Cyber-Citizenship

A colleague has been working on a curriculum for our Year 7 students which focuses on teaching students the skills needed for safe and responsible navigation on the Internet. Working in a one-one, wireless environment which sees our students making use of the world wide web and other online resources daily is reason enough for us to teach our students effective strategies for utilising the amazing electronic resources at their fingertips. However, it is probably when the students are outside of school, connected to a less filtered, freer 'version' of the Internet that the principles of cyber-citizenship become more critical.

That is what makes this part of the curriculum such an important one to share with parents through information evenings, newsletter articles and parent meetings. The NSW Department of Education and Training produced series Click is an excellent resource for helping with the education of parents.

Some of the key aspects of the curriculum being designed include: Internet use golden rules (from Cyberquoll) student designed Internet policy (from cybersafety nz) and student run 'computer workshops' for parents and teachers.

The extensive Byron Review from the UK is another excellent resource for teachers providing a raft of background information and data, recommendations and strategies for teaching students safe and responsible Internet use.