ThinkUKnow

During Week 7 of this term we celebrated eSmart Week.  During this time classes explored ways to keep safe around technology.  We invited Constable Emilie Dellar in to not only speak to students but teachers and parents/carers about this very important topic. We believe that this whole community approach is very beneficial as to keep our students safe we need collaboration from everyone. 

Constable Dellar used the ThinkUKnow resource to deliver the information. ThinkUKnow is a free, evidence-based cyber safety program that provides presentations to Australian parents, carers, teachers and students. It is a joint partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Commonwealth Bank, Datacom and Microsoft Australia, and is delivered in collaboration with state police.  It provides information on the technologies young people use, the challenges they may face, tools to create a safer online environment, and how to cope or seek advice when things go wrong.

These student sessions provided information in a tailored way to cater for the needs of each grade grouping (Kinder to Grade 2, Grade 3/4 and Grade 5/6).  Some of the information covered included:

• how to stay safe online
• why people use the internet
• the importance of not sharing personal details with people online
• why unidentifiable usernames and passwords are essential to maintain privacy and security
• why adult supervision and permission is important before signing up to apps and websites
• conversations around online gaming, cyberbullying, respectful language and talking to people online
• staying safe while using instant messaging
• risks in sharing images or videos and what information can be gathered from these.

The parent/carer and teacher sessions bridged the knowledge gap between adults and young people.  I know many of the teachers and parents in the room were shocked about how young children were being exposed or participating in risky or unsafe practices. 

Some of the important messages or information covered in the sessions included:

• online grooming, ‘sexting’, cyberbullying and inappropriate content (with these things happening in later primary school age children)
• what you can do to support young people through online challenges
• how to report if something goes wrong
• what you can do to help support young people understand what they say or post online can be permanent (‘digital shadow’)
• information on new apps, games and codes/lingo/emoji students use to disguise or hide what they are communicating online
• information to assist adults in communicating with children and young people about the technology they use

If you would like to find out more information please visit the ThinkUKnow website https://www.thinkuknow.org.au/ which has a parent portal and a tab to report abuse.