By Kelly O'Connell Reporter
News 3 On Your Side
This week is crime prevention week here at WRBL News 3.News 3 On Your Side
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Stumble It!The internet is a prime place for crimes targeted against kids.
But as News Three's Kelly O'Connell shows us, schools in our area are teaching students what they need to know before they log on to keep safe.
“Hopefully starting really young teaching them these tools, rules and mannerisms, it'll just be ingrained,” says Jennifer Dempsey.
At Wrights Mill Road Elementary School in Auburn all of the students go through internet safety classes.
The school uses a program called I-Safe.
The idea is to teach students, teachers and parents about the dangers of the internet- and also how to be safe when you log in.
“What is the internet, and why should you practice safety tips when you are online,” explains Dempsey.
To teach these tips, the school uses I-Safe and an interactive website they created.
It's called Safely Surfing Cyber Space- and takes students through a number of websites and games that teach safety measures online.
“We don't want to scare anybody especially not the little children, we just want to make sure they are aware of what's going on around them, just the same as you teach kids to look both ways when they cross the street,” says Dempsey.
“You've got to follow these rules when you go on the internet, never disobey them, this will help you out,” says student Elizabeth Balch-Crystal.
One of the first lessons they learn is how to pick a user name that still keeps their identity safe.
“Au soccer cat 12, you've told someone you live in auburn or are an auburn fan, you play soccer and you're jersey number is probably 12,” says Dempsey.
The trick, keep it generic and never let people know too much about you.
The next lesson- know what kind of sites you visit and always check with your parents before logging on.
And although there are bad things online- there are a lot of good things.
The idea is not to scare kids away from the computer- in fact it's the opposite.
Dempsey wants her students to blog, email and chat but do it the right way.
“Since they are exposed to all these tools, they need to be able to use the appropriate tools and use them in a safe way,” says Dempsey.
A safe way and a fun way- which gets these kids interested in the message behind the screen.
The safety classes are not mandated by the state but all students at this school do take them.
Starting this year students in West Virginia must take an internet safety class.
It's the only state in the country to require this kind of class although many schools do offer some kind of training.
We're on your side with internet safety tips for parents.
Dempsey says computers should never be in a child's bedroom.
Keep the computer in a central location so you can see what your kids are doing at all times.
Another tip is to act fast if something inappropriate does happens, the more quickly you report it, the better.
Lastly, get to know the terms of the internet, like what blogging means, so you know what your children are talking about and doing.
The I-Safe program is free; you can download it by clicking this link.
http://www.isafe.org/
