2009 and it is Feb already - where has the year gone. I have always tried to make the commitment to get to my blog on a regular basis, well it has been a long time and I plan to make up for it. I thought I would start today as it is Internet Safety Day. Here in Australia the day has been overshadowed a little by the terrible fires that have occurred in my home state of Victoria, with such terrible loss of life. Too be honest the day has been overshadowed by a whole range of things least not the fact that parents and teachers have very little knowledge of what our children do online nor what experiences they have had.
The issue of internet safety is a very important one and one that needs constant review and discussion. I have talked about this topic a lot over a long period of time, running a large number of sessions with schools, students, parents and teachers - from it all I am always stunned by the lack of real interest or involvement in this area. So from me I ask that today if you are a parent please take the time to sit down with your child/ren and ask what they do online, talk about being safe online and what that might look like and if they come across something that makes them uncomfortable get them to talk to you. If you are a teacher of students - set aside some time to talk about the internet and what your students do, find out if they are being smart online and making smart decision and if there parents are involved with their online life.
Do these activites just once this week and again in a couple of weeks time - if we do not make talking about online safety a priority and a part of normal life then we will have some interesting issues in the years to come.
The following links provide a little more information about the day: