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
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