Cybersecurity to Be Taught to K-8 students across North America for Free

London, ON – Cyber Legends, the fun, free game that empowers kids to learn online safety through play, today announced the launch of the Cyber Legends Gaming platform and its availability to schools across North America. There is currently no standardized cyber safety curriculum being taught in primary, elementary or intermediate schools. Cyber Legends intends to change that with engaging, curriculum-aligned lessons, masked as a fun video game. The game teaches kids about passwords, identity theft, scams, phishing, cyber bullying, sexting, social media issues and much more.

Cyber Legends has reached out to teachers, schools, school boards, cybersecurity experts, and online safety professionals to collect data over the past 2 years to learn about their challenges.  The company has gathered all the complexities of internet safety and distilled them into engaging, well-tested, curriculum-aligned, and beautifully structured lesson plans (created by teachers) for grades K–8. Cyber Legends also comes with tons of free resources to help teachers, parents, and children.

As critical as it is that children learn about cyber safety early on, teachers often lack the resources to help their students. They aren’t cybersecurity specialists and the vast majority have never received any cybersecurity training themselves. This provides a simple way to give each child the basics on how to stay safe online.  This has become more critical as students use laptops, mobile devices, and home computers routinely.…Read More

Online ‘burn books’ sparking controversy

Online burn books are Twitter accounts where an anonymous person posts multiple insulting Tweets.

You have a big nose. Your butt is huge. You’re ugly. You smell.

These insults—and much worse—are popping up on the internet in “burn book” accounts that are specific to area schools and to particular students there. The burn books are creating a stir in local communities across the country.…Read More

Feds’ new anti-bullying campaign targets parents

Online and print ads will warn parents that their kids regularly encounter negative messages such as “you’re worthless” and “everybody hates you.”

Parents are urged to teach their kids to speak up if they witness school bullying in new ads that target an issue that top Obama administration officials vow to make a national priority.

A long-term campaign featuring television, print, and online ads was unveiled Aug. 6 and will start running in October. The campaign is a joint effort by the Ad Council, a nonprofit that distributes public service announcements, and the Free to Be Foundation, a group that includes entertainers Marlo Thomas, Alan Alda, and Mel Brooks.…Read More

New site offers a whole new approach to online safety

"We noticed a large gap between the belief about what people are doing online and the research showing that the majority of youth are making good choices," said a FOSI rep.

Child predators, cyber bullying, and untrustworthy teachers are just some of the internet scandals often discussed on the news concerning youth and online safety. And while programs in schools are right in teaching students about the dangers that exist online, a new website aims to promote the benefits of internet use—as well as bridge the generational gap in online use and knowledge between youth and their teachers and parents.

“Research shows that the vast majority of youth are making good choices online,” said Nancy Gifford, special projects coordinator for the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), in an interview with eSchool News. “In fact, the dangers we often hear about on the nightly news, such as sexting, cyber bullying, and predatory behavior, are not engaged in by the majority of kids.”…Read More

Biz Buzz, June 2012: A roundup of ed-tech industry news

A new cadre of “blended learning” schools is opening this fall; South Dakota districts are adopting a cyber bullying hotline to curb online harassment of students; and an Alabama principal has found a new classroom observation tool “so easy to use”…

How to expand students’ ed-tech access—and stay out of court

Cracking down on cyber bullying, searching students’ cell phones, and filtering internet access are some of the areas where educators can get into trouble if they don’t know their proper legal boundaries.

Finding the right balance between keeping students safe and letting them explore their world digitally was the focus of an April 21 session during the National School Boards Association’s 72nd annual conference, in which NSBA senior staff attorney Sonja Trainor gave advice on how school districts can open their doors to technology without getting sued.

Cracking down on cyber bullying or harassment, searching students’ cell phones or laptops, and filtering school internet access are some of the areas where educators can get into trouble if they don’t know their proper legal boundaries, Trainor said. Here’s what she had to say about each of these areas.…Read More