AT&T hosts a game wonderful for teaching Internet safety to students. Although the game is under the Middle School Corner, I feel this game would be more effective with late elementary students. Students are learning how to operate computers much earlier than when I was a kid. It is important to get safety skills to students early on. Also, the nature of the game would easily bore middle school students. The game, based around a Super Hero, is childish. Elementary aged children would feel comfortable learning how to stay safe on the internet while helping ‘Captain Broadband’ keep Safety Land Safe.
The game is focused on beings safe when it comes to surfing the web and chatting online. It promotes for the students to contact teachers and/or parents when a disturbing photo appears or if someone requests information over the internet. These skills will be very important to young kids more so than middle school students because the middle school students are in a ‘rebelling’ phase that might provoke them to take risks. If elementary students are equipped with these safety skills, they will be better prepared for their future on the internet, including their ‘rebelling’ phase. The students will know that the internet is a dangerous place when it comes to information and strangers and it will promote communication with teachers and parents regarding the internet.
Go here to play: http://www.att.com/Common/images/safety/game.html
Go here to play: http://www.att.com/Common/images/safety/game.html
Hi Mary this is Robert. I want to tell you that I couldn’t agree more. The sooner that students are introduced to the internet, specifically internet safety, the better. More and more these days we are hearing about internet predators and I know when I have my own classroom that internet safety will be one of the first subjects I cover when it comes to using the computer.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your review and information pertaining to Internet safety. I agree that the game should be geared toward elementary level as well. The earlier that students are given information from'Captain Broadband' the better equipped they will be to handle these sensitive issues and the vast amount of information available at their fingertips. One search engine that I learned about not to long ago is www.kidsclick.org. This site is a great tool for students to use when needing to research 'safe' Internet sites.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on this. This is definitely something that's super important and is something that needs to be incorporated into the classroom. I think that in order for the children to have experience with internet they have to practice using it.
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