Tools for kids

• Explain to students that the Internet is a public place.
• Create and post Internet guidelines in the classroom that are discussed and reviewed regularly.
• Show students how to use safe search engines (e.g. Yahooligans).
• Discuss with students the difference between public and private information. Personal information is private information, and shouldn’t be shared on the Internet without parental permission.
• Teach students the safety strategy "If asked to share and your parents aren’t aware -- Say No!" This encourages them to practice checking with their parents before sharing personal information online. Review where they may be asked for personal information online.
• Teach students to create passwords that others can’t easily guess, and that contain a combination of numbers and letters (both upper- and lower-case).
• Reinforce to students the idea that not everyone is who they say they are online. People can pretend to be older or younger than they actually are.
• Just as you would explain codes of conduct for offline activities, the same should be done for online activities.
• Explain to students that the Internet isn’t a place to make new friends. Talk about what friendship is and isn’t.
• Tell students not to open any email attachments if they don’t know the sender.
• If a student comes across something or someone that makes them feel uncomfortable, explain that they can tell you without fear of losing computer privileges.