iKeepSafe Teams up with Google to Bring Digital Literacy to the
Classroom
Announces Top 10 Internet Safety Tips for Teens in Celebration of
Internet Safety Month
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today,
the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe) is conducting it?s
fourth stop on their Digital Literacy Tour in the classrooms of
South
Chicago middle school, Dunne Technology Academy. Along with
partner
Google Inc. (GOOG), iKeepSafe is working to educate and empower
students, teachers and parents to play an active role in
encouraging
safe habits online.
?As parents and educators
struggle to be relevant in this conversation, Google is empowering
them
to engage with their teens on these topics and providing
meaningful
experiences for the teens to learn from.?
Education is the key element in iKeepSafe?s strategy to initiate a
dialogue among families about how they can stay safe online.
Working in
a broad partnership of governors, first spouses, attorneys
general,
educational professionals, law enforcement, and industry leaders,
iKeepSafe currently has a presence in 50 states and 30 countries
in an
effort to lay the groundwork for online safety education. To help
iKeepSafe reach teens directly in their learning environment,
Google
created a series of educational animated videos that are being
used in
classrooms along with a curriculum that teaches online safety
concepts
such as reputation management, avoiding cyber-scams and verifying
online
information.
?Teens are growing up in a world where their social life is
coordinated
and communicated through their interactions online,? said Marsali
Hancock, president and CEO of iKeepSafe. ?As parents and educators
struggle to be relevant in this conversation, Google is empowering
them
to engage with their teens on these topics and providing
meaningful
experiences for the teens to learn from.?
?At Google, we believe that access to information is the key to a
better
understanding of the world. With that access, however, people must
be
thoughtful about the information they share and consume online,?
said
John Burchette, senior policy council at Google. ?iKeepSafe has
established itself as one of the preemminent groups when it comes
to
understanding and advocating for online safety among children.
We?re
proud to be a part of this project.?
On their fourth stop since the Digital Literacy Tour kicked off in
December 2009, iKeepSafe and Google will continue to distribute
and make
their curriculum accessible to schools around the U.S. For more
information and educational materials, visit www.ikeepsafe.org/youtube
or www.google.com/educators/digitalliteracy.html
In celebration of Internet Safety Month, we?ve included our top
ten list
of safety tips for teens.
1. Protect and manage your online reputation. Ensure that
your
online reputation is an asset rather than a liability.
2. Read and understand a website?s privacy policy before
posting any
personal information or images. Post only information that you
are
comfortable with others seeing and knowing.
3. Protect your personal information. Keep your full name,
Social
Security number, address, phone number, and bank or credit card
account
numbers to yourself.
4. Avoid falling for online scams. Think before your click,
stay
away from pop-up contests, search for a company?s name before
disclosing
any information, and read the fine print.
5. Create screen names and passwords that don?t reveal too much
about
you. Pick passwords that no one is likely to guess.
6. Be cautious about what pictures you post /send of yourself.
7. If you are being harassed online, tell a trusted adult and
keep
telling until you find someone who takes appropriate action.
8. Don?t be a bully. If you are a bully you may get blocked
and
banned. It?s easy to forget that being mean online hurts as much
as it
does offline.
9. If you view or receive harassing or inappropriate
messages/content, block the user and flag/report the content.
10. Be ?street smart? online. The Internet is like a big
city, be
cautious while exploring the Internet and skeptical of the people
you
first meet online.
About the Internet Keep Safe Coalition
The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is a broad partnership of
governors
and/or first spouses, attorneys general, public health and
educational
professionals, law enforcement and industry leaders working
together for
the health and safety of youth online. The coalition partners
include
the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American School Counselors
Association, D.A.R.E. America, (ISC)2 and Optimist International
(for a
complete list of partners, please visit iKeepSafe.org).
The coalition provides innovative resources including parent
tutorials
and age-appropriate educational resources, including the Faux Paw
the
Techno Cat® Internet safety series of books and animated films for
children. iKeepSafe uses these unique partnerships to disseminate
the
safety resources to families worldwide, including pilot programs
launched in China, India, Australia and a new program in Egypt in
partnership with the Cyber Peace Initiative (CPI).
About Google Inc.
Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey
Brin,
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people
around the world with information every day. Google?s targeted
advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with
measurable
results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users.
Google is
headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the
Americas,
Europe and Asia.
iKeepSafe
Kim Scardino, 202-487-7552
kim@ikeepsafe.orgor
Google
Mandy
Albanese, 650-214-2620
mandys@google.comRead more