Keeping Our Children Safe In Keeping Our Children Safe In CyberspaceCyberspace

Michelle Cheasty, MEd, PhD (ABD)Supervisor of Instructional Technology and Information Systems

Flemington- Raritan School District

Flemington, NJ

What Do They Mean?What Do They Mean?WYCMLMIRL

PA/ PAL/ POS/ P911

F2F

WRNWTGP

WWW

Surf the WebInternet

IMScreen Name

ANA/ MIA

Bashboard

Netiquette

Worm

LOL

Chat Room

Social Networking

CyberBully

Firewall

CyberSafety

Avitar

121

E-Mail

Spam

Virus

CyberStalker

Trolling

BlogWebcam

Filter

Spycam

I knowI know

A. None of these termsB. Less than 25% of these termsC. Between 25% and 50% of these

termsD. Between 50% and 75% of these

termsE. Between 75% and 100% of these

terms

Cyber StatisticsCyber Statistics61% of teens 13- 17 have a

“presence” in cyberspace through social networking sites

Presence includes pictures, sports shots, and other “identifying” information

Using this information, person can “find” anyone

42% of kids have been bullied while online. 1 in 4 have had it happen more than once.

35% of kids have been threatened online. Nearly 1 in 5 have had it happen more than once.

21% of kids have received mean or threatening e-mail or other messages.

58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than once.

53% of kids admit having said something mean or hurtful to another person online. More than 1 in 3 have done it more than once.

58% have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online.Based on 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1,500 stuhttp://www.isafe.org/channels/sub.php?ch=op&sub_id=media_cyber_bullyingdents grades 4-8

71% of teens have received messages from people they don’t know

45% of teens have been asked for personal information

30% of teens have considered meeting someone they met online face- to- face- 14% actually have

Cyber CrimesCyber Crimes

What Are Cyber Crimes?What Are Cyber Crimes?Crimes that take place online-

instead of face- to- faceIncluding, but not limited to-

◦CyberBullying◦CyberStalking◦CyberThreatening◦Flamebaiting

ExampleExample

A 13-year old girl named Megan Meier, who was just days shy of her 14th birthday, commits suicide by hanging herself in her bedroom closet. The reason? She was being bullied by a “hot” 16-year old male, who had initially captured her heart on MySpace by making her feel valued, but who then turned on her. He cyberbullied her with taunts and finally told her that she was a horrible person who deserved to have a horrible life. After Megan’s death, her grieving parents learn that the “hot” 16-year old male was in fact a fictitious character created by the parents of one of Megan’s girl friends — a girl she had become estranged from. http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/yulelog/2007/11/14/parents-in-myspace-disaster-follows/

ExampleExample14 and 15 year old girls make a “study date” with a guy from Biology. The guy is not from their class, but a sexual predator. The person from Bio class had his picture taken by a neighbor. That neighbor created a Cyber account using the guy’s picture and personal information. Unknowingly, the girls went to the apartment thinking they were going to study. The girls are held “captive” until their escape two days later. One girl will spend the rest of her life hospitalized.

ExampleExampleIn St. Louis. A 13 year-old girl hung herself after a "boy" she was dating through Myspace insulted and harassed her (according to the story, the "boy" asked to be her Myspace friend, then they started talking online and eventually called each other boyfriend and girlfriend before he started saying that he had "heard that she wasn't very nice to her friends" and then began sending the girl increasingly cruel and harassing emails). Turns out that this "boy" was actually a neighboring couple who posed as a 14 year-old boy in order to deliberately lure this girl into talking to them, trying to see if she said anything bad about their daughter. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_popculture_blog/2007/11/girl-commits-su.html

ExampleExample21-year-old woman, Nicole Williams, who has been accused of sending harassing text messages to a 16-year-old girl that she was jealous of (because of a boy, naturally). Williams also allegedly allowed her friends to use her phone to send messages and leave vulgar voicemails for the girl, some of which threatened rape. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2008/12/cyberbullying-laws-picking-up-after-myspace-suicide-case.ars

ExampleExample

In 2010, Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi committed suicide after his roommate used a hidden computer webcam to broadcast an intimate encounter with another man in their dorm room. Prior to his death, Clementi posted his “good bye” on Facebook.

SO- WHAT CAN WE DO?SO- WHAT CAN WE DO?

Quick TipsQuick TipsFirst, remember never to give out

personal information such as your name, home address, school name, or telephone number in a chat room or on bulletin boards. Also, never send a picture of yourself to someone you chat with on the computer without your parent's permission.

Never write to someone who has made you feel uncomfortable or scared.

Quick TipsQuick TipsDo not meet someone or have them

visit you without the permission of your parents.

Tell your parents right away if you read anything on the Internet that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Remember that people online may not be who they say they are. Someone who says that "she" is a "12-year-old girl" could really be an older man.

http://www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/safety2.htm

For Elementary School For Elementary School StudentsStudentsIntroduce students to chat rooms (i.e.-

imbee.com, Destiny Quest)Teach students netiquetteRole playGuest speakersWeb resources

For Middle School For Middle School StudentsStudents

Continue to discuss chat roomsRole playSet up class blogs and chatsDiscuss “escape” tools- such as

ctrl+alt+del or shutting the computer down

Let students know they can always talk to their parents, you, counselors, or other adults

Continue to stress anonymity

For High School StudentsFor High School StudentsContinue to discuss chat roomsRole playSet up class blogs and chatsDiscuss “escape” tools- such as ctrl+alt+del or

shutting the computer downLet students know they can always talk to their

parents, you, counselors, or other adultsContinue to stress anonymityDiscuss current cases of cybercrimes (be sure to get

parent permission- many of them are quite graphic) Invite the FBI and State Police in for presentations

and conversations

For TeachersFor TeachersRemind teachers that if it is online, someone can and

WILL find it Just because you deleted it doesn’t mean that

someone else doesn’t have it postedKeep all social networking sites and information

privateBe aware of what others are posting about youThere have been cases where teachers have been

dismissed for conduct unbecoming of a public servantTeachers should model online behavior for their

studentsNever provide personal information to anyone onlineWhen in doubt- ask. The only stupid question is the

one not asked

What Can We Do At HomeWhat Can We Do At Home

Tools to Give Our Parents

I would know I would know what to do if a what to do if a student reported student reported a cyber crimea cyber crimeYes No

Tools for ParentsTools for ParentsLearn Internet acronyms that children use to keep

parents from snooping (Examples: POS - parent over shoulder, POP - parent on prowl, CTN - can't talk now).

Remind your child to stay anonymous. Don't share personal information online.

Share and discuss news stories about cyberstalkers and online sexual predators.

Visit social websites like myspace.com with your child. Discuss sites that may offer too much information, inappropriate photographs, or that might have other "red flags" associated with them.

Install Internet filters, but don't assume that they will take the place of parental supervision.

Thank You to AverMedia for Thank You to AverMedia for providing the document providing the document camera and CDWG for camera and CDWG for providing the projector providing the projector

Questions?Questions?

VideosVideos Not all these videos are appropriate for all age groups. Please preview

before showing them to school children http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFF1UtPm5C4 http://www.netsmartz.org/RealLifeStories http://www.schooltube.com/video/97c0dcc2a1794518b475/Cyber-Safet

y http://www.wiredsafety.org/wiredlearning/videos/index.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLnqdiXoc8Y&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T38-9OCDrP4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oui0IcNpvmQ&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlAgTAWGGi4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuaJcjxBK3U&feature=related

Additional ResourcesAdditional Resourceshttp://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate

/cyber/cyberhttp://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/http://www.isafe.org/ http://safety.lovetoknow.com/Cyber_Bul

lying_Statistics

http://guest.portaportal.com/cybersafety

Additional ResourcesAdditional Resourceshttp://www.cybercrimelawyerblog

.com/2010/09/protecting_your_kids_online_se.html

http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/cyberethics.htm

http://www.cyberbullying.us/

Contact InformationContact InformationMichelle CheastySupervisor of Instructional Technology and Information SystemsFlemington Raritan Regional School Districtmcheasty@frsd.k12.nj.us