A student posted their phone number online, alarming parents and teachers. This has sparked discussions around internet safety and who is responsible for educating students. School districts have policies in place and provide internet safety resources to parents and students. Teachers are incorporating safety lessons into their curriculum using websites designed for different age groups. Parents and educators must work together to protect students of all ages as technology becomes more prevalent.

1. BREAKING NEWS
STUDENT POSTS
PHONE NUMBER
ON INTERNET
PARENTS APPALLED
TEACHERS TO BLAME
By Quenna Beston, Darci Bratsch,
Jordan Hinkle, and Kya Range

2. PARENTS AND EDUCATORS ASK
“WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?”
“Where is the line
drawn between
parents educating
their children about
Internet safety and
teachers discussing
the issue with them?”
“Does the school
incorporate
an Internet safety
lesson into
courses?”
“What do students
already know about
Internet safety?”
“After an Internet safety
course, do students
have a better
understanding of what
to post and what not to
post?”
“How do we
stress the
importance of
Internet safety?”
“How do we prevent
students from posting
personal information
that they want to
share?”

3. WHAT ARE SCHOOL DISTRICTS
DOING ABOUT IT?
ON A COLLEGE LEVEL, ACCEPTIBLE USE
POLICIES ARE IN PLACE.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO HAVE
CODES OF STUDENT CONDUCT AND COMPUTER USE
AGREEMENTS. PARENTS AND STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS
TO INTERNET SAFETY SITES.
FARGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE PILOTING THE USE
OF COMPUTER TABLETS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
CLASSROOMS TO SEE IF STUDENTS ARE
RESPONSIBLE WITH THEIR INTERNET USE.
VERNDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL IN MINNESOTA REQUIRES ALL 9TH AND
10TH GRADE STUDENTS USING AN IPAD (PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL)
TO SIGN AN INTERNET AGREEMENT FORM. PARENTS ARE PROVIDED
INFORMATION ON WHERE THEY CAN FIND INTERNET SAFETY
ADVICE.

4. ALL STUDENTS NEED TO BE
AWARE
WHETHER THEY ARE IN
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MIDDLE SCHOOL
HIGH SCHOOL OR
COLLEGE
EVERY STUDENT NEEDS TO KNOW
ABOUT INTERNET SAFETY

5. WHAT TEACHERS ARE DOING IN
ELEMENTARY SETTINGS
With Internet awareness rising in the elementary
schools, teachers are looking to videos,
websites, and lesson plans that discuss Internet
safety for young children.
They are using children’s websites to introduce the topic:
• http://www.brainpopjr.com/artsandtechnology/technology/internetsaf
ety/
• http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listinternetne.html
They are using websites designed for teachers to incorporate
Internet safety into lesson plans:
• http://www.edutopia.org/blog/internet-safety-younger-elementary-
mary-beth-hertz
• http://www.kgcs.k12.va.us/kges/isafe_resources_k_12.htm

6. HOW DO PARENTS AND EDUCATORS
PROTECT MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS?
With technology becoming more available to young adults, more
discussion about digital citizenry is needed. Who’s responsible?
In some schools, teachers are required to go
through certain lessons on using technology,
including citing sources, cyber bullying, identifying
high-quality sites, etc. These lessons are taken
from the Common Sense Media website that
includes great resources to start conversations
between educators and students. In order for these
lessons to work, parents need to become involved
in their child’s education and hold just as much
responsibility with proper use of the technology as
the students. In fact, parents have to sign the same
contract as the students before the student is
allowed to access the technology. Digital citizenship
lessons are conversation starters for parents at
home, as well as in the classroom.
Parents and educators
are using helpful
websites to introduce
digital citizenry:
•http://www.commonsense
media.org/educators/curricu
lum
•www.networkworld.com

7. KEEPING HIGH SCHOOLERS SAFE
The older students become, the more interested they are
in social networking and sharing personal information.
How do parents and teachers educate high school teens
about keeping pictures, email, phone numbers, and even
a home address safe?
Parents are using websites that discuss how they
can be involved in their children’s social networking
lives in order to protect their security. These sites
also provide detailed information on how to better
educate children about the positives and negatives
of social networking as a popular form of
communication:
•http://www.minormonitor.com/about/
There are many positives that can come about while using social networking
as long as it is done the right way. Providing personal information like a
phone number only opens the door for strangers to get close to young
people.

8. WHERE CAN PARENTS AND
TEACHERS FIND MORE
INFORMATION ABOUT INTERNET
SAFETY?
• School committees
• Other school
districts’ policies
and action plans
• The Internet
• Parents
• Principals and
district leaders

9. RESOURCES
Bonneville Joint School District No. 93. (2013). Code of Student Conduct. Retrieved from
http://www3.d93.k12.id.us/media/142468/code%20of%20student%20conduct-parent-student.pdf
Bonneville Joint School District No. 93. (2013). Computer Use Agreement. Retrieved from
http://www3.d93.k12.id.us/media/42287/3270f.pdf
Bonneville Joint School District No. 93. (2013). Internet Safety. Retrieved from
http://www.d93schools.org/pages/Bonneville/Technology/Internet_Safety
Common Sense Media. (2013). K-12 digital literacy & citizenship curriculum. Retrieved from
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum
Gibbs, M. (2010, October). Digital citizenship. Network World. Retrieved from www.networkworld.com
Hertz, M. (2012, June 4). How to Teach Internet Safety to Younger Elementary Students. Retrieved from
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/internet-safety-younger-elementary-mary-beth-hertz
iLearn Project. (2013) Middle School Students on Computers. Retrieved from http://ilearnproject.com/online-learning/chapter-4-blended-
learning/middle-school-students-on-computers-2/
Innovative Speech Therapy. (2013) Retrieved from http://www.innovativespeech.com/therapy
Macdonough School. (2010, April 9). Retrieved from http://macdonoughschool.blogspot.com/2010/04/macdonough-pta-meeting.html
Minor Monitor. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.minormonitor.com/about/
Net Safety Advocates. (2013, August 23.) Internet Safety in the Elementary Years. Retrieved from
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listinternetne.html) Common Sense Media. (2013). K-12 digital literacy & citizenship
curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum
Ohler, J. (2012). Digital citizenship means character education for the digital age. Education Digest, 77(8), 14-17.
Power Point Clipart. (2013).
PR Web. (2012) Retrieved from http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2012/05/04/9476303/DigitalEntertainment02.jpg
Schmidt, H. (2013, September 9). Wired students test trust. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, p. A1.
School information: Verndale public school secondary handbook. (2013, September 17). Retrieved from
http://www.verndale.k12.mn.us/education/components/docmgr/default.php?sectiondetailid=64&fileitem=2541&catfilter=68