Top Tips to keep children safe online at school and in the home
The importance of technology for young people in education is endless, the internet is a resource for world information that is convenient and easily accessible. However when letting young learners use this resource it has to be approached with much care as there is content on there that may be deemed as harmful.
The internet is a non regulated environment and that’s why it is the responsibility of a safeguarding person or parent to keep children safe while on the Internet. I have composed 5 top tips for this.
- Awareness – parents and safeguarding people must be aware of what children are using the internet for and how they are using it. Be as involved as possible. Once you have an understanding you can then implement the next steps.
- Education – educate users on the dangers of the internet just as you would educate them on walking down the street. Don’t speak to strangers, be careful when crossing the road. Internet usage requires the same guidance. Be careful when going onto pages you don’t know about, don’t engage with someone you don’t know. (this may seem obvious but it often gets forgotten) Try to teach this in a positive and constructive way.
- Monitor – make use of platforms to monitor and block potential harmful content, such as web filtering and application blocking systems. These can be added to the lap top or computer to stop any unwanted downloads or access to sites deemed unsuitable.
- Apps – Select Child friendly apps from trustworthy sources, there are so many apps out there, take time to pick the ones you think are suitable, check the source of the app to make sure it is accredited.
- Search History – its always good to check what children have been viewing through the search history tool. Every web browser has this. It;s good practice to do this regularly even if you have implemented monitoring platforms always double check the search history to ensure the filters are working. Remember the internet is unregulated and there is always a chance that harmful content can come through.
Technology is ever changing so remember to keep on top of your learning so that you can be ahead of young people, remember to keep technology updated, if you do add a filter or monitor keep it updated. Once this is all in place you can be confident in the benefits of children using the internet.
By Giuseppe Bagattin – IT Manager – St Georges International School