Protecting our students on the

World Wide Web

By: Elissa Malespina CHS Librarian

Agenda

• Potential Dangers

• Predators

• Cyberbullying

• MySpace

• What to do

Potential Dangers

HOW SAFE ARE THEY?

Cell Phone Dangers

• Text Messaging – difficult to monitor, can not tell who is doing the texting.

• Camera & Video on cell phone – taking inappropriate pictures, invasion of privacy, rapid and easy transfer of picture/video.

• Using cell phones to cheat on tests.

IM Dangers

• No age verification

• Can use webcam /voice/ and transfer files

• No body language cues to help kids see how a person feels/reacts to what is said.

• AOL, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, MSN live - all instant messaging sites.

Chat Room Dangers

• Chat = conference call

• Many people in a room at once

• Usually thematic

• No age verification

• Predators lurk in chat sites

Would you stand in a mall, spin around and say who wants to talk with me?

Hockey Chat

Tommy: "Hi, any NJ Devils fans out there?"

Curt: "Devils suck, Rangers Rule?"

JB: "Devils - 1995 Stanley Cup Champions!"

TZinVa: "Go Devils - Brodeur for President."

JB: "Tommy, you go to the games?"

Tommy: "I wish; I live too far away."

JB: "Where?"

Tommy: "Toms River"

TZinVA: "That's only 1.5 hours, why don't you drive there?"

JB: "Cool, that's near Seaside"

Tommy: "I'm only 11, I don't drive and my Dad hates hockey."

X Box Live

• Live chat among Xbox users

• Voice synthesizer feature makes it hard to know who you are talking to

• Predators use it to make contact

• Difficult for law enforcement to trace.

PREDATORS (In their own words)

Behavioral Traits of Predators

• Generally more intelligent than other criminals: Doctor, Engineers, Lawyers, College Professors.

• Often meek & mild

• Need driven behavior (can’t help themselves)

• Master manipulators

• Passive-Aggressive Personality

• Almost always male

Victims haveself-esteem issues

Cyberbullying

• Definition:

Sending or posting threatening or harassing text or images using the Internet or other digital communication devices.

• Modes of cyberbullying:

email, websites, blogs, IM, chat rooms, cell phone.

Cyberbullying – three parts

• Bullies : Those who harass & demean

others, especially those they think are

different inferior.

• Victims: Those who get bullied.

• Bystanders : Those who encourage &

support the bully, or watch the bullying from

the sidelines and do nothing to help.

Forms of Cyberbullying

• Flaming – Online fights using electronic messaging

• Harassment – repeatedly sending messages• Dissing – sending/posting gossip• Impersonation – being someone else• Outing – sharing secrets or embarrassing info/

images• Exclusion – intentionally & cruelly excluding

others

Problems with the laws

• Right now the laws are set up in such a way that cyberbullying is considered harassment .

• Police can not get a can’t really get involved.

• 13 year old from Vermont committed suicide

• After being bullied at school he turned to the Internet where he met other suicidal teens

• Parents helped to create new laws on bullying in Vermont

www.ryanpatrickhalligan.com

PRIVATE

What

should a

parent / teacher do?

Classroom Protocol

• If something happens on one of the computers in the classroom/lab

DO NOT TOUCH IT! DO NOT TURN IT OFF, DO NOT LET ANYONE TOUCH IT.

• Call the deans / who may contact police.

Get Informed

• Google yourself

• Create a Myspace Page (do not put anything on it)

• Talk with your students about internet safety

Helpful WebsitesFBI – Cyber crimes – submit a crime tip

http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/cyberhome.htm

 

New Jersey State Police – Cyber Crimes Unit

http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/divorg/invest/cyber-crimes-unit.html

 

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children – CyberTipline  (the 911 of the Internet)

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=2936

 

NetSmartz411 – Internet Safety Help Desk

http://www.netsmartz411.org/

QUESTIONS