Tag: internet safety

3-12, Computer Science, Education, Parenting, Teaching Tools, Websites

Be Internet Awesome

Terri Eichholz

Google has just released a new, free curriculum designed to teach digital citizenship and online safety.  The program, called, “Be Internet Awesome,” consists of 5 parts:

  • Share with Care – Be internet smart
  • Don’t fall for Fake – Be internet alert
  • Secure Your Secrets – Be internet strong
  • It’s Cool to Be Kind – Be internet kind
  • When in Doubt, Talk it Out – Be internet brave

The curriculum is downloadable, and is aligned with ISTE standards.  There is also a video game for kids to play that supports the lessons.

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image from paul.klintworth on Flickr

I haven’t had the chance to explore all of the resources, but it is becoming more and more urgent that our students receive education in this area at an early age.  The internet and social media are parts of our culture that are not going to go away, and it is our job to prepare our students to use these tools safely and effectively.

Critical Thinking, Education, Games, Problem Solving, Teaching Tools, Web 2.0, Websites

budd:e

Terri Eichholz
Online safety and digital citizenship are becoming more and more important as lessons our children need to learn.  To that end, the Australian government has created a thorough, but fun, site for helping students to get this information while they play.  budd:e is a site that is available in formats for both primary and secondary students.
I have not investigated the secondary version, but the primary version allows the user to “build” a robot by meeting certain challenges,  learning about cybersecurity along the way.  There are teacher resources that include lesson plans in addition to the student portion of the site.
The site is free, but you do have to register.  You are encouraged, however, to NOT give your real name.  The only small glitch I found was that, since the site is based in Australia, you must input a “school post code” to register.  I found, however, that by typing in any 4 numbers, I was given a new box with choices for “homeschool” or “other”.
budd:e is a flash-based site, so you won’t be able to use it on iDevices.