June Is Internet Safety Month

It's Internet Safety Month!

Every month parents and children should be implementing their online safety skills, however we recognize that June is the month that we should take extra time to learn more about what's going on with your child's digital lives by going dark!

That's it!  Go Dark for Dinner is the campaign for June - it's all about unplugging and actually communicating.  Offline parenting is key to online safety.  It's key for your child making better online choices they are faced with daily; especially in times when you can't be there.

Think about Internet Safety Month as a time to disconnect and connect at the dinner table.  Chat about your digital lives and your offline lives.  Get to know each other -- in real life!

Summer 2015: GeckoLife For Your Family Memories

Most people, especially parents and teens, will be oversharing their summer experiences on social media.

We have become almost immune to people telling us what they are eating or even when they decide to go to the park.  Things we used to do without broadcasting to the world wide web.  Sure, we assume our privacy controls and filters are all in place - but are they truly working the way we believe they are?

Hopefully they are, but how many times have people been caught with their hand in the cookie jar (hypothetically speaking) or literally with their pants down?

We all need to be aware that your digital image today is usually the first impression people will have of you.  You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Learn more about GeckoLife - an opportunity to share safely and privately.

Bridging the Digital Divide: Students Making A Difference

When two sisters realized the difference that the Internet made in their own grandparent's lives, they knew they were on to something.

It was time to make this a community service project and get students involved.  The response was overwhelming and the seniors were excited to learn about a whole-new-world - The Internet!

They have become Cyber-Mentors to the Cyber-Seniors in their community.

These Cyber-Mentors has contests  and taught seniors how to take selfies! Students brought so much joy to these senior citizens!  One video shows a 90 year-old woman that found her home in England on Google Earth – and was brought to tears – yet another elderly woman makes the students giggle as she sings Hallelujah to YouTube for the first time.

Encourage your school to reach into your community retirement centers and open up new worlds to these wonderful seniors!  Paying it forward is a wonderful feeling!

Learn more.

Community Empowerment Series 2014

Our children are our future leaders, we have to empower them.

St. Johns County, Florida is listed as the number one school district in the state of Florida. They are also home to The Community Empowerment Series.

St. Augustine High School, on Saturday March 29th, will be the place to be!

Starting at 9:00am will be National speakers and authors that teachers, parents, students and the entire community will be learning from about topics that are important today.

These topics are:

Bullying, cyberbullying, cyber safety, stranger danger, body image and peer pressure.

This event is FREE to the public!  Online registration is now open!

It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens

By danah boyd

What is new about how teenagers communicate through services such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Do social media affect the quality of teens’ lives? In this eye-opening book, youth culture and technology expert danah boyd uncovers some of the major myths regarding teens' use of social media. She explores tropes about identity, privacy, safety, danger, and bullying. Ultimately, boyd argues that society fails young people when paternalism and protectionism hinder teenagers’ ability to become informed, thoughtful, and engaged citizens through their online interactions. Yet despite an environment of rampant fear-mongering, boyd finds that teens often find ways to engage and to develop a sense of identity.

Boyd’s conclusions are essential reading not only for parents, teachers, and others who work with teens but also for anyone interested in the impact of emerging technologies on society, culture, and commerce in years to come. Offering insights gleaned from more than a decade of original fieldwork interviewing teenagers across the United States, boyd concludes reassuringly that the kids are all right. At the same time, she acknowledges that coming to terms with life in a networked era is not easy or obvious. In a technologically mediated world, life is bound to be complicated.

Order on Amazon today!

What Are Kids (Really) Doing Online?

Do you want to know what kids are really doing online? Then you need to watch this video. Then you need to check out this website: www.cyberwise.org.

CyberWise is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art resources for BUSY grownups who want to understand how to use digital media confidently and safely.

The Challenge is On! Teen Online Safety Challenge by Microsoft

Every parent worries about their children both online and off.

Who are they talking to online?  Are they chatting with strangers?  What information are they sharing?  Does your teen or child know the boundaries?

Let’s face it, you can never be safe enough or secure enough–there is always something new to learn!
Encourage your teens to participate in The Safer Online Teen Challenge by Microsoft!

The Challenge is an interactive contest where teens can teach others how to manage their digital lifestyle by creating a song, video, skit or other original work. It’s a perfect way for teens to put their own spin on how they navigate digital safety.

Here’s how it works:

• Teens ages 13 to 18 (where applicable), select an online safety topic from either the Microsoft Safety & Security Center or the “Resources” tab of the Safer Online by Microsoft Facebook page.
• They create their work of art (using one of Microsoft’s five categories: skit/presentation, video, story/cartoon, song, survey) and submit their entry by April 12 on the Challenge website.
• Then, Microsoft’s Safer Online Facebook fans will vote to select the winners of each category. Microsoft will post the winning entries on their website and the winners will receive prizes like tablets, gaming systems and more.

Check out the prizes!

PureSight Online Safety

What a fabulous website and resource to educate parents and youth about Internet safety!

PureSight:

Online Child and Youth Safety - the internet can be a dangerous place! Protect your kids from cyberbullying, sexting and other online dangers.

PureSight Technologies Ltd. was established in 1998 with the mission of providing a safe online environment for the world’s children. We aim to help parents protect their children in this world of technology by becoming involved in their online lives. We believe this involves education and information as well as software tools. 

Visit PureSight at http://www.puresight.com/ and join them on Facebook.

PureSight Owl provides the best available protection for your children from the possible hazards of Facebook, Instant Messaging and chat programs, first and foremost - the threat of cyberbullies. Our multi-layered approach provides the first evasion-proof, truly effective Social Networking protection!

Safety on Facebook:

PureSight helps you identify any suspicious contacts your kids may be associating with on Facebook, so you can protect your child from potential cyberbullies BEFORE they get a chance to harm your child! 

And much more..... click here.

Data Privacy Day 2013

Data Privacy Day is held on January 28th every year. It is an effort to empower people to protect their privacy and control their digital footprint and escalate the protection of privacy and data as everyone’s priority. 

Most of our kids and teens are on social networking sites.

Talk to them about securing their privacy settings weekly as well as the following tips from StaySafeOnline.org:

Social Networking and Privacy

• How to Update Your Facebook Privacy Settings offered by HowStuffWorks.com
• Recommended Facebook Privacy Settings for Teens from Connect Safely.
• Tips and questions you should ask to help protect you when using social networking sites provided by the National Cyber Security Alliance.
• Learn about Facebook’s Data Use Policy and view interactive tools and other resources.

 Follow Data Privacy Day on Twitter with hashtag #DPD13.

Microsoft: Always Putting Safety First!

Encourage your teens to participate in the Safer Online Teen Challenge!

Exactly how much do your teens know about Internet safety?  Let's find out and they could win big!

Every parent worries about their children both online and off.

Who are they talking to online?  Are they chatting with strangers?  What information are they sharing?  Does your teen or child know the boundaries?

Let’s face it, you can never be safe enough or secure enough–there is always something new to learn!
Encourage your teens to participate in The Safer Online Teen Challenge by Microsoft!

The Challenge is an interactive contest where teens can teach others how to manage their digital lifestyle by creating a song, video, skit or other original work. It’s a perfect way for teens to put their own spin on how they navigate digital safety.

Here’s how it works:

• Teens ages 13 to 18 (where applicable), select an online safety topic from either the Microsoft Safety & Security Center or the “Resources” tab of the Safer Online by Microsoft Facebook page.
• They create their work of art (using one of Microsoft’s five categories: skit/presentation, video, story/cartoon, song, survey) and submit their entry by April 12 on the Challenge website.
• Then, Microsoft’s Safer Online Facebook fans will vote to select the winners of each category. Microsoft will post the winning entries on their website and the winners will receive prizes like tablets, gaming systems and more.

Check out the prizes!  Follow the Microsoft Safety Team on Twitter!

You have the opportunity to win cool prizes! One first and one second prize will be awarded in each category.

A Platform for Good

A Platform for Good (PFG) is a project of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) designed to help parents, teachers and teens to connect, share, and do good online! 

At FOSI we work with leaders in the field of online safety and, regularly, we hear about incredible stories and exciting opportunities in our digital world. We hear stories of parents, teens, and teachers using technology to raise social awareness, encourage activism, enhance our education system, and of course, have fun!

What we have noticed, however, is that the stories reported in the news and infusing public conversation are focused heavily on the negative notions that don't support the research that says the majority of people's online experiences are positive. Given this climate, it is our hope that PFG will create a place to have a more balanced discussion about the role digital technology can play in our lives.

Our vision for A Platform for Good is to start a dialogue about what it means to participate responsibly in a digital world. While recognizing the potential risks, we will celebrate technology as a vehicle for opportunity and social change.  We hope to achieve this goal by providing parents and teachers with the resources to learn about and interact with new technologies, and by giving teens the ability to engage and teach their peers, family members and educators. Through this approach, we hope to encourage good digital citizenship, responsible online behavior, and the use of technology for positive change and making a difference.

Visit http://www.aplatformforgood.org/ - Follow them on Twitter and join them on Facebook for more educational and valuable resources. 

Keepin' It Private

Keepin' It Private is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to protecting the privacy of minors by producing innovative and fun-to-watch content distributed through various media, teaching tweens and teens how to safely navigate the vast expanse of their ever-growing technological network.

Nothing is more precious than our children. At Keepin' It Private, in a world where technology brings to our fingertips new and exciting ways in which to connect with others, whether it's across the street or across the globe, we strive to reach out to, encourage and empower kids to network responsibly prior to forming habits that may breach or compromise their personal information or well-being. 

Join them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Kids Privacy

About Kids Privacy:

Most kids have never met their digital me. They join networks and adopt gadgets with ease not realizing that all their interactions are generating data. Online, shared photos, videos and comments may also be seen by colleges, employers, parents, teachers, coaches and advertisers. Their digital me contains all this information, the good and the bad, and it exists forever.

Although kids adopt new technology with ease, they still need us to point them in the right direction. Kids need to understand how to share the right information with the right people. As a mother of 3, I realize how hard it is to keep up with all the ways our kids interact online and all the different settings and controls available. That is where, I hope, Kids Privacy can step in. This is a blog by a parent for parents.  Here, parents can find information and resources about how to teach kids to share smart and build a positive Digital Me.

Learn more - visit www.kidsprivacy.net.  Follow KidsPrivacy on Twitter.

Raising Cyberethical Kids: How a Family Acceptable Use Policy Can Help

Order today!

By Frederick S. Lane

In an era when 2-year-olds routinely use iPads and nearly every high school student carries a cell phone, the need to teach our children cyberethics has never been greater. In "Raising Cyberethical Kids," author and attorney Frederick S. Lane explains how a Family Acceptable Use Policy can reinforce your household values and educate your children on how to avoid the risks of online misbehavior.

As virtually every parent realizes, the combination of electronic devices and the Internet has proven nearly irresistible to children of every age. Increasingly, however, parents are wakening to the fact that those same wonderful resources can pose significant risks to the academic and professional careers of their children. In some extreme instances, online misbehavior can even result in civil litigation or criminal prosecution.

Raising Cyberethical Kids will be available from other major outlets (Amazon, B&N, Sony, etc.) in the next two weeks. If you can't wait - you can download it for only $4.99.  Click here!

lol....OMG!: What Every Student Needs to Know About Online Reputation Management, Digital Citizenship and Cyberbullying

By Matt Ivester

The ease with which digital content can be shared online, in addition to its many benefits, has created a host of problems for today’s high school and college students. All too often, students are uploading, updating, posting and publishing without giving a second thought to who might see their content or how it might be perceived.

lol…OMG! provides a cautionary look at the many ways that today’s students are experiencing the unanticipated negative consequences of their digital decisions – from lost job opportunities and denied college and graduate school admissions to full-blown national scandals.

It also examines how technology is allowing students to bully one another in new and disturbing ways, and why students are often crueler online than in person. By using real-life case studies and offering actionable strategies and best practices, this book empowers students to clean up and maintain a positive online presence, and to become responsible digital citizens.

Order today on Amazon!

Cybertraps for the Young

Order today!

By Frederick S. Lane

We teach knife and appliance safety in home economics; we teach gun safety as a prerequisite for a hunting license; auto safety in driver’s education; and the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies in sex ed. The Internet’s potential for misuse, whether through a computer or a mobile phone, is at least as profound as a chef’s knife, a Camaro, or a .22, but our efforts to educate children about Internet safety are far more sporadic and less thorough.

Approaching the risks for children on the Internet in a thought-provoking and intellectual manner, this study skillfully integrates contemporary news reports and disturbing legal cases to show how Facebook and other ready-made forums for information exchange are breaking down boundaries of privacy and facilitating a growing number of criminal convictions for cyberbullying, child pornography, hacking, and copyright infringement.

Also included is a discussion of how the widespread use of camera phones, mobile tablets, and social media sites has given rise to a new and dangerous practice among teens: sexting. This reference provides parents with an authoritative lesson in cyberethics and practical instructions for instituting household internet policies, as well as school officials and communities with lessons on how to educate children about the responsible use of emerging mobile technologies.

Order on Amazon today and learn more here.

Digital Shepherds: Insuring you and your family's safety online

Founded in 2009, Digital Shepherds is an organization whose focus is instructing and educating parents, through workshops and seminars, webinar/distance learning and direct dvd sales, on how to “techno-proof” their homes when their children are young and ultimately help cultivate trust and digital literacy in the household as the young ones mature and the digital lifestyle becomes more a part of their lives.

Join them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for the most up-to-date information about online safety and education.

One of their important articles is:

5 Tips For A Digital Drama Free School Year

Click here for the tips.

Protect Children Online

Do you know how to protect your children from online predators?

Do you when your child is being cyberbullied?

Do you know how to set your parental controls?

There are so many new challenges to parenting and technology is probably one of the biggest with today's generation of children.

www.ProtectChildrenOnline.org is dedicated to your family's cyber-safety.

Bill Latchford created the site, www.protectchildrenonline.org to help raise awareness of the rising threats that The Internet and Technology itself can pose to our children.

Follow him on Twitter and join him on Facebook!

Public and Permanent: The Golden Rule of the 21st Century: Straight Talk About Digital Safety

Order today!

Public and Permanent: The Golden Rule of the 21st Century: Straight Talk About Digital Safety -The Real Consequences of Digital Abuse 

By Richard Guerry

Public and Permanent is the first book to boldly address the very dark areas of the digital world and shows how all digital citizens can avoid becoming victims of any cybercrime. It offers a raw and uncensored glimpse into the digital black market and sheds light on the terrifying reality that digital citizens are often the victim of cyber crime because their friends, family and neighbors hand-deliver their private content to criminals. This eye-opening book provides an unprecedented approach that prevents all digital issues in a rapidly evolving digital world ─ protecting you and your family from making life and legacy altering mistakes. 

Public and Permanent is a life changing  philosophical guide based on the award winning and nationally acclaimed, "Course to Digital Consciousness™  Live Event.   The information in this empowering book ─ and workbook ─ is knowledge that all users of digital technology must know as citizens of a rapidly evolving digital village. This information will help to protect you and your family from making life and legacy altering mistakes. 

Order on Amazon today.

Learn more about the author and the book here.

The Golden Rule of the 21st Century

Book review written by Mary Kay Hoal founder of YourSphere for Parents:

Order today.

Richard Guerry’s Public and Permanent: The Golden Rule of the 21^st Century: Straight Talk About Digital Safety: The Real Consequences of Digital Abuse isn’t just an educational resource for parents and teens, it’s an eye-opening analysis of what really drives the Internet safety issues we see today in digital communication and social networking.


The educational aspect aside, what makes Richard’s book so valuable is in the way it’s laid out for readers. Richard takes a very linear approach in explaining issues like Internet privacy and anonymity, viruses and spyware, personal and corporate responsibility, cyberbullying, sexting and much more.

Excerpt:

So who is to blame for the myth of privacy in the digital world?

[…]I believe that website developers need to assume some responsibility for the way in which they are marketing Internet privacy to their consumers. However, when people post information that they don’t want the world to see on a third-party site, such as Facebook, should Facebook be held accountable if a criminal see—and perhaps uses—that content? Absolutely not—the person who posted the information should be!

No current or future website can:

• Make anyone use their site
• Make anyone type in personal information
• Make anyone upload a picture to their platform
• Make anyone harass somebody via their messaging systems

But a website can make us believe that our actions are “private”—and that is where they seem to be incurring some responsibility and liability. (pg 40-41)

Throughout the book, Richard challenges readers to make their online experiences safer for themselves by taking personal responsibility for the choices they make, as well as understanding the consequences for making said choice. This is a huge, and often times overlooked, aspect of digital safety awareness, and Richard delves deep into the reasons why this deserves more public attention.

My personal experience with Richard has been nothing but inspiring. I’ve seen him give digital safety presentations in schools close to where I live, and I’ve seen the connection that he has with kids and how they soak in his information like a sponge. I’ve seen parents come up to him and thank him, not only for the education, but for the meaningful, yet simple, messaging that he passes onto their kids.

I highly recommend that all parents read Richard’s book. The information you’ll walk away with will open opportunities to have an educated discussion with your kids/teens about digital safety and responsibility. I bought the book myself, read it, loved it, and have since handed it over to my oldest daughter. You can buy the book here.

Mary Kay Hoal is an Internet Safety Expert that I highly respect and recommend to parents regularly.  Yoursphere is a social networking site for kids - where their safety is their priority.