. STOPit is now used in 78 schools in 13 states.

“With cyberbullying there are no school grounds anymore. If it affects the learning environment for the students, the school has to take action.”
- STOPit creator Todd Schobel, Wired.com

While STOPit seeks to give kids an easy way to report cyberbullying, other apps are trying to make sure kids never see the bullying in the first place. The creators of the Censorgram app hope to keep hurtful language from appearing on a child’s Instagram. Users can enter keywords or phrases that they consider harassing and the app removes any comments or posts containing those words.

Teens take a stand

It’s easy to turn on the news and be bombarded by reports of teens bullying each other online, but there are some teens who are doing just the opposite.

Last year four seniors from Penn Wood High School in Pennsylvania won the “Anti-Bullying Mobile App Challenge” with their app, Fear no Bully. The app, now available on Android and iPhone devices, gives students a quick, anonymous way to report cyberbullying. The app also provides links to resources to help kids cope with cyberbullying and empower them to report it.

Brandon Boynton, a high school student from Indiana, also saw a need for an app in his school. Boynton’s school had a “bully box” where students could anonymously submit instances of cyberbullying, but it remained empty. So Boynton sought to take the bully box digital.

“One day it just hit me and I was like, ‘Wow, there are so many people into this issue, no one wants to actually go up and put a physical piece of paper in the box because it’s typically in a very populated area of the hallway and people are going to see you. It’s not really anonymous.”
- BullyBox creator Brandon Boynton, WISHTV.com

Boynton presented his app at the 6th annual Saunders Scholars Finals in Washington D.C. and hopes to have his app fully functional in the future.

Although cyberbullying isn’t an easy problem to solve, it’s encouraging to see people, especially teens, trying to help. What do you think of apps like these? Are there any other ways to use technology to help fight cyberbullying?

The Laws Behind Cyberbullying

Tue, 03 Mar 2015 00:31:09 -0500

While most people can agree that cyberbullying is a cause for concern, opinions vary when it comes to getting laws on the books. Since there is no federal law regarding cyberbullying, each state has their own lawsand policies. According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, 22 states have lawsthat specifically address cyberbullying, while 48 states and the District of Columbia have laws that address electronic harassment. Many states give schools the authority to discipline students who cyberbully or harass others online.

Let’s take a look at two examples to see how states are responding to this complex issue.

Illinois

The new cyberbullying law in Illinois allows school districts to punish students for cyberbullying even if it occurs outside of school. Some people believe this is a step in the right direction, arguing that even if cyberbullying is happening off school grounds it can still affect the child’s school day.

Others, including the American Civil Liberties Union, believe the law goes too far by punishing students for things they are doing in the privacy of their own homes, not at school. Spokesman Ed Yohnka said, "We have a mechanism in society to control the behavior of young people outside the school, they’re called parents.“

The cyberbullying law gained media attention recently after a school in southern Illinois sent a letter home informing parents that their child could be required to provide their Facebook password. Many parents and local residents felt this would be an unnecessary invasion of privacy and an inappropriate action for school officials to take.

Defenders of the law maintain that the law is in place to protect children at all times and that requiring children to provide their passwords would only be used in extreme cases.

Maryland

Grace’s law, Maryland’s cyberbullying law named after a local high school student who committed suicide after being harassed online, also received criticism when first presented to the public.

This law states that the computer cannot be used “in a course of conduct that inflicts serious emotional distress.” Some people felt this particular part of the law could be used to “criminalize speech.” Others said the law was adequate enough in protecting free speech.

What do you think?

Let us know what you think of new cyberbullying legislation. Where do you think the line between free speech and cyberbullying should be drawn? Do you think schools should have the authority to discipline students for things that happen online?

Get Ready to Celebrate Safer Internet Day 2015

Sat, 31 Jan 2015 00:31:00 -0500

February 10 is Safer Internet Day! This global event reminds us how important it is for everyone to create a better Internet together.

Here are some ways you can celebrate Safer Internet Day with NetSmartz:

Join us for our webinar “Why We’re Moving from Online Safety to Digital Citizenship…and You Should Too.” During this webinar you’ll learn why the shift from online safety to digital citizenship is happening and what it means for you. We’ll discuss what you can look for in a program and the messages you should be teaching.
Check out our latest resource premiering on February 10—Teaching Digital Citizenship. In partnership with Club Penguin, NetSmartz has created this online training tool for teachers that highlights key Internet safety lessons and NetSmartz resources. This program is free, self-paced, and can be applied towards continuing education credits.
Watch our new video where the NSTeens learn how to share one good thing they’ve done to make the Internet better for everyone.
Watch Clicky andWebster celebrate Safer Internet Day with rock star brothers Flashy and Crashy inthis month’s video at NetSmartzKids.org.
Tune in to the ConnectSafelyevent: “Safer Internet Day2015: Actions & Activism Toward a Better Net & World.” Internet safety experts will be discussingsolutions to common Internet safety issues.
Follow @NetSmartz on Twitter. We’ll belive-tweeting ConnectSafely’s Safer Internet Day event from Menlo Park, CA. #SIDUS15

Keep thinking of ways we can all make the Internet better together. Happy Safer Internet Day!

Featured Lesson in Digital Footprints: Electronic Communication is Permanent

Tue, 20 Jan 2015 10:01:34 -0500

Guest blogger and educator Dr. Carol Heidenrich shares one of her favorite lessons on digital footprints.

As a technology educator, I often remind students that as responsible citizens we abide by local laws, but we are also responsible for acting as good digital citizens online. To demonstrate this, I present a lesson on the importance of monitoring our digital footprints to maintain a positive digital presence.

Introducing the Wayback

To emphasize the permanency of electronic information, I share a story about Web pages. Our school’s first website was created by students in 1998. As the Computer Club Advisor at the time, I was responsible for reviewing the website content for accuracy, proper grammar, and spelling. Then I ask the students if they ever heard of “The Wayback Machine.” It’s an Internet archive of captured Web pages that date back to 1996. Not many students are familiar with it.

I was introduced to the Wayback Machine during a graduate course entitled, “Teaching and Learning in the 21^st Century.” Our professor told us the Wayback Machine allowed access to Web pages from the past. I did not believe it would work. When I tested it to see if I could access our school website from the year 2000, sure enough, I easily located our outdated homepage.

The school website as captured by the Wayback on January 22, 2000.

After setting the stage, I display the outdated copy of our site from the year 2000 to emphasize the permanence of Web information. That page was published 14 years ago and is still available online. Needless to say, the students are quite surprised that they can still view the school’s old website. I ask the students to check out the Wayback Machine on their own to locate older websites.

Lessons learned

Luckily I did not publish the page with any errors on the date it was permanently captured for the Web. If there were errors on January 22, 2000, those errors would still be visible today. I encourage students to think of my reputation as a teacher, webmaster, and current Director of Technology if errors existed.

I stress to students the importance of considering the impact of posting information that will be publicly available at any time in the future. Students live in the moment with instant texting and photo sharing. I use the word “caution” to remind students that their digital footprint is available to the public.

We also discuss how employers and college recruiters may be checking the Web for information about potential employees and students. Students are preparing for college and careers while they are under our supervision. I believe I have an obligation to infuse ethical digital behavior into teaching and learning. This lesson helps students understand the permanence of electronic communication and reminds them that anyone in the future could reach “way back” to see what they are doing today.

Meet our blogger

Dr. Carol Heidenrich became the Director of Technology at Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Westford, Massachusetts in 2000. Previously, she taught Computer Applications and Computer Literacy. In 2013 she earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Northeastern University. Dr. Heidenrich’s dissertation, “Student Technology Use for Powerful Learning” focuses on high school students’ use of digital tools. She educates students about digital citizenship while overseeing the school’s instructional and administrative technology.

Cheating: There’s an App for That

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 09:59:00 -0500

Student cheating isn’t new. Most teachers know the classic tricks: answers written on your hand, the peek-at-your-neighbor’s-paper stretch, or simple homework collaboration. But just like everything else, cheating has gone digital.

What to look out for

For kids today, the Internet has all the answers. They constantly have a wealth of information at their fingertips and have never known anything else.

There are tons of ways kids can use technology to cheat. There is even a video on YouTube that shows you how to hide notes in the nutritional information on a soda bottle. There are also apps and websites that cater to particular subjects.

The app PhotoMath can solve math problems and equations in real time using your phone’s camera. It even has a step-by-step guide on how to solve each problem so students can “show their work.”

Many of these apps advertise themselves as learning tools, but there will be some children who’ll find the temptation to cheat too great to resist.

Math isn’t the only subject susceptible to cheating apps. On the website Essaytyper.com you can choose any topic, type gibberish on the keyboard and, like magic, an essay about that topic appears. Now, this may sound terrifying to teachers and parents, but fortunately the website takes the information word for word from Wikipedia. Websites like this can be dangerous for kids who don’t know how transparent plagiarism can be.

Cheating websites aren’t just for kids. There is even a website for adults who don’t want to get caught checking Facebook at work. Hardlywork.in inputs your Facebook newsfeed, photos, and comments into a spreadsheet so no one at work has to know what you’re really up to.

Many of these apps are still limited in functionality, and teachers always seem to know in the end. Despite technological advancements one thing remains true, it doesn’t pay to cheat.

Season’s Greetings NetSmartz friends! We hope you enjoy...

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 10:01:11 -0500

Season’s Greetings NetSmartz friends! We hope you enjoy our video as much as your holiday. See you in 2015!

Bringing Digital Citizenship into the Classroom

Mon, 01 Dec 2014 10:01:27 -0500

The Internet is a fundamental part of how kids learn. They use online research journals, educational games, and even social media sites to explore new subjects. Schools teach kids how to use these tools, but they also have to teach them how to use the tools responsibly. NetSmartz spoke with primary educator Janet Elias about how she has been tackling this challenge in her classroom.

Teaching the digital basics

Ms. Elias takes her role as a technology facilitator very seriously. She recognizes that her students’ increased access to the Internet offers more opportunities – and more opportunity for trouble.

“My students are all ‘digital natives’ which means they have NEVER known a life without technology in it. Therefore as teachers, we have a great responsibility to teach these little ones how to keep a good digital footprint throughout their childhood and into their tweens and then to adulthood.” – Janet Elias, Technology Facilitator, PS 46

Maintaining a “good digital footprint” is a key component of being a responsible digital citizen. Ms. Elias helps her students learn this lesson with simple activities. For example, she shows students a tube of toothpaste and lets each one squeeze some out. She emphasizes that the toothpaste can’t go back into the tube, just as information shared online is almost impossible to get back.

Responsible citizenship

Online privacy is just one of the skills kids need to master in order to become responsible digital citizens. They also need to understand how their online actions can impact others’ online experiences. Take cyberbullying, for example. Traditionally, safety lessons focus on kids not becoming cyberbullies and reporting if they are cyberbullied. But responsible digital citizens not only report negative online interactions; the help create positive ones.

To become responsible digital citizens, kids must be encouraged to work actively to make the Internet a fun, safe place for everyone. Ms. Elias believes that educators can be an important part of this process. “We can create great interactive lessons that hit home with them and will help them understand the impact on their lives of not being a good digital citizen.” NetSmartz is working with thousands of educators like her to ensure they have the resources to fulfill that goal. Materials on issues such as digital literacy and cheating can help students see their online actions matter – and make smarter choices about what they do.

Redefining Online Safety at FOSI

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 11:01:22 -0500

Last week, NetSmartz attended the Family Online Safety Institute’s 2014 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. This year’s theme was “Redefining Online Safety.” We got to hear from industry leaders, discuss new research, and talk to educators using our resources. Here’s what you missed at this year’s event.

Parenting in the digital age

FOSI and Hart Research Associates presented the findings in their newest report, Parenting in the Digital Age, a look at how parents view the benefits and potential harms of the technology their children are using. This chart shows you how heavily children are connected to technology.

Here are some of the report’s key takeaways:

Most parents think the benefits of technology and the Internet outweigh the potential harms.
Most parents are confident in their ability to manage their children’s technology use.
Parents’ top technology concerns are harmful content, tracking for marketing, stranger danger, and privacy.

One finding from FOSI’s report definitely got a reaction from the crowd. Most parents think they’ll give their child a cell phone when they turn 14. In reality, most kids get a cell phone at age 11.

What does “online safety” mean to you?

Turns out it’s really difficult to agree on a definition of “online safety.” We started with the question “What does online safety mean to you?” and ended up with a lot of possibilities. Here are a few that stood out:

Minimizing risks and maximizing benefits
Reducing the harm of digital challenges
Helping people be confident online
Doing things online safely, effectively, and responsibly
Providing the tools for safe, effective communication and interaction

What do you think “online safety” means?

New Child Safety Program from the Creators of NetSmartz

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 10:01:11 -0500

You’ve taught your students about online safety. Now teach them about personal safety, too!

Today, we are very proud to introduce KidSmartz^TM – the child safety program for students in grades K-5. KidSmartz was created by the same child safety experts behind NetSmartz^® Workshop in partnership with Honeywell. This program educates children and their parents about preventing abduction and empowers them to practice safer behaviors. It’s easy to implement, innovative, and fun!

Learn the 4 Rules

All KidSmartz materials focus on the four rules of personal safety:

I will always check first with my parent, guardian, or other trusted adult before going anywhere, helping anyone, accepting anything, or getting into a car.
I will take a friend with me when going places or playing outside.
I will tell people “NO” if they try to touch me or hurt me. It’s OK for me to stand up for myself.
I will tell my trusted adult if anything makes me feel sad, scared, or confused.

Meet the Characters

Children will learn about the four rules of personal safety from the animated KidSmartz characters: Sam, Jen, Marco, and Ms. Diaz. These characters help children learn about abduction prevention in a non-threatening, engaging way.

Our Resources

Teach students in grades K-5 with the lesson plans in our education kit
Use the animated videos to demonstrate the rules of personal safety
Educate parents with information about abduction, tip sheets, and printable activities they can use with their kids

Teach & Win!

Download the KidSmartz Education Kit today and you could win a $250 gift card for school supplies! Ten winners will be randomly selected each month.

We encourage you to visit KidSmartz.org to check out these resources and subscribe to news and updates. You can also follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook. We hope you find this new program helpful. Thank you for all you do to help protect children!

It’s Digital Citizenship Week!

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 10:01:29 -0400

It’s Digital Citizenship Week!

Our friends at Common Sense Media are recognizing this week as Digital Citizenship Week. The goal is to educate everyone on the latest trends and challenges children are encountering online.

Chances are the children in your life have heard some kind of message about Internet safety and it is important to keep those conversations going. This is an excellent opportunity to begin a fresh dialogue with students, teachers, and the entire community about the Internet and everyone’s responsibility to make it a safer place.

NetSmartz has a number of resources to help you celebrate Digital Citizenship Week.

Tune in to the NetSmartz webinar, “The Truth About Online Privacy,” on October 22, 2014, at 4 p.m., as Internet safety advocates discuss what privacy means to teens today and how to protect them online.

Teachers
Use the NSTeens Challenge, an interactive quiz, to reinforce concepts like digital literacy and online privacy.

Download the activity cards that accompany each of the NetSmartz videos for new and interesting ways to teach digital citizenship.

Parents
Digital citizenship shouldn’t be something kids only learn about at school. Check out our tip sheets for ideas on how to talk your kids about what they’re doing online.

Visit NetSmartzKids.org at home with your kids and watch as the NetSmartz “spokesrobot,” Clicky, introduces new videos and activities each month.

Community Educators
Download our presentations to engage the community in conversations about Internet safety. These presentations feature related news stories to spur thought-provoking discussions.

Visit NetSmartz.org to find more resources you can use during Digital Citizenship Week.

#InternetSafety #NetSmartz #CommonSenseMedia #DigitalCitizenshipWeek

Teens Use Webcomics to Reach Their Peers

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 10:33:00 -0400

Over the summer, NetSmartz staff had the pleasure of working with teens from Reach Incorporated, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that works to develop literacy skills by pairing teen tutors with elementary school readers.

Teens participating in their summer program toured our offices learning about child safety issues both on- and offline, and then set off to create their own webcomics to help teach important safety lessons to kids and teens.

“This was a great opportunity for our young people to learn about a serious issue, consider how to deliver an important message to their peers, and build skills in storytelling. Reach is about teaching through giving teens real responsibility for real challenges. Once again, our teens stepped up to the plate to deliver a real resource related to a serious issue."

- Mark Hecker, Executive Director of Reach Incorporated

Webcomics can be a great way to reach kids and teens, especially when written by peers. Check out their awesome work!

The comics

The first group decided to tackle the issue of attempted abductions. Their webcomic aims to teach younger kids what they should do if anyone asks them to go somewhere.

The second group created a webcomic for teens to teach them about sexting. When asked to send a racy picture, the character in this webcomic sends our sexting tips instead!

"I thought the project was pretty cool. It was interesting to think about what people like me - my peers and friends - would listen to as we tried to teach them about these topics."

- Terrell Davis, 18, 12th Grade Student at Eastern Senior High School in Washington DC

NetSmartz would like to thank Mark Hecker and all the students involved in Reach. We all enjoyed working with you and are so proud of what you accomplished this summer.

You can read more about Reach and their webcomic project here.

The NSTeens Head Back to School

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 10:01:16 -0400

It’s that time of year again! The kids are back in school and NetSmartz has you covered with three new, exciting NSTeens resources for intermediate and middle school students.

The NSTeens Challenge is a new online quiz to that will put your students’ NetSmartz to the test. This tool helps tweens in grades 5-8 review safety lessons including digital literacy, inappropriate content, online privacy, predators, and cyberbullying. Each lesson features a video illustrating the various safety concepts and an activity to test what students have learned.

Using the NSTeens Challenge, teachers are able to evaluate their students’ understanding of each topic. Once students have successfully completed each activity, they will receive a certificate that can be downloaded or emailed directly to their teacher.

The NSTeens Challenge also features an educator’s guide to help teachers implement it into their Internet safety lesson plans.

We are also proud to debut our second NSTeens webcomic, Choices & Cheaters. This choose-your-own-adventure style webcomic follows C.L. as she tries to win a school trip to Australia. Throughout the comic, C.L. has multiple opportunities to cheat and it’s up to the reader to decide what decision she should make. The comic features different scenarios, paths, and endings so students learn what constitutes digital cheating and what the potential consequences are.

Choices & Cheaters features activity cards and a discussion guide to help teachers facilitate conversations about digital ethics.

In our latest NSTeens game, Password Plunder, students learn how to build strong passwords by protecting their village from Viking invaders! As the Vikings inch closer to the village, players must collect building blocks and create passwords strong enough to protect themselves. The building blocks have numbers, letters, and symbols to remind students to use unique combinations for their passwords.

Students can play Password Plunder online or download the mobile version from the Apple iTunes store or the Google Play Android store.

Be sure to check out these resources and more at NSTeens.org to help your students have a smart and safe school year.

3 Actions for Adult Leaders to Keep Kids Safer Online

Wed, 10 Sep 2014 14:18:11 -0400

A guest blog from Irene van der Zande, Kidpower International Executive Director and Founder

As parents, educators, and other adult leaders, our job is to protect children and teens from harm and to prepare them to take charge of their own well-being. Here are three actions adult leaders can take to keep kids safer while they are exploring the Internet, texting, and using social media.

1. Make the Kidpower Commitment™. Too often, both for adults and kids, discomfort gets in the way of making safer choices. Some kids get upset about limits to their use of social media or texting. Some feel too embarrassed to say anything when something distressing happens.

Testing the rules, pushing boundaries, and being reluctant to ask for help are normal parts of growing up. Our job as adult leaders is to put safety first. Make the Kidpower Put Safety First Commitment^TM: “I WILL put the safety and well-being of young people ahead of embarrassment, inconvenience, or offense."

Before allowing more independent use of technology, you can also ask young people to make the Kidpower Commitment for themselves: "I WILL put the safety and well-being of myself and others ahead of anyone’s embarrassment, inconvenience, or offense - including my own.”

2. Split Your Attention. In our Kidpower workshops for parents and teachers, we sometimes ask all the adults in the room, “Please look closely at your own palm, as if you are reading it.”

We then ask, “When you are looking at your own palm, can you see what is on the palm of the person next to you?”

As they shake their heads, we point out, “No matter what safeguards are in place, the best way to see what our children are doing on computers or mobile devices is to stop what we are doing and take a good look.”

Avoid tunnel vision by splitting your attention. Stop what you are doing and co-pilot with your children when they are online or texting. If you know what your kids are doing, you can step in to stop unsafe behavior or provide support if something upsetting happens.

3. Set a Good Example. Remember that our kids learn more from what we show them than from what we tell them. The Internet can be a fascinating place to explore, but we need to keep a balance.

We can show kids that they are more important than anything else in our lives by putting our mobile phones down and turning away from our computers, instead choosing to look and listen to our children with our full attention.

Start practicing this month

September is a great time to start practicing these steps. This month, Kidpower is launching International Child Protection Month to celebrate our 25^th anniversary. Our goal is to establish an annual worldwide month to honor, inspire, and support adult leadership in empowering and protecting young people. We encourage you to make the Kidpower Commitment, make an extra effort to really listen to kids, and practice setting a good example for them online.

For more information about how to join us, including free child protection resources, please visit www.childprotectionmonth.org.

Trolls: Online and Unkind

Tue, 02 Sep 2014 10:01:30 -0400

If you’ve ever read the comment thread on a news article, blog, social media or video page, chances are you’ve run into an online troll. Trolls try to upset people by posting offensive comments and images. They may not even agree with what they’re saying. Their goal is to get a response – and they pick their victims accordingly.

Trolling for targets

Robin Williams’ daughter, Zelda, recently quit Twitter and Instagram due to disturbing messages from trolls about her recently deceased father. Unfortunately, she is not the only person to be harassed online after the death of a loved one. Grieving families are popular targets for Internet trolls:

Cruel comments were posted to the memorial page of an Ohio girl who committed suicide.
Fake web pages were set up leading mourners to gruesome photos showing the body of a California teen who died in a car crash.
After the 2013 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, fake Facebook pages were posted harassing the families of the deceased.

Defeat the trolls

If you believe it’s unconscionable for trolls to target people in mourning, you’re not alone. The outcry against sometimes-named “RIP trolls” led to Twitter’s announcement of new policies focusing on ending user harassment.

Twitter is not the only company to try to combat trolls. Many social media sites and apps have put policies in place to prevent trolling. If children (or you) are active on sites like Twitter, Instagram, Vine and Facebook, they should know what to do if targeted by a troll:

Don’t respond. Trolls are looking for a reaction. If they don’t get it, they may get bored and crawl back under their bridges!
Save the evidence. Some trolling cases may require legal action – especially if a troll has made a threat. Make sure to keep all incriminating comments and images.
REPORT. Many sites have functions that let you report other users and/ or comments. Take advantage of them!
Open new accounts. If necessary, start over and only share your new username with people you know and trust.

Then, try to cut trolling off at the source. Talk to children about what types of comments and images are okay to post on other people’s social media pages. Discuss the difference between constructive criticism of an article or blog and offensive comments. Help children see that when we treat each other with respect online, the Internet is a better place for everyone.

5 Things We Learned at the 2014 Federal Bullying Prevention Summit

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 16:57:25 -0400

On Friday, August 15, we attended the Federal Bullying Prevention Summit in Washington, D.C. Educators, policy makers, and researchers met to discuss bullying trends and what works in prevention programming. Here are five key takeaways from the event.

Facebook takes teens’ communication styles into account when designing their reporting features. Instead of a “report” button, teens can select “I don’t want to see this” and explain why. Facebook then gives them options to resolve the issue. They call this “social resolution” and hope it opens up communication between teens.
Emotional Intelligence can help prevent bullying. Dr. Marc Brackett from Yale University discussed the RULER approach and how children with a higher EI are less likely to bully because they’re more compassionate.
During the afternoon session on cyberbullying, high school grad Will Ashe spoke about how teens can positively influence the climate of social media. One suggestion – students can use social media to combat bullying by posting compliments and encourage comments, like these students in the #icanhelp campaign.
Bullying is greatly influenced by school climate. Several speakers talked about reforming school climate so that students are more likely to support and respect each other. Stopbullying.gov offers these tips to help educators create safer environments.
Cyberbullying laws vary greatly by state. Check out your state’s bullying and cyberbullying laws on this map. You should also learn about your child’s school cyberbullying policy. If it doesn’t have one, considering working with administrators to create one.