The Internet Proficiency Scheme

Transcription

Teachers’ Guide
Introduction
1
The Internet Proficiency Scheme
3
Why have an Internet Proficiency Scheme?
How to use this pack
Involving parents
2
Implementing the Internet Proficiency Scheme
7
Profiling pupils
3
The benefits and risks of new technologies
11
Learning benefits from using ICT
The risks
Strategies for keeping children safe
The future
4
Understanding the technologies
16
The Internet
E-mail
Chat
Instant messaging
SMS
MMS
Lesson plans using the technologies
31
Lesson 1 – Using technology to communicate
Lesson 2 – Introducing the Cybercafé web site
Lesson 3 – Communication and information
Lesson 4 – Using e-mail safely
Lesson 5 – Responsible use of the Internet
Lesson 6 – Chatting with care
Lesson 7 – Using text and picture messaging
Lesson 8 - Behaving responsibly
Extension/refresher activities
1
Introduction
The Internet Proficiency Scheme is designed to help
Key Stage 2 pupils learn how to use the Internet
and other technologies safely and responsibly.
The aims of the scheme are to:
• develop a set of ‘safe and discriminating behaviours’ for pupils to adopt when using the
Internet and other technologies
• provide teachers with easily accessible support materials to help develop safe and
discriminating behaviours when pupils are using the Internet and other technologies
• offer pupils a set of activities that allow them to demonstrate what they know and
understand about using communication technologies
• ensure that the safe and discriminating behaviours will be directly related to the skills,
knowledge and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum and schemes of
work for ICT and Citizenship, and the guidance for PSHE at Key Stage 2
• support teachers’ own professional development through the information and guidance
contained within this pack.
The scheme consists of this teacher’s pack and a supporting web site. The pack contains
important information for implementing the Internet Proficiency Scheme, including methods
of working and integration with the curriculum. You will need to familiarise yourself with
much of the teacher’s notes before embarking on the lesson plans and activities.
Cybercafé, the accompanying web site (http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe), allows pupils to
demonstrate what they have learnt about safe and discriminating behaviours in an interactive
and supportive environment. The site also contains an on-line audit of pupils’ Internet
proficiency skills, which will help you to group pupils according to their ICT experience.
The Cybercafé materials can be used as a whole-class teaching resource
or as an ICT activity at school or in the home. There is also a teachers’
area of the Cybercafé web site, which provides additional advice and
resources for teachers (http://www.Gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers).
You can find details on how to use the pack on page 5.
3
1 – The Internet Proficiency Scheme
Why have an Internet Proficiency Scheme?
The Internet and other digital information technologies are powerful tools, which open up new
prospects for communication and collaboration. Education is embracing these new
technologies as they bring with them fresh opportunities for both teachers and learners.
However, alongside the new technologies is a need for new skills to be learnt and applied in
the classroom and beyond. While these technologies can have a positive effect, pupils need
to be taught about their appropriate and effective use.
Government investment in Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) from 1998 to
2002 has been £1,835 million for primary,
secondary and special schools for teaching, learning
and administration. The ratios of computers to
pupils have been increasing year on year since
1998: in 1998, there was one computer for every
1
17.6 primary pupils, now there is one for 9.7 .
This huge investment reflects the need for ICT to
be embedded into teaching and learning. However,
the Internet is by nature ‘open’. Open to all, at all
times, unregulated and unpoliced. This is an
attractive prospect, especially for educationalists
who are able to allow pupils to research, explore
and create. Unfortunately, this attractive prospect
exists also for those wanting to take advantage of
young and vulnerable people.
The pace of technological change – in schools as
elsewhere – has been so fast that there is little
material available for teachers to use in the
classroom to teach pupils how to employ safe and
discriminating behaviours when using the Internet
and other technologies. The Department for
Education and Skills (DfES) and Becta have been
providing advice to schools through the
Superhighway Safety pack and web site since
1998 (http://safety.ngfl.gov.uk/schools). This pack
and the Internet Proficiency Scheme aim to
support teachers in this area, by providing practical
advice on the teaching and learning of Internet
safety in the classroom for Key Stage 2 pupils.
Schools are relatively ‘safe areas’ for pupils to use
ICT. They are likely to have filtering and/or monitoring
software, an acceptable use policy that teachers,
pupils and parents sign up to, classroom
supervision, a firewall and perhaps even a ‘walled
garden’ of web sites that pupils can access. In
contrast, pupils’ access to the Internet at home may
be lacking in all these safety mechanisms. At most,
there may be some sort of filtering product that is
offered by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or
software developer. If the role of school is to prepare
young people for the wider world, then schools
ought to be teaching them how to behave safely and
appropriately on line – wherever they may be.
1
DfES Statistics of Education: Survey of Information and Communications Technology in Schools, 2002
(http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/DB/SBU/b0360/sb07-2002.pdf])
4
How to use this pack
The pack comprises background information for teachers, lesson plans with supporting
materials, worksheets for pupils, certificates for schools and pupils, and details of the
Cybercafé web site (http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe). The activities are intended to be
carried out alongside those on the Cybercafé web site.
While the Scheme is designed to be taught at
Key Stage 2, the activities are particularly
suitable for pupils aged 9 to 11. Pupils in this
age group will be more familiar with the
technologies and will have greater awareness of,
and ability to debate, the issues.
The scheme is taught using a variety of methods
including whole class teaching, pairs, small
group and plenary sessions. Before commencing
the scheme, it is worth while profiling pupils to
determine their level of ICT experience, their
exposure to Internet safety advice, and their level
of engagement in on-line behaviour which could
be deemed ‘risky’. This profiling exercise is key
to the success of the scheme, and further details
and resources are included in Section 2.
Pupils are encouraged to talk about the issues
raised by the Scheme, and findings are recorded
for whole-class discussion. Once all the activities
have been completed the pupils have the
opportunity to demonstrate their learning
through an on-line quiz and an end-of-unit task.
Once pupils have completed the classroom
activities, interactive on-line activities and the
on-line quiz, they should be awarded a
certificate. A photocopy master of this is
contained in the pack.
Internet safety should not be seen as an
exclusive ICT issue. The pack suggests that you
may want to tie this in with other areas of the
curriculum, namely Citizenship and PSHE.
Children should be taught that how they behave
in the ‘on-line’ world should be the same as the
'off-line' world. Therefore teaching this issue
across subjects can reinforce this message.
The Internet Proficiency Scheme was piloted in
schools during the summer of 2002, and teachers
used the materials in a variety of ways. Colette
Cotton, of St Mary’s CE Primary School,
Folkestone, introduced Internet safety lessons in
different ways depending on the age of the pupils.
She sometimes discussed issues with them
before going into the computer suite. Other times,
she would use one computer in the suite to
demonstrate a particular web site to the pupils, so
that they could see what they would be doing as
part of the lesson. Her groups concentrated on
Internet safety for two sessions per week. Colette
linked this work to PSHE, but had she been using
the scheme over an academic year, she would
have linked it to other parts of the curriculum as
well. “I would plan it in with the general timetable
for the year. I might use some of the activities in
PSHE, and others in the ICT lesson.”
Karl Hopwood, of Greystoke School in Cumbria
linked Internet safety issues to activities going on
in the school, such as police visits to talk to
children on the subject of ‘stranger danger’. He
also introduced Internet safety as part of the
topic of communications and conversations in
literacy. In Four Elms Primary School, June
Cooke taught 26 Year 5 and Year 6 pupils about
Internet safety as part of a special curriculum
week. “We did a little bit every day. We worked
on the Cybercafé web site throughout the day,
and occasionally through lunchtime, with pupils
taking it in turns to work individually on the
computer”. June taught Internet safety as well as
the units of work for drug and sex education,
citizenship and PSHE: “I could also fit it in with
the literacy hour, as part of speaking and
listening, and the drama workshop.”
5
1 – The Internet Proficiency Scheme
Involving parents
It is important that the ‘safe and discriminating behaviours’ taught as part of this scheme are
adopted by pupils whenever they are using the Internet and other technologies, not just in the
school environment. Parental involvement can help reinforce the messages of this scheme,
and extend the learning process into the home environment.
In addition to individual pupil certificates, a school
certificate is also enclosed in the pack. This is to
demonstrate to parents and others that the school
is involved in the scheme. You may also want to
make parents aware that your school is
participating in the scheme by making reference to
it in the schools’ parental Internet permission form
or by mentioning it in your school’s Acceptable
Internet Use Policy.
Additionally, the teachers’ area of the Cybercafé
web site (http://www.gridclub.com/
cybercafe/teachers) provides a presentation that
outlines the issues associated with ICT use and
highlights how they are tackled through the Internet
Proficiency Scheme. Schools may wish to present
this at a parents’ evening or hold a specific event on
ICT awareness.
Involving parents was seen as essential in the pilot
schools. Most schools wrote a letter to parents to
let them know about the Internet Proficiency
scheme. For example, Colette Cotton says, “I
asked the children what they would do if they saw
something on the Internet at home. They said they
would tell their parents, but would parents
necessarily know what to do? You’ve got to make
parents aware of the need to have filtered sites at
home, because I’m quite sure that many parents
are not aware of the problems.”
In some respects, the pupils who need to develop
awareness of safe practice with the technologies
are more aware of the possible dangers than their
parents. Taking part in the scheme will not only
reinforce their awareness but also help them to
develop safety-conscious behaviours. As one of
the pilot school teachers remarked, “The Internet
Proficiency Scheme has had a huge impact on
pupils, as we hadn’t broached the subject before.
6
Pupils are now discussing safety with their
teachers, who encourage them in that discussion
without being judgemental.”
2 – Implementing the
Internet Proficiency Scheme
The QCA Schemes of Work for ICT include two units which use some of the technologies.
These are Unit 3E – E-mail, and Unit 6D – Using the Internet for Research. These units provide
a useful starting point for implementation of the scheme and it is suggested that pupils have
had opportunities to use these technologies before they start the IP scheme.
There are eight lessons in this scheme plus extension or refresher activities. The first three lessons
focus on generic safety messages which can be applied across the technologies. Lessons 4 to 7
are focused on individual technologies and the issues relating to their use. Lesson 8 seeks to pull
together what pupils have learnt and draws out the types of behaviours that could be adopted.
You may feel that, through constraints of time, pupils will not be able to complete the whole
proficiency scheme. In this case, you may well select lessons which cover those technologies
which pupils are most likely to use, or with which they may be most at risk. It’s important,
however, to be aware that although pupils’ access to certain technologies may be limited at
school, they may have unlimited access in the home. An audit of Internet safety practices in
schools, for example, which was conducted in June 2002 by Loughborough University,
showed that only 5 per cent of schools allowed the use of on-line chat – but recent statistics
show that 1 in 10 children between the ages of 7 and 12 use on-line chat elsewhere. While
parents and carers naturally have responsibility for how children access technologies at home,
you may feel that it is important for schools to address these issues too, so that children learn
safe behaviours in all environments.
Profiling pupils
During the pilot phase of this scheme, three groups
of pupils were identified. These groups were based
upon the level of ICT experience of pupils, their
exposure to Internet safety advice and the degree
to which they engaged in ‘risky’ on-line behaviour.
Depending on the type of communication being
studied or used, pupils could be assigned to
different groups. For example, pupils with a high
level of experience in using the Internet and risky
behaviours may be less experienced and
adventurous when confronted with a chat situation.
exposure to Internet safety advice, and moderate
ICT skills. This group of children can be considered
as having a moderate skill and knowledge base.
Children generally fall into one of three broad
categories:
• Group A pupils need the teacher to model the
experiences and activities and provide
appropriate prompts
• Group B pupils benefit most from resourcebased learning to help them to develop
information literacy skills and independent
learning skills
• Group C pupils need to develop their abilities to
reflect and apply their thinking to new situations.
Group A: Those with low levels of experience of
using the Internet, low levels of prior exposure to
Internet safety advice, and poor ICT skills. This
group of children generally require guided learning.
Group B: Those with moderate levels of experience
of using the Internet, moderate levels of prior
Group C: Children with high levels of experience of
using the Internet, high levels of prior exposure to
Internet safety advice, and good ICT skills. This
group of children generally has a good skill and
knowledge base.
During the pilot phase of these materials, it was
found that to derive maximum benefit:
7
2 – Implementing the Internet Proficiency Scheme
The lesson plans in this scheme try to build on
these suggestions and lessons have been
differentiated into groups A, B and C.
To help group the children into the above
categories, we have developed an on-line auditing
tool on the teachers’ area of the Cybercafé web
site. This asks pupils a series of simple questions
which are submitted to the site and the teacher
receives a list of pupils grouped into either A, B or
C. We strongly recommend that you make use of
the on-line audit, as it will help pupils to get the
best out of the scheme.
If you are unable to make use of the auditing tool,
then Group A children can generally be viewed as
those at the lower end of the spectrum, who may
need additional support from teachers, classroom
assistants or other pupils. Group B children are
the ‘middle band’ and these children will probably
make up the majority of the class. Group C
children are at the top end of the spectrum and
could be used to support pupils who are in Group
A. It is important to remember that these groupings
are in relation to the three areas outlined above
and may not reflect academic achievement in other
areas or subjects.
Some pupils will have little or no experience of
using some of the technologies. If this is the case,
these pupils will need opportunities to have some
hands-on experience if they are to understand and
gain benefit from this scheme.
Resources
There are a range of resources which can be used
in the lessons. Prompt sheets and pupils’
worksheets are included as photocopiable printouts in this pack, and can also be downloaded
from the teachers’ area of the Cybercafé site
(http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers). In
either case, you may wish to modify the examples
provided to suit your own pupils.
Presentations which can be used to deliver the
lessons, can also be downloaded from the
teachers’ area of the Cybercafé site.
8
Methods of working
The scheme is designed to be taught using a
variety of working methods, and these are
highlighted in the lesson plans. Most lessons begin
with whole-class sessions, followed by pupils
working in pairs or small groups. Group
discussions in plenary sessions are encouraged to
allow pupils to feed back their findings, talk about
their experiences and decide collectively on safe
and appropriate behaviours. Exercises can be
tailored to fit available resources, and suggestions
are made for homework or follow-up activities.
Duration
This scheme can be taught in two ways:
• As a continuous unit throughout Key Stage 2 (or
more likely through Years 4, 5 and 6)
• As a discrete unit during Year 5 and/or 6.
You will need to consider which is most appropriate
for your particular situation. Other points you may
want to consider include the following:
• Pupils in Years 3 and 4 are likely to match
‘Group A’ characteristics and will therefore need
a lot of structured teaching before they can
derive maximum benefit from the scheme.
• Cross-curricular contexts where communications
technologies could be used might provide
opportunities for pupils to develop their ICT
experience and capability in meaningful contexts.
However, the thrust of this scheme is to develop
an awareness and understanding of potential
risks and how to develop appropriate strategies
and behaviours to deal with risky situations. To
try and combine the two aspects, with younger
pupils and over an extended period, may
undermine the impact in both aspects.
• Pupils in Years 5 and 6 are more likely to have had
some experience of using a broader range of
communication technologies and should have had
some exposure to safety guidance. In addition,
some pupils may have experienced some ‘risky’
situations and be able to share those with peers.
• Conversely, pupils in Years 3 and 4 might not have
been exposed to much safety guidance and
therefore be more likely to encounter risky
situations without the necessary skills to be able to
deal with them. Do we, therefore, try and protect
pupils before anything happens but in a relatively
abstract context where they have had little or no
experience with the technologies or the risky
situations? Is school the place to expose pupils to
risky situations?
If you decide to begin in Years 3 and/or 4, then
teaching the scheme as a continuous unit is likely
to be most appropriate. If you decide to commence
the scheme in either Year 5 or 6, then teaching it as
a discrete unit is likely to be more productive.
Teaching as a continuous unit
If cross-curricular contexts are to be used as the
starting points for elements of this scheme, a
programme such as the one below might be
appropriate:
Year
Autumn
Spring
Summer
3
IP Scheme – introduction
Hi – Tudors
ICT – Guided Internet research
Introduce the Internet element
and raise some of the issues
Gg – Weather around the world
ICT – e-mail
Introduce the e-mail element and
raise some of the issues
4
Gg – Village Settlers
Hi – Case studies of invaders
ICT – Guided Internet research
IP Scheme – study the safety
aspects related to using the Internet
Gg – How and where do we
spend our time?
ICT – SMS
Introduce the SMS element and
raise some of the issues
5
Gg – What’s in the News?
ICT – Internet research, chat and IM
Introduce the chat and IM elements
and raise some of the issues
Gg – Contrasting UK locality
ICT – e-mail and Internet Research
aspects related to using e-mail
Tudor Exploration
ICT – Internet research
Recap on the Internet safety aspects
6
Gg – What’s in the News?
ICT – Internet research, Chat and
Instant Messaging
aspects related to using chat and
instant messaging
Gg – A sense of place
ICT – SMS and MMS
Gg – Connecting ourselves to the
world
ICT – IP Scheme
aspects related to using SMS and
MMS
Gg – Connecting ourselves to the
world
ICT – IP Scheme
IP Scheme – recap on aspects as
appropriate
9
2 – Implementing the Internet Proficiency Scheme
Teaching as a discrete unit
If a discrete approach is adopted, pupils will have
had hands-on experience of most of the
technologies by the beginning of the spring term in
Year 5. It should therefore be possible to introduce
and teach the scheme by the end of Year 5, still
allowing opportunities for pupils to reinforce their
problem-solving strategies and appropriate
behaviours as their range of experiences and
expertise is enhanced through Year 6.
Monitoring
Pupils are encouraged to record their findings as
they progress through the lessons, and feed these
back during group sessions. Once all the activities
have been completed, pupils have the opportunity
to demonstrate their learning through an on-line
quiz and an end-of-unit task.
On completion of the teaching activities, interactive
on-line activities and the on-line quiz, pupils will
have qualified for a certificate (a photocopy master
is contained in this pack, or it may be ordered by
e-mail from: [email protected]).
Learning outcomes and objectives
Each of the lesson plans in Section 5 gives an
overview of learning objectives and learning
outcomes. Where appropriate, lesson plans are
also linked to the National Curriculum Programmes
of Study.
10
3 – The benefits and risks
of new technologies
The range of on-line services is growing constantly. Useful information – news, weather
reports, sports results, movie reviews, encyclopaedias – and services such as making on-line
travel reservations, banking, and shopping are becoming readily accessible. The growth in the
numbers of people using technology over the last ten years has been astounding:
• In 200-01, 40–50 per cent of households had a personal computer
• In 2000, around four out of five children surveyed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
had access to a home computer (78 per cent of primary school pupils and 85 per cent of
secondary school pupils). Over half were able to access the Internet at home.2
• In 2000-01, 47 per cent of households had at least one mobile phone
• In England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2000 approximately 20 per cent of children of
primary school age and 60 per cent of secondary school pupils owned a mobile phone.3
Future developments in technology are predicted to see a growing convergence between
computers and telephones, with Internet access becoming increasingly easy, wherever you are.
Education too has seen rapid growth in the use of technology, both in ICT use in the classroom
and the availability of teaching and learning materials on line.4
Learning benefits from using ICT
Many schools are making use of the technology to
dissolve boundaries between the home and the
school. Access to school intranets outside school
hours and laptop lending schemes help pupils to
extend their learning beyond the classroom. By
using e-mail, pupils and parents can communicate
with teachers outside the traditional school day. ICT
has a particular strength for pupils who are unable
to attend school on a regular basis. They are able
to still feel part of the school environment and retain
some continuity.
Research findings suggest that ICT can be beneficial.
Becta’s Primary Schools of the Future – Achieving
Today5 suggests that ICT is having a positive
educational impact. By analysing data from Ofsted
reports, Becta found that there is a consistent trend for
pupils in schools with better ICT resources to achieve
better grades for English, mathematics and science.
Becta also found that at Key Stage 2, schools with
‘good’ ICT resources deliver better results than schools
with ‘poor’ ICT resources – even when compared with
schools of a similar type and taking into account socioeconomic circumstances. Becta’s research on
secondary schools shows similar findings.
The ImpaCT2 study further supports this. A largescale longitudinal study tracking over 2000 pupils’
use of ICT for three years, ImpaCT2 discovered a
positive association between individual pupils’ use
of ICT and their performance in the Key Stage 2
national tests in English and mathematics. Similar
positive associations were found between ICT use
and national tests for science at Key Stage 3.6
Office for National Statistics, Social focus in brief: Children 2002
(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_social/social_focus_in_brief/children/Social_Focus_in_Brief_Children_2002.pdf)
2
Office for National Statistics, Ownership of mobile phones: by income quintile group, 1996-97 and 2000-01: Social Trends 32
(http://www.statistics.gov.uk)
3
4
As footnote 3
5
Primary Schools of the Future – Achieving Today, Becta, 2001 (http://www.becta.org.uk/news/reports/primaryfuture/)
The full findings from the ImpaCT2 study are available on the research area of the Becta web site
(http://www.becta.org.uk/research/).
6
11
3 – The benefits and risks of new technologies
Apart from the increasing evidence that supports
the positive aspects of ICT in education, there is
plenty of anecdotal evidence too. For instance,
teachers continue to report that pupils of all ages
find using ICT to be highly motivating. Sending
e-mails and designing web pages provide an
audience for pupils which they otherwise would not
have. One teacher reported: “They would much
rather write an essay for their fellow pupils in our
Canadian partner school than they would for me!”.
The risks
Unfortunately, alongside the education and social
benefits that available through ICT, there are also
risks, particularly for young users. As in any other
area of life, children are vulnerable, needing adult
supervision and the ability to learn sets of safe
behaviours. Below is a summary of the kinds of
risks that pupils might be exposed to:
• Exposure to inappropriate material
One risk is that a child may be exposed to
material that is pornographic, hateful or violent
in nature or encourages activities that are
dangerous or illegal. Schools will provide some
sort of protection against this sort of exposure
but even the installation of filtering software is
not always foolproof and nothing should replace
supervision in the classroom. While there is a
growing awareness of the dangers to young
people of visiting (whether deliberately or by
accident) web sites that contain sexually explicit
or offensive material, there are other sites that
can be equally dangerous. Since the web is
open to all, it is attractive to those with extreme
political, racist or sexist views. It is natural for
children to believe what they read, and the web
appears to have as much authority as the
printed word, however undeserved. It’s
important, therefore, that schools play their part
in teaching children to become critical and
discriminating users of the web. While this is a
challenging area, Lesson 5 offers a framework
for helping them to do this.
• Physical danger
Although rare, there is a risk that whilst on line, a
child might provide information or arrange a
meeting that could risk his or her safety or the
safety of other family members. This is perhaps
the most worrying and extreme risk associated
with Internet use.
A criminal minority make use of the Internet, and
related services such as chat rooms, to make
contact with children with a view to establishing
and developing relationships with the sole purpose
of persuading them into sexual activity. The
techniques used by sex offenders are often known
as ‘on-line enticement’ or ‘grooming’.7
The relative scale of the risk to children being
approached in this way via the Internet is difficult
to establish. Evidence from both the United States
and the UK provided by actual incidents and
supporting research does appear to indicate a
growth in criminal activity of this nature over recent
years.8 In a news story, the BBC report that in the
past two years, at least 12 children have been
sexually assaulted by people who first contacted
them via the internet.9 Although their attackers
were sent to prison, child protection campaigners
say the law needs strengthening. The situation is
likely to change under the Sexual Offences Bill,
due to be introduced in 2003, which includes a
new offence of grooming, based on meeting a
child with the intention of committing a sex offence
to apply both to the Internet and off line.10
7
Online grooming and UK law: A submission by Childnet International to the Home Office’, Childnet International, 2001
(http://www.childnet-int.org/downloads/online%20grooming.pdf).
8
Chat Wise, Street Wise – children and Internet Chat services. Internet Crime Forum, March 2001
(http://www.internetcrimeforum.org.uk/chatwise_streetwise.html)
9
BBC News web site, 16 August 2002 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2196734.stm)
10
12
Sexual Offences Bill, Home Office, 2002 (http://www.sexualoffencesbill.homeoffice.gov.uk/)
It is important to note, however, that the number
of known cases is currently very low in proportion
to the rapidly growing rate of Internet use. The
danger of children being approached by a
stranger on line is thought to be relatively much
lower than a child being at risk, off line, from
someone known to them.
The concept of danger is a difficult one to
establish with young pupils – there is no easy,
guaranteed method of identifying an adult who is
untrustworthy. Striking the balance between
making children aware of potential dangers but at
the same time confident enough to express their
natural curiosity requires skilled teaching. Teachers
will also need to be aware that the activities in
Lesson 3 in particular could lead to pupils
disclosing personal information, which they will
need to address with sensitivity.
• On-line bullying
A child might encounter e-mail, chat or text
messages that may make him or her feel
embarrassed, upset, depressed or afraid. They
may not be in any physical danger, but it could
affect their self-esteem. Messages from people
they can’t identify can be particularly frightening.
Individuals can receive hoax messages and pupils
need to be aware that if they cannot identify who
the person is, they should tell an adult.
• Legal, financial and commercial considerations
There is also the risk that a child could do
something that has legal or financial
consequences such as giving out a parent’s
credit card details or doing something that
contravenes another person’s rights. Plagiarism
and copyright are becoming particular issues
which are associated with the Internet especially
in relation to the downloading of music or
games. Research also shows that children are
not able to differentiate between what is
advertising and what is not.
• Inappropriate behaviour
Pupils may get involved in inappropriate
behaviour such as bullying. They should be
taught how to behave on line and to avoid being
rude, mean or inconsiderate. Pupils should
understand that how they behave in the ‘off-line
world’ is the same as they should behave in the
‘on-line world’.
• Bridging the gap between the home and the
school
Schools are relatively protected areas where
pupils are able to access different technologies
under human and technological supervision and
monitoring. In the home, however, there is likely
to be minimal technological protection and
parental supervision may not be to the same
degree as the supervision operated in a school
environment. Schools will operate policies which
will allow pupils access to certain types of ICT
(they may, for example, allow pupils to access
e-mail through their network but not via web
mail). However, a pupil may go home and
access e-mail through the Internet. Therefore it
is important that even if schools do not allow the
use of a particular technology in school, they still
teach pupils how to behave sensibly and
appropriately when using it, and educate them
about the particular risks associated with it.
Strategies for keeping children safe
The over-arching aim of these materials is to help
children to develop patterns of behaviour that will
protect them from the risks of certain technologies,
and to provide them with strategies for dealing with
anti-social behaviour (bullying via text messages,
for example).
Given that different technologies may involve
different risks, there are some complex messages
for younger pupils to assimilate. There are some
general rules, however, and these are presented in
a simpler, more memorable message as
‘SMARTthinking’. Based on the SMART mnemonic
developed by Childnet, the SMARTthinking rules
are reinforced throughout these materials. It may
be helpful to display the colour version of the rules
so pupils become familiar with it; a shorter version
is also printed on the Pupil Passports contained in
this pack.
13
3 – The benefits and risks of new technologies
The future
The future undoubtedly holds a great deal of
promise in terms of technological developments,
bringing great benefits and offering new
opportunities for education, entertainment and
social interaction. Increased integration of
technologies will make communication even easier
– we will be able to send messages from mobile
phones to e-mail accounts and vice versa, picture
messaging may become commonplace, and the
physical and geographic constraints of using
technologies will diminish.
However, with these developments and benefits will
also come increased risks. The ease of access to
electronic communications, especially to young
people, will become more difficult to control, and
filtering and monitoring systems will become more
complex to implement. Those individuals or
organisations with ulterior, untrustworthy or unlawful
motives are likely to encompass the multimedia
benefits of these technologies for their own personal
gain, and ultimately there is a fear that young people
will more readily be at risk of exposure to
inappropriate materials, content and contact.
Although over time it is likely that technical
solutions will be found to minimise some of the
risks associated with new technologies, as with
filtering systems and similar solutions today, these
can never be guaranteed to be absolutely infallible.
It is important, therefore, that children are taught,
and continue to learn, safe and responsible
behaviours to protect them when using any
technology, and become discriminating users of
the wealth of technology available to them both
now and in the future.
14
SMARTthinking
S
M
A
R
T
= Secret
This is about personal information and whether it is
safe to give it out. For example, it might apply to
an on-line registration form or someone requesting
contact details so they can send you a prize.
WHO wants the information?
WHY are they asking for it?
WHAT will they do with it?
STOP and THINK
= Meeting
This is about someone you have never met before
contacting you on-line or through a messaging
service to invite you to a meeting.
WHY should you never arrange to meet
anyone you have only met on-line?
STOP and THINK
WHO should you tell?
WHAT might happen?
= Attachments
This is about e-mail and attachments and what you
need to think about before opening them.
WHO sent it?
STOP and THINK
WHAT can I do to protect myself and
the computer?
WILL it be safe to open it?
= Reliable
Anyone can put anything on the Internet and
anyone can use the communication technologies
(such as chat, SMS, e-mail, IM) to contact others.
STOP and THINK
WHETHER I can rely on information on
web sites to be true
WHETHER I can rely on someone I can’t
see telling me the truth
WHAT can I do to check?
= Tell
No matter how careful we are, sometimes we might
come across things that upset us.
WHAT can I do when web sites and
messages make me feel uncomfortable?
STOP and THINK
WHO can I tell?
WHAT can I do to stop it happening again?
STOP! THINK! … GO?
15
4 – Understanding the technologies
This section highlights the different technologies, how they work and the particular benefits
and risks associated with them. Most of the risks that materialise from the use of various
technologies are not new and if pupils can be taught to behave sensibly and appropriately,
many risks can be eliminated.
The Internet
The Internet is a worldwide system of computer
networks, in which users at any one computer can,
if they have permission, get access to information
made available on other computers.
The Internet enables users to obtain information
and resources, to communicate with each other
and to publish information. The World Wide Web
(WWW) or Web provides easy access to the vast
quantity of information and resources available on
the Internet and is the facility which people use to
‘surf’ for information. It is made up of millions of
screens, or ‘pages’, of information. The collection
of pages created by one individual or organisation
is known as a web site. Each page can include
text, images, sound, animation and video and has
its own unique address. Any individual or
organisation can create and publish a web site.
Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer free
web space to their subscribers.
To access information on the Internet, you need to
use a web browser such as Netscape or Internet
Explorer. This allows you to move around web
pages just by clicking on words and graphics which
are linked to other pages. Sometimes these links
will take you to someone else’s web site.
Web pages have a unique address or Uniform
Resource Locator (URL). For example, if you
wanted to go to the DfES web site you would need
to type http://www.dfes.gov.uk in the address bar
of your web browser.
The amount of information available on the web is
so vast that it can be daunting, especially when
searching for specific facts. To help sift through this
huge array of information there are search engines
which make it much easier to find what is required.
16
What are the benefits?
The Internet enables access to a vast range of
cultural, scientific and intellectual material which
might otherwise not be freely or readily available. It
extends the school’s resources far beyond the
school walls, to museums, galleries, organisations of
every kind and displays many of them interactively,
so pupils can see how things work. The Internet
provides a powerful resource for learning as well as
an efficient means of communication.
What are the risks?
While the web is a useful educational tool, there are
some risks. Some content on the Internet is clearly
unsuitable for children, such as pornography, hate
material or information that encourages illegal
activities. Whilst it is easy to judge the suitability of
some web pages, other pages may look appropriate
on the surface but the actual content of the site may
be unreliable or unsuitable. Some commercial sites
may be inappropriate for young people.
There is also the question of reliability, credibility
and validity of information on some web sites. In a
school setting, teachers will also want to check the
educational value of a web site, and pupils should
be taught to evaluate the material they find.
If children or schools are involved in publishing web
pages, there is a risk that personal information
about individual pupils is published. Schools need
to exercise caution when deciding what information
should appear on their web site.
An overview of the Internet as a communication
tool is given in Lesson 1; pupils also have an
opportunity to explore web browsing, via the
Cybercafé web site, in Lesson 2. Lesson 5 tackles
the issues in more depth and helps pupils to
question what they see and read on web sites.
Avoiding the dangers
General information on safe use of the Internet is
available on the Superhighway Safety web site
(http://safety.ngfl.gov.uk/). There are also some
specific issues to consider.
Acceptable use policies (AUPs)
As part of the their responsibility for ensuring safe
access to the Internet, schools should develop an
Acceptable Use Policy. This provides a framework
for safe and responsible use of the Internet in
school, and guidance for pupils and parents for use
of the Internet at home. It will typically outline safe
and responsible behaviours for pupils, procedures
for reporting unsuitable material, and information on
protecting the computer network from viruses.
Acceptable use policies, and pupils’ understanding
of them, are covered in Lesson 2 of the Internet
Proficiency Scheme. Information on acceptable use
policies is also available on the Superhighway Safety
web site (http://safety.ngfl.gov.uk/schools/document.
php3?D=d39). The ICT Advice also site provides
further guidance and resources for developing an
Acceptable Use Policy (http://ictadvice.org.uk).
Evaluating web materials
While there is plenty of reliable information on the
Web, there is also plenty that is incorrect, out of
date and/or seriously biased. Equally, not all
educational materials are appropriate for pupils
because they are written with adult readers in mind.
The evaluation of web resources is therefore
necessary to determine the reliability, accuracy and
currency of the material, and pupils should be
taught the value of this process as part of their core
ICT skills development.
When evaluating web materials, pupils might ask
themselves:
• Do the headings look relevant for what they need
to find?
• Does the content seem up to date?
• Where does the content originate from?
• Is the content easy to read and understand?
• Does it provide everything they need?
• Are the links useful?
• Does it present a one-sided point of view?
The ICT Advice site also provides guidance on
evaluating web sites, including some key
considerations for teachers, in the ‘How to’ section.
Evaluating web sites is covered in Lesson 5 of this
Scheme, and additional resources are available in
the teachers’ area of the Cybercafé web site
(http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers).
Internet filtering
Most educational ISPs provide a filtered Internet
service. This can help prevent access to undesirable
content. Additional filtering software can be used in
school or at home to supplement this service.
The Becta Accreditation of NGfL Internet Service
Providers enables schools and other educational
establishments to make an informed choice of ISP.
The standards for assessment have been
developed in consultation with partners in
education and industry to ensure reliable and
relevant information is provided. Through the
accreditation process, there is a technical
assessment of filtering services provided by ISPs
for factors such as browsing of web-based content,
web-based e-mail servers, and level of restrictions,
for example, a walled garden approach.
Assessments of service options such as the ability
to filter by age appropriateness and the flexibility to
offer site-specific services are also made. Further
information is available on the Becta Accredited
ISPs web site (http://ispsafety.ngfl.gov.uk/).
Further guidelines for Internet filtering are available
on the Superhighway Safety web site, and the ICT
Advice site also provides a range of guidance on
Internet filtering.
Internet search tools
The Web offers users a vast quantity of information,
in a wide range of formats. However, having such
an extensive resource can also be a major
drawback, and locating information quickly and
effectively may require the use of a variety of search
tools and techniques.
Internet search tools provide a mechanism to search
the information available on the Internet. They operate
using a keyword search or by a directory structure,
with content organised by predefined categories.
17
Searching the Internet successfully requires careful
planning and definition of the exact information
needs, and pupils should be taught the benefits of
doing this before going on line as part of their core
ICT skills development. Whilst typing a keyword or
phrase into a search engine will quickly provide a
number of links to sites that contain those words,
unfortunately the sheer volume of links is often
unworkable.
Most search engines now offer advanced searching
techniques which allow the user to define their
searches more precisely. Although search
commands may vary from one search engine to
another, the concepts remain the same, and hence
the skills acquired are transferable. Many search
engines will rank results, placing priority on the first
search term, and some search engines may also
allow searches to be confined to UK sites only.
Common words such as ‘of’ or ‘the’ aren’t normally
recognised for the purposes of the search.
However, there will still be occasions when no
amount of refining will result in a manageable
number of links. In this case, in order to save time,
you can probably assume that the first few sites
listed will provide the most useful information.
As an alternative to keyword searching, a menubased search provides a method of finding specific
information by gradually narrowing down through
predefined categories. The search engine will divide
the information on the Web into topic areas,
starting with very general topic menus, which are
gradually refined through the choices of the user
until the relevant information is reached. A menubased search can provide a structured method of
searching the Internet, but will only return results of
those sites classified by the search engine provider.
Many search engines will also provide filtering
facilities to remove unsuitable sites and advertising
from search results. Additionally, there are a
number of child-friendly and family-friendly search
engines available. Search Engine Watch
(http://www.searchenginewatch.com/links/kids.html)
provides tips and information about searching the
web, along with a comprehensive listing of search
engines for children. It lists services which are
18
designed primarily to serve the needs of children,
either in focus, or by filtering out sites that some
teachers and parents might find inappropriate.
Here are a few examples of child-friendly search tools:
• Ask Jeeves for Kids
Designed to be a fun destination site focused on
learning and ‘edutainment’, which searches
using natural language. The service combines
editorial judgment with filtering technology to
enable children to find both relevant and
appropriate answers on the Web.
(http://www.ajkids.com)
• Family friendly search
Searches Yahooligans, AOL Kids, Kids Click and
Saluki Search from a single search screen.
(http://www.familyfriendlysearch.com/)
• Mirago Zone
Uses content filters to provide a special ‘family
friendly’ area where search results are filtered for
offensive content. It also provides a ‘preference’
facility for the user to set their own filtering
requirements. (http://zone.mirago.co.uk)
• Yahooligans
A version of Yahoo, designed specifically for
children aged 7 to 12.
(http://www.yahooligans.com)
Further information on effective search techniques
is available on the ICT Advice site in ‘How to find
information on the web’.
Customising web browsers
Most web browsers provide some customisation
facilities to allow security, privacy and content
settings to be adjusted. The ICT Advice site
provides information on how to do this.
Publishing web sites
Many schools are developing their own web site to
provide information for pupils and parents,
showcase pupils’ work and promote the school
within the wider community. It is essential that
schools protect the identity of their pupils by not
publishing personal information, names, e-mail
addresses or photographs of individual children.
Guidelines for developing school web sites are
available on the Superhighway Safety web site
(http://safety.ngfl.gov.uk/schools/document.php3?D
=d27). The ICT Advice site also provides guidance
on publishing web sites.
The importance of keeping personal information
private is covered in Lesson 3 of the Scheme.
When children find inappropriate material
When children are using the Internet there is always
the risk they will click on a link which takes them to
unsuitable content. Children should be taught the
appropriate behaviours if they come across
inappropriate pages: press the ‘back’ button on the
browser, exit the browser or turn off the computer
monitor. This will allow the teacher to go back and
check out the pages the child was using, talk
through the some of the issues and reassure the
child that this was not their fault.
The ICT Advice site contains case studies on safe
use of the Internet.
Further information
There are many sources of help and advice for safe
use of the Internet:
For Kids By Kids Online (http://www.fkbko.net)
A site for children which helps them understand
more about technology in general, as well as its
safe use; it has specific guidance on e-mail, chat
and instant messaging, along with advice on
defending your system against viruses
ICT Advice site (http://www.ictadvice.org.uk)
Information, services and tools for those who use,
implement and manage ICT in schools. Advice is
given on management issues of Internet access,
how to evaluate filtering products, developing
acceptable use policies, along with case studies for
safe use of the Internet.
Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
(http://www.iwf.org.uk)
The IWF works in partnership with ISPs, software
providers, police and others to minimise the
availability of illegal, offensive and inappropriate
material over the Internet
Kidsmart (http://www.kidsmart.org.uk)
A practical Internet safety advice web site resource
produced by the children’s Internet charity Childnet;
it provides sections for teachers, pupils and parents
Be Safe Online (http://www.besafeonline.org)
General information on Internet safety
NCH IT OK (http://www.nch.org.uk/itok)
Advice on maximising the opportunities and controlling
the risks of ICT for disadvantaged young people; it
contains an Internet safety guide, a NetSmart checklist
for children and useful guidance for parents on how to
deal with spam and offensive e-mail
ChildLine (http://www.childline.org.uk)
This contains a safe surfing guide
NSPCC (http://www.nspcc.org.uk)
Advice for young people and parents on surfing safely
Childnet International (http://www.childnet-int.org)
A children’s Internet charity committed to helping
make the Internet a safe place for children, this
provides safety advice, projects, resources and a
section for children
Parents Information Network (PIN)
(http://www.pin.org.uk)
An independent service helping parents to support
their children’s learning through the use of computers,
software and the Internet; it provides information on
safety issues and filtering, along with specific
guidance on text messaging and childsafe chat
BBC WebWise (http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise)
The Internet made simple by the BBC, with basic
guides to searching, e-mail and Internet safety
Children’s Charities Coalition for Internet Safety
(CHIS) (http://www.nch.org.uk/itok/chis)
The coalition, which consists of Barnardo’s, ChildLine,
NCB, NCH, NCVCCO, NSPCC and The Children’s
Society, works with the government, the Internet
industry and others to campaign on a range of safety
issues affecting children’s use of the Internet
Search Engine Watch
(http://www.searchenginewatch.com/links/kids.html)
Tips and information about searching the web, along
with a comprehensive listing of search engines for
children; it lists services which are designed primarily
19
to serve the needs of children, either in focus, or by
filtering out sites that some parents and teachers
might find inappropriate
Superhighway Safety web site
(http://www.safety.ngfl.gov.uk)
Information for schools and parents on safe use of
the Internet; it provides examples of good practice
for Internet use, information on filtering models,
advice on developing acceptable use policies and
guidelines for developing web sites
Wiredkids.org (http://www.wiredkids.org)
An American site dedicated to on-line safety for
children and teenagers; it provides games, puzzles,
stories and activities to reinforce the messages of
safe surfing, and contains specific safety advice for
instant messaging. There are also sections for
teachers and parents.
E-mail
E-mail (electronic mail) is a message that can be
sent over the Internet to someone else. It is one of
the services that is offered by an Internet Service
Provider (ISP). It is like posting a letter or a
postcard, except that it can be sent just about
anywhere on the planet in seconds at any time of
the day or night. E-mail is great for communicating
with people, and just about anything can be
attached to, or included in an e-mail – text,
pictures, even music and movies. To be able to
send or receive e-mail a person must have an
e-mail address.
The ISP supplies the school or individual with an
e-mail account which can be set up on an
individual machine using e-mail software such as
Outlook Express or accessed using a web browser.
Browser access to e-mail is called web-mail. This
means that with the right username and password,
e-mail can be accessed from any Internetconnected computer or mobile phone.
Each e-mail address has two parts, the mailbox
username and the domain name of the school,
separated by an @.
20
A school e-mail address would look something like
[email protected].
E-mail addresses used at home would look
something like [email protected].
The e-mail is sent and kept on the ISP’s mail server
until the user logs on to a computer and accesses
their mail. The e-mail is then sent to the computer
they are working on.
An overview of e-mail as a communication tool is
given in Lesson 1 of these materials. Pupils will have
an opportunity to explore e-mail, via the Cybercafé
web site in Lesson 2, and detailed guidance on
using e-mail safely is given in Lesson 4.
The use of e-mail in a school context can be
extremely valuable as it enables pupils to
communicate with other people across the world.
Teachers have also reported that using e-mail helps
pupils to take greater care with spelling (a misspelt
e-mail address won’t go anywhere) and be more
precise with their choice of words, since e-mail
encourages brevity and clarity. E-mail can also be
particularly rewarding for pupils with special needs:
those with physical or cognitive impairments may
take a long time to create a message, but no one
receiving it would know that they have difficulties,
while pupils with severe hearing impairment find it
another channel for communication. Examples of
good practice of pupils using e-mail in the
classroom can be found on the Teacher Resource
Exchange (http://tre.ngfl.gov.uk/).
What are the risks?
Despite the benefits, e-mail is open to abuse,
which may take various forms:
• Spam or spamming – this is unwanted e-mail
that has been sent by a source that may be
unfamiliar, such as a company trying to sell you a
product. Names can be gleaned from discussion
groups but there are companies which specialise
in creating e-mail distribution lists.
• Flaming – this is the term used for abusive or
insulting e-mail sent to people by others who do
not agree with an opinion, usually in news or
discussion groups.
• Bombing – a bomb is a program that is intended
to crash or damage a computer; a mail bomb is a
huge message sent to someone's e-mail address
to try and make their e-mail program crash.
• Stalking – it is possible to be harassed with
unwanted and obsessive attention via e-mail.
• Viruses – a virus can be sent as e-mail
attachments and some even pretend to come
from known sources. These viruses can cause
serious problems to computers, even allowing
hackers to access the hard disk to take or
destroy files.
• Inappropriate content – undesirable content such
as pornography can arrive as unwelcome e-mail.
• Bullying – e-mail can facilitate on-line bullying
between children.
What are the risks?
Even taking into account the dangers, e-mail is still
an exceptional and successful way to share
information and communicate. But it does require
supervision and education about the risks and how
to avoid them. Listed below are some specific issues
to consider for remaining safe while using e-mail.
In addition to providing guidelines for acceptable
use of the Internet, a school’s AUP should also
provide clear guidelines for e-mail use. These
guidelines should also be shared with parents as a
framework for acceptable e-mail use in the home.
Acceptable Use Policies, and pupils’ understanding
of them, are covered in Lesson 2 of this pack.
Attachments
E-mail attachments should be treated with
caution. Some viruses can attach themselves to
messages without the sender’s knowledge, so
care should always be taken with an attachment
even if received from a known source. A virus
checker should always be used before opening
any attachment.
E-mail addresses
Most schools will need to limit the use of pupils’
e-mail addresses within school for management
reasons, but in any case care should be taken to
ensure that individual pupils cannot be identified or
contacted via their e-mail address. A class or
teaching group e-mail address may be more
appropriate for use beyond an internal mail system.
The Superhighway Safety site provides guidance
and examples of good practice on e-mail
addresses at school.
E-mail bullying
Pupils should be made aware of the facts of e-mail
bulling, the effects this can have on the recipient,
and strategies for dealing with it. Sites such as Be
Safe Online (http://www.besafeonline.org) and
Bullying Online (http://www.bullying.co.uk) provide
useful resources to tackle the issue.
E-mail bullying is covered in depth in Lesson 4 of
this Scheme.
Filtering
In the same way that Internet access may be
filtered, e-mail messages should also be filtered for
inappropriate material and removal of spam.
Although e-mail filtering systems are effective tools,
they are not completely foolproof, and so must be
supported by a safe and responsible approach to
using e-mail.
The ICT advice site has a case study on filtering e-mail.
Mail from unknown senders
Pupils should be taught to recognise when
messages come from unknown senders, and
exercise caution over opening them. If in doubt as
to their validity, pupils should delete the message or
seek advice from an adult. If they receive messages
that upset them or make them feel uncomfortable
in any way, they should tell an adult. If possible use
software to filter e-mail into ‘real’ messages and
likely spam.
Strategies for dealing with mail from unknown
senders and spam is covered in Lesson 4 of these
materials.
21
Safe and responsible behaviours
When children are using e-mail, there is always a risk
that they might receive unsuitable messages. Pupils
should be taught the appropriate behaviours if they
receive offensive or inappropriate e-mail messages,
such as deleting the message, or closing it and
seeking advice from their teacher – and never replying
to them. This will allow the teacher to go back and
check out the message, talk through some of the
issues, reassure the child that this was not their fault,
and take any other action as appropriate.
Pupils should be taught how to use e-mail
appropriately and safely and to develop suitable
writing conventions for the technology.
Lesson 2 encourages pupils to explore safe and
responsible behaviours when using e-mail, via the
Cybercafé site. These behaviours are developed in
Lesson 4, and are reflected upon and consolidated
in Lesson 8.
Viruses
A virus is a piece of programming code usually
disguised as something else that causes some
unexpected and usually undesirable event. A virus is
often designed so that it is automatically spread to
other computer users, for example as an e-mail
attachment, as a file download, or on floppy disk or
CD. The sender of the e-mail is often unaware that
they have sent a virus. Some viruses become active
as soon as their code is executed; other viruses will
lie dormant until circumstances cause their code to
be executed by the computer. If a virus attacks your
computer, it can corrupt or delete all stored
information from the hard drive, including system
software. All computer users are advised to guard
against viruses by installing anti-virus software.
CERT, the Computer Emergency Response Team,
provides a wealth of information on viruses, and
recommends a simple five-stage test to avoid viruses:
• The Know test: is the e-mail from someone that
you know?
• The Received test: have you received e-mail
from this sender before?
22
• The Expect test: were you expecting e-mail with
an attachment from this sender?
• The Sense test: does e-mail from the sender
with the contents as described in the subject line
and the name of the attachment(s) make sense?
• The Virus test: does this e-mail contain a virus?
Always check it using anti-virus software.
Further information on protecting against viruses is
available on the CERT web site (http://www.cert.org).
Anti-virus software is a program that searches your
e-mail messages, hard drive and floppy disks for
any known or potential viruses, and either deletes
or repairs the problem. Some anti-virus software is
free of charge and can be downloaded directly via
the web, some you will have to pay for. Anti-virus
software offers different levels of protection and the
level of protection required should be a key
consideration when making your choice.
The UK online centres area of the Superhighway
Safety web site provides some useful guidance on
viruses, including detailed information on both free
and priced anti-virus software. The ICT Advice site
also provides information on how to protect
computers from viruses.
Viruses are covered in depth in Lesson 4 of the
Internet Proficiency Scheme.
Web mail
Using free web-based e-mail accounts has
inherent dangers, especially for younger children.
Many allow e-mail addresses to be shared with
third parties resulting in numerous unsolicited
messages. Teach pupils to watch out for stringent
privacy statements when signing up for web-based
e-mail accounts.
private is covered in Lesson 3 of this pack.
Further information
Many of the general guides listed in the Internet
section will also provide general guidance on safe use
of e-mail. Some specific resources are listed below:
Be Safe Online
(http://www.besafeonline.org/English/e-mail.htm)
A general Internet safety web site, which also
provides detailed information on e-mail; information
on e-mail bullying, and strategies for dealing with it,
is also included
Bullying Online (http://www.bullying.co.uk)
On-line help and advice to combat all forms of
bullying, with sections for teachers, pupils and
parents; it includes a guide to staying safe in
cyberspace
defending against viruses
NCH IT OK (http://www.nch.org.uk/itok/)
Offers advice on maximising the opportunities and
controlling the risks of ICT for disadvantaged
young people; it contains an Internet safety guide,
a NetSmart checklist for children and useful
guidance for parents on how to deal with spam
and offensive e-mail
Chat
Chat is a way of communicating with people at the
same time by typing messages which then appear
on your computer screen, and are sent across the
Internet to be read by everyone else participating
in the chat at that time. Chat happens in ‘chat
rooms’ – a virtual meeting place, and the process
of taking part is known as ‘chatting’. Participants
are sometimes referred to as ‘chatters’.
There are many different chat rooms available on
the Internet. They can be a dedicated part of a
web site or a service offered by an ISP.
Fundamentally they all work in the same way.
Users have to register in a chat room of interest by
choosing a username and password; this is often a
pseudonym or false name. Normally there will be a
list of users currently chatting. These users will be
alerted when someone new enters the chat room.
To contribute to the chat, the user can type
messages into a text box and the message is
immediately seen by the others in the chat room
so that they can respond. Users can enter a chat
room without contributing to the discussion but still
be able to read what the others are saying. This is
known as ‘lurking’ which is accepted practice and
is a good way of getting to know how to use a
chat room.
Some chat rooms are public and can be joined by
anyone. Other chat rooms are private and open only
to invited chatters or specific groups. Another
mechanism that is offered by some chat rooms is
‘whispering’. This is where you can go off to one
side and have a private conversation with someone.
To help speed up the flow of conversation in a chat
room, acronyms have been invented. Some
examples are listed below:
LOL – laugh out loud
BTW – By the way
j/k – just kidding
An overview of chat as a communication tool is
given in Lesson 1 of this pack. Pupils will have an
opportunity to explore chat, via the Cybercafé web
site, in Lesson 2 and the topic is covered in depth
in Lesson 6.
Chat rooms can have real educational benefits.
Pupils are able to chat with peers anywhere in the
world, in real time, sharing experiences, comparing
lifestyles or working collaboratively. Frequently, online chats are hosted with notable figures, such as a
successful business person, a television presenter
or a pop idol, giving children access to a wealth of
information and experience in a way that would not
be possible in the real world.
Examples of schools using chat in the classroom
can be found on the Superhighway Safety web site
(http://safety.ngfl.gov.uk/schools) and the ICT
Advice web site (http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/).
23
What are the risks?
Chat rooms have an element of anonymity, so
children often talk about things they may not have
the confidence to say face to face. They can
pretend to be someone else: older, smarter, and
more popular. Taking on a pseudonym is an
accepted and encouraged practice in chat rooms.
Anyone who uses a chat room has to be careful
about how much personal information they give out
to the people they are chatting to. This is particularly
difficult with young people, who may feel that they
know the people they are chatting to very well,
especially if they are talking about intimate or
sensitive subjects with them. Unfortunately, for those
who want to attract children, using chat rooms is an
excellent means of doing so. They are able to win
their confidence by appearing to be ‘on their side’.
This is known as ‘grooming’, as already discussed
under risks earlier in this section. It is important that
young people understand it does not matter how
well they think they know someone on line: they
never know who they really are. Young people
should be told that they should never arrange to
meet anyone they have met on line, no matter how
well they think they know them.
Groups are often formed just like at school, with an
invented set of acronyms as a way of keeping
conversations private or excluding others from the
‘in crowd’. Bullying can also happen in a chat room.
Potential risks of chat and chat rooms are a topic
of discussion in Lesson 1 of these materials. The
importance of keeping personal information private,
particularly in chat rooms, is covered in Lessons 3
and 6.
There are a number of strategies for helping to
keep children safe.
In addition to providing guidelines for acceptable
use of the Internet, a school’s AUP should also
provide clear guidelines for use of chat, both in
school and beyond. These guidelines should be
shared with parents.
24
Acceptable Use Policies, and pupils’ understanding
of them, are covered in Lesson 2 of this pack.
Moderated chat rooms
Some chat rooms are monitored or moderated.
This means that there is either a human moderator
checking what is being said and ensuring the
conversations stay on topic or there is some sort of
software that monitors the conversations and alerts
a moderator should there be any unsuitable ‘chat’
going on. This is known as proactive or reactive
monitoring. Proactive is the best type in an
educational context as the moderator is able to
step in if things are straying off topic. All good chat
rooms should have clear policy and privacy
statements, an archive of previous conversations
and an outline for forthcoming topics.
Young children should always use moderated chat
rooms. GridClub (http://www.gridclub.com) is a
good example of a moderated chat room for Key
Stage 2 pupils. It is moderated by trained
professionals and all members have to be verified
through their school. GridClub can only be used by
pupils in this age group and they can gain access
at home or at school.
The ICT Advice site provides information on how to
use chat in the classroom safely.
Outside school, it is likely that children will come
across unmoderated chat rooms, so it is essential
that they are aware of safe and responsible
behaviours to adopt when engaged in chat.
Moderated chat rooms are covered in Lesson 6 of
these materials.
While chatting, children should never give out
personal details that would identify who they are,
such as surname, address, phone number or
school, or arrange any face-to-face meetings with
anyone they have met in a chat room (unless their
parents or carers agree and go with them).
Children should also be taught not to rely on
strangers they meet in a chat room for important
advice. If there is bad language or if anyone writes
anything that makes a child feel uncomfortable
should not reply to the message but instead tell a
teacher, parent or carer. The chat room moderator
can be told of this and the perpetrator removed from
the chat room. Children should also be aware that
their actions in a chat room will affect others and be
taught to behave responsibly with respect for all.
If a situation occurs where a child is suffering abuse in
a chat room they should be taught what to do. One
method that they can apply is to save the
conversation. Some chat rooms allow users to ‘log
their chat’, or alternatively users can use the ‘save as’
function, copy and paste, or print screen. Instructions
on how to do this along with other useful tips are
detailed on the For Kids By Kids Online web site
(http://www.fkbko.net). The charity Childnet also has
some useful information for pupils on how to stay
safe in chat rooms (http://www.chatdanger.com/).
Further information
Many of the general guides listed in the Internet
section will also provide an overview on safe use of
chat, in addition to the specific resources below:
Be Safe Online
(http://www.besafeonline.org/English/chat.htm)
provides detailed information on chat
GridClub (http://www.gridclub.com)
General information on Internet safety, with fun
activities and a moderated chat room for Key Stage
2 pupils
Chatdanger
(http://www.chatdanger.com/home/index.htm)
Information on how to keep safe in chat rooms,
including sections on using chat in schools, and a
parents’ guide to using chat at home
defending against viruses
their children’s learning through the use of computers,
software and the Internet; it provides information on
safety issues and filtering, along with specific
guidance on text messaging and childsafe chat
Yahooligans! (http://www.yahooligans.
com/Arts_and_Entertainment/Chat/)
Yahooligans! web guide for kids provides a list of
safe chat areas for children
The main Yahooligans! area also provides guidance
for teachers and parents on safe communication on
line (http://www.yahooligans.com).
Instant Messaging (IM)
Instant messaging is a form of on-line chat but it is
private between two people. It is not moderated
and cannot be joined by others. When you send
an instant message it goes straight to the person
you sent it to and appears on their computer
screen almost immediately. Some services also
allow the sending of files to one another. Internet
messaging is also known as IM, IMing, Internet
Relay Chat (IRC), or ICQ (‘I Seek You’).
Instant messaging is a service offered by Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) and other web companies.
To use instant messaging you will need to install a
piece of software on your computer. The person
you want to talk to will need the same software
installed on their computer. When a user logs on to
the Internet, their computer registers them as
being on line with the instant messaging service.
When another user registers and connects, they
will know that he or she is logged on. Many
services now also offer the facilities for users to
‘appear’ off line if they don’t wish to be disturbed.
Using the service usually requires registration,
giving a username and e-mail address. Instant
messaging allows the user to maintain a list of
people that they wish to interact with. They can
send messages to any of the people in their list,
often called a buddy list or contact list, as long as
that person is on line. They are then able to send
notes back and forth with friends who are on line or
create their own customised chat rooms.
25
An overview of instant messaging as a
communication tool is given in Lesson 1 of the pack.
Further information is provided in Lesson 6.
Instant messaging is quick and effective when used
in the right context and can be a very easy way of
communicating with somebody instantly. In an
educational context instant messaging could be
used to work collaboratively with a friend when
doing research on the Internet, although typically it
is used in a social context.
What are the risks?
Instant messaging notifies others when a user
signed up to the service goes on line. This is the
reason instant messaging works so well. The
downside is that they could be added to someone
else’s buddy list and be contacted by a total
stranger. There is also an issue of privacy. To use
messaging you need to register on line to an instant
messaging service. These are usually free, but
when registering providers usually ask for a lot of
personal information. This information could
potentially be made publicly available to others.
Many schools will block access to instant
messaging and so the following issues may be are
more associated with home usage than school.
Nevertheless, it is important that pupils are made
aware of the safe use of IM as part of their general
ICT skills development.
Attachments
Care should be taken when sending or receiving
attachments via instant messaging. Similar caution
should be exercised with e-mail attachments, and
attachments should always be virus checked.
Automatic login
Many instant messaging programs automatically log
on registered users when they access the Internet.
This could be an issue, particularly when
computers are shared, meaning that a ‘buddy’ who
is apparently on line may be a brother, sister or
other family member of the person with the IM
account. Children should always check that the
person they are instant messaging with is who they
26
think they are, perhaps by using a simple password
and response as the first message of the IM
session. It may also be possible to adjust privacy
settings in the instant messaging software to
always ask for a password before signing a user in.
Buddy lists
Pupils should only add people to their buddy list
that they know, and if possible, they should always
use an instant messaging service that prevents
others from adding themselves to buddy lists
without the owner’s permission. It may also be
possible to adjust privacy settings in the instant
messaging software to prevent this from happening.
Harrassment
If a child is harassed by IM, the service’s system
administrators should be informed giving the
nickname or ID, date, times and details of the
problem. The system administrators will then take
appropriate action, which could involve a warning
or disconnection from the IM service. It might also
be worth re-registering for instant messaging with a
new user ID.
Registering
When registering for an IM service, pupils should
ensure that they give as little personal information as
possible and only use services that have clear
privacy policies that state that they will not make
information publicly available. Many services also
provided members’ directories – it’s always best to
decline an entry in such directories, as any details
provided may be made publicly available, and hence
available for any members of that community to see.
As with any form of electronic communication,
pupils should be taught safe and responsible
behaviours when using IM. They should never give
any personal information when instant messaging,
or any other information which might make them
identifiable. If at any point during an instant
messaging conversation pupils are made to feel
uncomfortable, they should end the conversation,
and seek advice from an adult.
Further information
Many of the general guidance in the Internet
section will also apply to instant messaging, but
some specific resources are also listed below:
Be Safe Online (http://www.besafeonline.org/
English/instant_messagin.htm)
provides detailed information on instant messaging
more about technology in general, as well as its safe
use; it has specific guidance on instant messaging
Wiredkids.org (http://www.wiredkids.org/safety/im/)
An American site, providing general on-line safety
information with guides on instant messaging safety
for both children and their parents
Short Message Service (SMS) or Text
Messaging
Short Message Services (SMS) enable users to
send and receive text messages via mobile phones.
Messaging is usually short and often replaces a full
conversation with someone, particularly if the other
person is not available to take a voice call. It’s also
known as text messaging, mobile text messaging,
texting or g-mail.
In order to send and receive SMS, the user usually
has to pay a monthly fee to their service provider
or a small fee for each text message. Some
companies offer SMS free of charge. Text
messages can also be sent from some web sites
that offer to send messages to mobile phones.
The text can comprise words or numbers. Typically
messaging is used to say hello, arrange a meeting,
provide snippets of information or prompts.
Messages are usually created using button
combinations from the mobile phone keypad.
As typing messages with the limited keys on the
phone is time consuming, many words can be
written as abbreviations:
AFAIK – As far as I know
CUL8r – See you later
Gr8 – Great
ILBL8 – I’ll be late
LOL – Laugh out loud
NMP – Not my problem
THNQ – Thank you
As messages are delivered to mobile phones and
can be stored for later reference, SMS is often
more convenient than e-mail to communicate with
groups of people. Once familiar with reading,
sending and replying to messages, SMS is a useful
way of exchanging information and keeping in
touch with friends. Almost three quarters of a billion
text messages are sent every day.
What are the risks?
Young people aged 14 to 16 are the biggest users
of mobile phones. Almost two thirds of young
people in that age group have access to a mobile
phone. Of all of the technologies this is the one that
pupils are most likely to be familiar with. Therefore it
is imperative that they use it effectively and safely,
and avoid any risks.
Texting is more casual than a phone call as
messages can be sent and received at times when
other communication is not convenient. It is also
perceived as being more anonymous, particularly if
the message is sent via a web site. Sometimes text
messages are sent to embarrass, threaten or bully
someone. This can be particularly upsetting as the
message can arrive when the receiver least expects
it and if the person’s number is not listed in the
receiver’s address book then the receiver will not
know who has sent the message. There have also
been instances where a message has been sent
out to various random numbers. These messages
can be flirtatious in nature. If receivers respond, it
lets the sender know that the number is in
operation and they can be bombarded with
inappropriate messages.
The use of texting for unsolicited advertising is
becoming more common, often with promises of
free offers for responding, or notifying of a
competition ‘win’. If an offer sounds too good to be
27
true, it generally is. This is just another form of
spam and so should be ignored. Texting can also
be used inappropriately, such as during a test.
An overview of SMS as a communication tool is
given in Lesson 1 of these materials. Pupils will
have an opportunity to explore SMS, via the
Cybercafé web site, in Lesson 2, and detailed
guidance is given in Lesson 7.
There are a number of ways of avoiding problems.
Abusive text messages
Abusive messages are sometimes sent. When
alerted, the mobile phone service provider will help
trace where the message came from and block any
further messages from that number. Keeping a note
of the times and dates of abusive messages will
help identify the sender. As a last resort, mobile
service providers can change a mobile number.
Bullying by text message
Bullying by text message has become an
unfortunate result of the convenience that SMS
offers. If being bullied by text message, children
should immediately seek help from a teacher,
parent or carer. They should not respond to the
messages, but should keep a detailed diary
recording information such as the content of the
message, the date, the time, the caller ID, or
whether the number was withheld or not available.
Sites such as Be Safe Online
(http://www.besafeonline.org) and Bully Online
(http://www.bullyonline.org/schoolbully/mobile.htm)
provide detailed advice on tackling the issue of
bullying by text message.
behaviours for text messaging. As with any
personal information, mobile phone numbers
should never be given to an unknown source, such
as an on-line registration form. It is also important
to give and type mobile numbers accurately as
messages can go astray to be read and replied to
by unknown parties.
28
Lesson 2 of the Internet Proficiency Scheme
encourages pupils to explore safe and responsible
behaviours using SMS, via the Cybercafé web site.
These behaviours are further developed in Lesson 7,
and are reflected upon and consolidated in Lesson
8. The importance of keeping personal information
private, such as mobile telephone numbers, is
covered in Lesson 3.
Spam by text
Text messages received from an unknown number
are likely to be spam. The message should be
deleted or if in doubt, pupils should be encouraged
to ask an adult for advice.
Further information
Be Safe Online (http://www.besafeonline.org/
English/bullying_online.htm)
provides information on bullying by e-mail, over the
Internet and by text messaging
Bully OnLine
(http://www.bullyonline.org/schoolbully/mobile.htm)
A general guide to bullying, which provides
specific advice on tackling bullying by text
messaging for children
Office of Telecommunications (Oftel)
(http://www.oftel.gov.uk)
Guidance and further links on dealing with
unsolicited text messages
their children’s learning through the use of
computers, software and the Internet, the site
provides specific guidance on text messaging
Multimedia Message Service (MMS) or
Picture Messaging
Multimedia Message Service (MMS) is the latest
development in mobile messaging, and like the
short message service (SMS), multimedia
messaging provides automatic and immediate
delivery of personal messages using mobile phone
technology. Unlike SMS, however, MMS allows the
sender to incorporate sound, images and video into
their message. It’s also known as multimedia
messaging, mobile multimedia messaging, picture
messaging and enhanced messaging service (EMS).
Whereas most modern mobile phones incorporate
SMS facilities, MMS requires an MMS-enabled
mobile phone. Whilst at present these are expensive,
over time prices will undoubtedly fall and their use
will become more widespread. The user usually has
to pay a fixed monthly charge for multimedia
messaging facilities, or a charge per message
depending on the service provider. Unlike SMS,
MMS is not yet available to users who pre-pay.
Many MMS phones feature integrated cameras
allowing users to take photos to incorporate with
their message, although this is not standard.
Messages are sent as multimedia presentations in a
single entry, as opposed to text files with
attachments as many other forms of electronic
communication. MMS technology provides support
for e-mail addressing, so that messages can be
sent from phone to e-mail and vice versa.
Like SMS, MMS is set to become more convenient
than e-mail to communicate with groups of people,
providing automatic, immediate delivery of personal
multimedia messages from phone to phone, or
phone to e-mail. With its enhanced ability to send
audiovisual files, some predict that MMS will
revolutionise mobile communications.
What are the risks?
Whilst the costs of MMS phones are probably
prohibitively expensive at present, it is thought that
young people will provide a key market in the future.
MMS will present all the same risks as SMS, but
with its multimedia capabilities, and ease of sending
images there is real concern that children will either
be exposed to inappropriate materials, or be asked
to send photos of themselves via their MMS
phones. This is of particular concern if friendships
formed on line, in chat rooms for example, progress
to texting as a means of communicating. MMS will
undoubtedly also be used for unsolicited
advertising as the market matures.
The full extent of the risks posed by MMS,
however, are still to be seen.
Various strategies can be adopted to minimise risk.
Abusive multimedia messages
As with SMS, any abuse of MMS should be
reported to the mobile phone service provider and
details logged. Mobile phone numbers should not
be passed to any unknown source, and caution
should be exercised before opening any multimedia
message from someone unknown to you. If in
doubt, delete the message.
Bullying by MMS message
Bullying by MMS message will probably become
inevitable. As with bullying by SMS, children should
seek immediate help from a teacher, parent or carer.
They should not respond to the messages, but
should keep a detailed diary recording information
such as the content of the message, the date, the
time, the caller ID, or whether the number was
withheld or not available. Sites such as Be Safe
Online (http://www.besafeonline.org) and Bully
Online (http://www.bullyonline.org/schoolbully)
provide detailed advice on tackling the issue of
bullying by text message, but the basic advice will
equally apply to picture messaging.
behaviours for multimedia messaging. It is also
important to give and type mobile numbers
accurately as messages can go astray to be read
and replied to by unknown parties. As with any
personal information, mobile phone numbers
should never be given to an unknown source, such
as an on-line registration form.
29
Spam by MMS
Spam by MMS is also likely to become inevitable.
The message should be deleted, or if in doubt,
pupils should be encouraged to ask an adult for
advice. Children should not be tempted to respond
to spam in any form, even if wild promises and
incentives are offered for replying.
private, such as mobile telephone numbers, is
covered in Lesson 3. Safe and responsible
behaviours to adopt when using MMS are covered
in Lesson 7, and these are reflected upon and
consolidated in Lesson 8.
Further information
As yet there is little available information on MMS,
but this is likely to develop over time. Sources of
information and advice for SMS will generally apply
to MMS also.
30
Lesson 1
Using technology to communicate
Lesson 1
This lesson sets the context for the Internet Proficiency Scheme and helps to establish the
level of experiences pupils have had in using ICT.
In this lesson pupils are encouraged to talk about their own experiences of using technology
to communicate – what they have used and for what purposes. They consider the
advantages that technology offers as well as possible disadvantages. An important message
to include is that this scheme is designed to help them to learn to use these technologies
safely, effectively and responsibly.
It will be helpful if pupils have undertaken the IP Scheme audit before they tackle this lesson
Details on this can be found in the ‘Implementing the Internet Proficiency Scheme’ section of
this pack. This will provide information on which pupils have already used which technologies
and highlight gaps in experience. This lesson provides opportunities for differentiation to take
prior experience into account.
Resources for this lesson can be downloaded from
http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers.
Learning objectives
Pupils will:
• recognise that communication has a purpose and that there are many ways of communicating
• recognise that technology can provide effective ways of communicating with people
• recognise the benefits of using technology to communicate but realise that there are risks in using
communication technologies and these can be reduced if appropriate behaviours are adopted.
More experienced pupils will be able to select appropriate technologies for specific purposes and
justify their choices.
Organisation
This lesson begins with a whole-class introduction followed by pupils working in small groups to share
ideas. These ideas are then shared with the whole class. Further group discussions follow and a
plenary session is used to share and record what has been learned.
Timing
The lesson should take
approximately 55 minutes
Suggested age group of children
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
✔
✔
✔
Useful for
Whole class teaching
Large group work
Small group/pairs
✔
✔
33
Lesson 1
Relevant to the following areas of the English National Curriculum:
PSHE and Citizenship Framework at Key Stage 2
Developing confidence and responsibility and
making the most of their abilities
1. Pupils should be taught:
c) to face new challenges positively by collecting
information, looking for help, making
responsible choices, and taking action
e) about the range of jobs carried out by people
they know, and to understand how they can
develop skills to make their own contribution in
the future
Preparing to play an active role as citizens
a) to research, discuss and debate topical issues,
problems and events
c) to realise the consequences of anti-social and
aggressive behaviours, such as bullying and
racism, on individuals and communities
Breadth of opportunities
5. During the key stage, pupils should be taught
the knowledge, skills and understanding
through opportunities to:
a) take responsibility (for example, for planning
and looking after the school environment; for
the needs of others, such as by acting as a
peer supporter, as a befriender, or as a
playground mediator for younger pupils; for
looking after animals properly; for identifying
safe, healthy and sustainable means of travel
when planning their journey to school)
d) make real choices and decisions (for example,
about issues affecting their health and wellbeing such as smoking; on the use of scarce
resources; how to spend money, including
pocket money and contributions to charities)
k) to explore how the media present information.
Resources
Below is an outline of the activities and the resources required for the activities in lesson 1. Bold typeface
indicates the name of the resource, e.g. ‘Slogans’. All the resources are contained in this pack or can be
downloaded from http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers
34
Part of the Lesson
Type and Title of Resource
Activity 1, Part 1
Communication Devices – a visual aid (a set of pictures that could be used if
artefacts are unavailable). Alternatively an electronic presentation of these
devices can be downloaded from http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers
Activity 1, Part 2
Communicating – a Pupil Recording sheet for Group A pupils (they should work in
groups to record their ideas
How we communicate (remove bold) – a pupil recording sheet for groups
B and C (One sheet per group)
Plenary
Slogans – a Pupil Recording sheet (one set for each group of pupils; you may also
want to enlarge this, ask pupils to choose the best slogan for each different
technology and turn it into a classroom display)
Follow-up
Diary – a Pupil Recording sheet (as a follow-up activity pupils could record what and
how often they use different technologies; each pupil would need a copy)
You might begin by telling pupils that this is an
introductory lesson to the IP scheme, which is
about learning to use the technology safely. Where
a lot of pupils have considerable experience of
using some of the technologies, you could suggest
that they will be able to help others by sharing the
lessons they have learned about Internet safety.
You could give additional support to pupils who
have difficulties by asking specific questions to
encourage them to focus their thinking. For
example, “How does the Head Teacher speak to
children?” (face to face); “How do people speak to
the secretary?” (face to face, over the telephone or
fax, via e-mail); “How do you speak to relations that
live in another town or village?” and “Who do you
communicate with?”.
As a whole class, ask pupils to suggest different ways
of communicating. These suggestions could include:
Groups B and C
Part 1
• Traditional methods
– talking (face to face, telephone, fax)
– writing (letters and notes)
– pictures/signs
• New technologies – Internet, mobile phones,
teletext, e-mail, chat rooms, text messaging
(SMS and MMS – multimedia messaging), instant
messaging (IM), TV, video or digital recording.
If pupils are struggling to think of ideas, you could
show them the presentation Communication
Devices. Alternatively, the pictures in
Communication Devices could be copied on to an
OHT and used to initiate discussion. It might be
possible to supplement this with actual artefacts such
as mobile phones. Check that every pupil is familiar
with at least one of them.
(20 minutes)
Part 2
Divide pupils into three groups according to their
experience in using technology (starting with Group
A as the least able/experienced).
Group A
Ask all the children to work in twos or threes to discuss
how different people in the school communicate with
others within the school, in the community and in the
wider world. They should use the brainstorm template,
Communicating, to record their ideas. Remind pupils
that all ideas should be recorded.
Lesson 1
Activity 1: Communication tools and their uses
Working in groups of two or three, ask children to
consider which method of communication would be
best for a number of situations, such as:
• inviting a visitor into school
• telling parents about a school assembly
• sending a picture/photograph
• asking children in another country about school life
• sending a copy of a poster you have made (by
hand and on the computer)
• asking for a copy of a catalogue with school
resources in it.
Ask them to think of something that needs to be
communicated, the method they would choose and
why they think it is most appropriate for that particular
purpose. They could record their ideas in a simple
chart, like the example How we communicate.
Encourage pupils to reflect on their own uses and
their own behaviours: Why did they choose
particular approaches? Were they the most
effective? Did they come across any potentially risky
situations? What did they do? If pupils do not have
any examples of potentially risky situations that they
can describe you will need to present one or two –
perhaps receiving an e-mail with a virus attached or
unsolicited text messages on your mobile phone.
Ask pupils what they would do in each situation.
It will be important to de-sensationalise responses. The
important aspect of this activity is to encourage pupils
to reflect on why they chose the approaches they did
and to be able to record/communicate those choices.
(15 minutes)
35
Lesson 1
Plenary
Encourage each pair to describe one communication tool they have used and why they chose it.
If possible, collate responses but do not let it slow
down the flow of ideas. Start with less able and
less experienced pupils, Group A, as they will have
a smaller repertoire on which to draw.
Suggest that they make a note of which pupils are
confident with each device. They might produce a
simple chart. Explain that the purpose of this is to
show who to ask if they get into difficulties. This
should encourage those more experienced pupils
to adopt a responsible approach to supporting
their peers.
Pupils could create slogans for electronic
communication. The file, Slogans, could be used
as a starting point. Print out the sheets and
enlarge them using a photocopier if possible, and
then cut on the lines. Slogans might include: ‘Chat
with a chum’ (which could be using a chat room or
on a telephone), ‘Fax a photo’, ‘Mail a message’,
‘Add an attachment’. Pupils should select the
appropriate illustrated strip for their slogan. These
slogans can be displayed to illustrate the different
purposes for which we can use the technologies.
(10 minutes)
(10 minutes)
Follow-up (optional)
Learning outcomes
Ask pupils where they use the technologies and
how often. They might keep a record of their
electronic communications for a week using the
Diary template.
Pupils will be:
• able to name several different ways of
communicating with and without technology
• able to identify appropriate methods for
particular purposes
• aware that there are potential risks but that they
can learn how to deal with them.
36
Lesson 1
Visual Aid
Lesson 1, Activity 1, Part 1
Resource: ‘Communication Devices’
All Groups
37
Visual Aid
38
All Groups
Lesson 1
Visual Aid
All groups
39
Visual Aid
40
All Groups
Lesson 1
Visual Aid
The chat topic is : Sport
Who won the World Cup in 2002?
Dinosaur says
Wasn’t it Germany v Brazil in the final?
Brains says
Yes the Germans lost 2.0
Jackie has joined the conversation
But didn’t Germany win in 1990, it was in Italy I think
Dinosaur leaves the conversation
I always preferred rugby myself
Phil has joined the conversation
Who cares!!
Jackie leaves the conversation
How is the project going? Is it all on schedule?
Greg says
Yes, it’s all going to plan we are only waiting on
approval to change one small detail
Sarah says
When will it be complete then?
Greg says
By the end of the month as planned
Sarah says
Fantastic! Keep up the good work!
Greg says
All groups
41
Visual Aid
42
All groups
Lesson 1
Visual Aid
All groups
43
Visual Aid
44
All groups
Resource: ‘Communicating’
How we communicate
with each other
Lesson 1
Group A
Pupil Recording
Sheet
45
Pupil
Recording Sheet
How we communicate
Purpose
what do we want to
communicate?
46
Method
Why
how do we do it?
what makes this method
the best for this purpose?
Resource: How we communicate
Groups B and C
Lesson 1, Plenary
Resource: ‘Slogans’
Lesson 1
All groups
Pupil Recording
Sheet
47
48
Lesson 1, Plenary
Jackie leaves the conversation
Who cares!!
Phil has joined the conversation
I always preferred rugby myself
Dinosaur leaves the conversation
But didn’t Germany win in 1990, it was in Italy I think
Jackie has joined the conversation
Yes the Germans lost 2.0
Brains says
Wasn’t it Germany v Brazil in the final?
Dinosaur says
Who won the World Cup in 2002?
The chat topic is : Sport
All groups
Pupil Recording
Sheet
Lesson 1, Plenary
Lesson 1
All groups
Pupil Recording
Sheet
49
50
Lesson 1, Plenary
Greg says
Fantastic! Keep up the good work!
Sarah says
By the end of the month as planned
Greg says
When will it be complete then?
Sarah says
Yes, it’s all going to plan we are only waiting on
approval to change one small detail
Greg says
How is the project going? Is it all on schedule?
All groups
Pupil Recording
Sheet
Lesson 1, Plenary
Lesson 1
All groups
Pupil Recording
Sheet
51
52
Fax
SMS
MMS
Resource: ‘Diary’
Comments:
Comments:
Lesson 1, Follow-up
Any problems?
Any problems?
Internet
Was it a good way to do it?
Mobile phone
E-mail
Was it a good way to do it?
Terrestrial phone
Methods used:
Time it took:
Chat
Time it took:
Internet
E-mail
Purpose:
Purpose:
Methods used:
Date:
Chat
Fax
Terrestrial phone
Communication Diary
Date:
Communication Diary
MMS
Mobile phone
SMS
All groups
Pupil Recording
Sheet
Lesson 2
Introducing the Cybercafé web site
During this lesson children will have the opportunity to use the Cybercafé web site
(www.gridclub.com/cybercafe), learning how to navigate around the web site, what activities
are available and how the characters can help them with the activities. You will find it helpful
to read the ‘How to use the Cybercafé web site’ section in this pack beforehand.
Lesson 2
Children will also be introduced to the SMARTthinking section of the Cybercafé and have the
opportunity to discuss the messages and questions. This is an introduction to
SMARTthinking; there will be plenty of opportunities in subsequent lessons to develop pupils’
thinking about applying the SMARTthinking process to different situations.
This would also be a useful opportunity to remind pupils about the school’s Acceptable Use Policy.
The materials for this lesson can be downloaded from www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers.
Learning objectives
Organisation
Pupils will:
Ideally this lesson should take place in an ICT suite
so that pupils can explore the Cybercafé at their
own pace. If access to an ICT suite is not possible,
you will need to demonstrate how to enter the web
site and navigate around it. Plenty of time will be
needed for pupils to explore the web site, working
in pairs, and to find out where the SMARTthinking
area is located. Some pupils may need support
with reading some of the text on the web site.
• be able to navigate the Cybercafé web site
• explore the different sections of the Cybercafé
web site – e-mail, chat, web browsing, SMS text
messaging
• develop or reinforce appropriate vocabulary and
navigation skills as they explore the web site,
such as navigation tools (arrows on the tool bar
and arrows at either side of the web site), hot
links/hyperlinks, ‘Help’ and ‘Glossary’ buttons
• experiment with methods of communication
that they are unfamiliar with, such as chat
rooms
• be able to use the glossary to find the
meaning of new terminology
• become aware of the SMARTthinking
messages that are designed to help them use
the Internet and communicate safely.
Timing
65 minutes (approx.); longer if
pupils would benefit from
investigating the Cybercafé
This lesson begins with a whole-class
introduction, during which you or a pupil could
demonstrate how to log on to the Cybercafé and
how to navigate around it. Pupils then work in
pairs to explore the site. They may need to be
directed to the section containing the
SMARTthinking messages and to consider
whether they think any of them have been
applied in the activities on the web site.
Please note pupils should not complete the quiz
at this stage. They should wait until they have
undergone all of the lessons and completed all of
the sections on the web site.
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
✔
✔
Useful for
Large group work
Small group/pairs
✔
✔
53
Lesson 2
Relevant to the following
Knowledge, skills and understanding
f) to resolve differences by looking at alternatives,
making decisions and explaining their choices
Resources
Part of the Lesson
Activity Part 1
Cybercafé web site – www.gridclub.com/cybercafe
(this is to be found in Appendix 1 of the teacher’s pack)
Activity Part 2
Decisions A – a Pupil Worksheet (Group A)
Decisions B – a Pupil Worksheet (Group B)
Decisions B and C – Pupil Worksheet (Group C)
Activity Part 3
Glossary – a Pupil Recording sheet (pupils should note down terms and type in their
meaning in the template)
Plenary
SMARTthinking – a visual aid (you may want to print this out on an OHT)
Stop, Think, Go! – a visual aid (you may want to print this out on an OHT)
A colour version of both these resources is included in this pack.
Introducing the lesson
You could start by asking the children how many of
them have used the Internet for research, e-mails
or chat rooms. Have they ever had any problems
when using these technologies? What did they do?
Have they ever thought about possible risks with
using this type of technology for communicating?
54
Explain that they are going to visit a Cybercafé that
has been specifically designed to help them learn
how to keep themselves safe when using the
different types of technologies.
(5 minutes)
Activity 1
Demonstrate how to load the web site to the whole
class (or ask a pupil to do so). Tell the children that
this is the Cybercafé. Point out to pupils that there
are four main areas to investigate: web browsing,
e-mail, SMS/text messaging and the chat room. It
may be helpful if you allocate different areas to them
so they will not all be feeding back on the same area
during the plenary session.
Now ask them to work in pairs at a computer, and
look around the site to see what sorts of activities are
on offer. There are characters who will help them if
they get stuck. Remind pupils to read the information
carefully. If they get stuck, Griff, the ‘help’ character,
will help them or they can refer to the specific help
sections situated in the different areas.
(5 minutes)
Part 2
In pairs, pupils explore the Cybercafé site. As pupils
settle into the activity, ask them if they have come across
any new vocabulary. Make a note of the words, perhaps
by encouraging pupils to write them on a blank OHT as
they come across them, or on a flipchart or interactive
whiteboard. Depending on the age, ability or experience
of the children, you might show them how to find and
use the site’s glossary as they identify the words.
After a brief exploration, pupils should investigate
one activity in more detail.
(25 minutes: 5 for general exploration, 15 minutes
for focused investigation, 5 minutes for recording
their decisions as described below)
Group A
As suggested in the first part of this activity, pupils
should spend a few minutes exploring all areas briefly
and then look at the most appropriate area in detail.
This group is likely to need quite a lot of support, as
there are lots of things to look at. They might also need
help in identifying and recording new terminology. They
should try and recall the decisions they were asked to
make to help the character. If they are struggling, they
could be presented with the appropriate page from the
prepared question sheets, Decisions A, in which they
are asked to highlight their decision.
Some pupils may benefit from having an adult or other
more experienced pupils supporting them, helping to
read the text or discuss it as necessary. It may also
benefit pupils if they investigate one character/activity at
a time rather than browsing the entire site at once. A
note should be made of any terminology with which
children are unfamiliar. It might be helpful to print out
the screen where the new words are found and record
the words on small pieces of card or paper which can
then be attached to the print-out.
Lesson 2
Part 1
Group B
Pupils in this group will have had more experience of
using the Internet and possibly, of using a wider range of
communication methods. Some pupils might need a little
support to navigate around the site, but hopefully, when
they select an area to investigate more closely, they will be
more confident. Many pupils in this group are likely to
have been exposed to more safety guidance and should
be able to explain the reasons behind their decisionmaking. They may be able to relate some of the decisions
to their own personal experiences. Pupils in this group
could use the appropriate pages from the prepared
questions sheets, Decisions B. In this, they are asked to
explain why they made that decision.
Group C
Pupils in this group will have had considerably more
experience with some aspects of communication
technology, or of a broader range. They are also more
likely to have had some experience of risky situations.
Ask pupils to look at the Cybercafé and to select one
area per pair for closer investigation. Ask them to
compare the activities with their own experiences. Do
they think that the advice is appropriate? Could they
add anything else to the advice? What do they think
are the most significant safety messages that children
need? Show them the questions in Decisions B and
ask them to devise some safety-related decision-
55
Lesson 2
making questions for the rest of the group. These
should be restricted to the areas being covered: web
browsing, e-mail, chat and SMS. They could use the
template, Decisions C, to record their ideas.
Part 3 – Glossary
If you have not already shown pupils how to use the
glossary, do this now. Ask for volunteers to locate some
of the words. As they find them, they should write the
word and their version of the meaning on to the
Glossary template and attach the finished speech
bubble to their monitor. (Ideally, templates will be printed
out on card, and cut out, prior to the lesson.) After the
lesson, the templates can be added to a class display.
(10 minutes)
Plenary
Discuss the web site – what do they like about it? Is
there anything they dislike? Discuss how easy it is to
move around the web site. Did anyone have any
problems? How did they solve the problem?
Did they notice a particular slogan that kept being
used? What was it? Was it helpful? Use the Stop,
Think, Go! visual aid to reinforce this message.
Which characters did they come across? What did the
characters need help with? Were you able to help? Did
they use the Stop, Think and Go! approach? Did it help?
Ask them what messages they were given (e.g. don’t
copy chunks of text out, it might get you into trouble
at school – instead read it and write it in your own
words; don’t tell anyone your name and address –
these are part of your unique identity). Make a list of
the suggestions on the board, a flipchart or an OHT.
Ask them which areas of the Café they were in.
Encourage pupils to feed back their decisions. Ask
pupils in Group A how they responded to a particular
situation and then ask children in Group B if they
made the same decisions. Ask the pupils in Group B
why they made that decision. Is this why those in
Group A made the decision?
Ask pupils in Group C to read out or talk through
their scenarios. Ask pupils what they would do. Does
this match what the Group C pupils did? If not, what
did they do? What was the best decision?
(10 minutes)
SMARTthinking
Ask if any pupils discovered the SMARTthinking
messages section. Encourage one of these pupils to
demonstrate and ask all pupils to find SMARTthinking
on their computer. Ask them to read through the
messages twice and then to turn off their monitors as
you are going to have a quick-fire quiz!
• How many messages are there?
• What did they notice about each section?
• Who can remember any of the significant messages?
• What do we need to think about when we
receive ‘anonymous’ messages?
• What are the ‘reliable’ messages? E.g. you
can’t rely on people telling you the truth.
• What are the ‘secret’ messages?
• What are the ‘meeting’ messages?
• What are the ‘tell’ messages?
Remind them to keep the clues in their head when
they are using the Internet. “Remember to Stop,
Think and Go to keep yourself safe”.
(10 minutes)
Learning outcomes
Ask pupils to prepare a badge, or a poster based
on one of the rules they have looked at today or
on the Stop, Think, Go! slogan.
Pupils will:
• know how to navigate the Cybercafé web site
• realise that the characters will help them to learn
how to keep themselves safe.
Children will be able to talk about some of the
rules that they have come across. However, there
will be a lot more time and many opportunities for
them to develop a real understanding of these
rules as they work through the scheme.
56
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
Decisions A
Web browsing
Lesson 2
You decide to use a search engine. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go to a child-friendly search engine
• Go to a search engine that is not child-friendly
You see an advert linking to another site. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead and click it
• Go, leaving the page without clicking it
You arrive by mistake at an unsuitable web site. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go straight to the ‘back’ button and get off the page
• Turn off the monitor and Go and tell your parent/carer
You are asked to register your details on a site. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go from the page without registering
• Go ahead and register
You find a useful site that will help you with your homework. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead and copy large chunks – no one will know
• Go and write it up in your own words
Lesson 2, Activity Part 2
Resource: ‘Decisions A’
Group A
57
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
Decisions A
E-mail
A friend sends you an attachment you’re not sure of. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead and open it
• Go to the ‘Reply’ button to check that the attachment’s genuine
Someone you’ve only met on line asks you to send them a photo of yourself. What should
you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead and send it
• Go and tell your parent/carer or teacher
You get an e-mail from someone telling you that you’ve won a prize. What should you do?
Stop, think and
• Go ahead and reply – you may have won something big!
• Go to the ‘Delete’ button to get rid of the message
58
Group A
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
Decisions A
Chat rooms
Lesson 2
You’re looking for a chat room. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go to a moderated chat room
• Go to an unmoderated chat room
Someone you’ve only met on line asks you to meet up. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead, it will be fun
Someone in a chat room says something unpleasant. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead and reply
• Go and leave the chat room
Group A
59
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
Decisions A
SMS/Text messaging
You have your own mobile phone and you want to use it in what you think could be an
unsafe place. Stop, think and
• Go somewhere that you think might be safer to use it
• Go ahead and use it anyway
You are crossing the road and your phone rings. Stop, think and
• Go ahead and answer it
• Go ahead and wait until you have crossed the road safely – you can always ring them back!
You are in the cinema watching a film and your phone rings. Stop, think and
• Go ahead and answer it – no-one will mind
• Go straight for the ‘off’ button and remember to turn it off next time!
You want to send a text message to a friend but you are not sure of their number.
Stop, think and
• Go ahead and guess – you’ll probably get it right!
• Go ahead and text you friend who knows the number – then you can be sure!
60
Group A
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
Decisions B
Web browsing
You decide to use a search engine. What should you do? Stop, think and
Lesson 2
• Go to a child-friendly engine
• Go to an search engine that is not child-friendly
Why?
You see an advert linking to another site. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead and click it
• Go, leaving the page without clicking it
Why?
You arrive by mistake at an unsuitable site. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go straight to the back button and get off the page
• Turn off monitor and Go and tell your parent/carer
Why?
You are asked to register your details at a site. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go from the page without registering
• Go ahead and register
Why?
You find a useful site that will help you with your homework. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead and copy large chunks – no one will know
• Go and write it up in your own words
Why?
Resource: ‘Decisions B’
Group B and C
61
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
Decisions B
E-mail
A friend sends you an attachment you’re not sure of. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead and open it
• Go to the ‘Reply’ button to check that the attachment’s genuine
Why?
Someone you’ve only met on line asks you to send them a photo of yourself. What should
you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead and send it
Why?
You get an e-mail from someone telling you that you’ve won a prize. What should you do?
Stop, think and
• Go ahead and reply – you may have won something big!
• Go to the ‘Delete’ button to get rid of the message
Why?
62
Group B and C
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
Decisions B
Chat rooms
You’re looking for a chat room. What should you do? Stop, think and
Lesson 2
• Go to a moderated chat room
• Go to an unmoderated chat room
Why?
Someone you’ve only met on line asks you to meet up. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead, it will be fun
Why?
Someone in a chat room says something unpleasant. What should you do? Stop, think and
• Go ahead and reply
• Go and leave the chat room
Why?
Group B and C
63
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
Decisions B
SMS/Text messaging
You have your own mobile phone and you want to use it in what you think could be an
unsafe place. Stop, think and
• Go somewhere that you think might be safer to use it
• Go ahead and use it anyway
Why?
You are crossing the road and your phone rings. Stop, think and
• Go ahead and answer it
• Go ahead and wait until you have crossed the road safely – you can always ring them back!
Why?
You are in the cinema watching a film and your phone rings. Stop, think and
• Go ahead and answer it – no-one will mind
• Go straight for the ‘off’ button and remember to turn it off next time!
Why?
You want to send a text message to a friend but you are not sure of their number.
Stop, think and
• Go ahead and guess – you’ll probably get it right!
• Go ahead and text a friend who knows the number – then you can be sure!
Why?
64
Group B and C
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
Decisions C
Lesson 2
Scenario
Choice 1:
Choice 2:
What you
would do
OR
What you did
Scenario
Choice 1:
Choice 2:
What you
would do
OR
What you did
Resource: ‘Decisions C’
Group C
65
Resource: ‘Glossary’
66
All groups
Pupil Recording
Sheet
Visual Aid
Lesson 2
SMARTthinking
Lesson 2 Plenary
Lesson 2
S
M
A
R
T
= Secret
STOP and THINK
= Meeting
contacting you on line or through a messaging
anyone you have only met on line?
STOP and THINK
WHAT might happen?
= Attachments
WHO sent it?
STOP and THINK
the computer?
= Reliable
STOP and THINK
WHETHER I can rely on someone I
can’t see telling me the truth
= Tell
STOP and THINK
WHO can I tell?
Resource: ‘SMARTthinking’
All groups
67
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
STOP
STOP
THINK
THINK
GO
Lesson 2 Plenary
68
GO
Resource: ‘Stop! Think! Go?’
All groups
Lesson 3
Communication and Information
The focus for this lesson is to encourage children to think about why we communicate with
other people and about the information we give them. It builds on Lessons 1 and 2.
Children will consider why we communicate with each other – to exchange information, to
ask for information or to share information. It is helpful if examples of different types of
communications – letter, fax, household bill, text message, application form, newspaper,
advert, for example – are available for pupils to look at during the lesson. Most examples will
be of giving information, so you may need to create one or two specially – a fax or letter,
perhaps – which can be examples of requesting or sharing information.
Lesson 3
From thinking about information in general, pupils move on to consider the idea of ‘personal’
and ‘private’ information about themselves. The activities also help them to think about how
small bits of seemingly inconsequential information can enable someone to find out a lot
more about them, and therefore put them in a vulnerable position. Then, through a role-play
activity, the focus moves to the question of whether people always tell the truth and whether
they can tell the difference between answers that are true or false when they cannot see the
speaker. Finally, the pupils think about people they can expect to trust because they know
them, and strangers, with whom they need to be cautious.
This is a difficult area for young children and needs to be handled with sensitivity. The
emphasis needs to be on how they can take steps to act safely rather than on the dangers
they might encounter. Equally, they need to learn about what they should do if they are
uncertain or feel uncomfortable about a situation.
Resources for this lesson can be downloaded from www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers.
Learning objectives
Pupils will:
Pupils will learn to question:
• begin to think about what personal information
should be kept private
• the purpose of any communications they receive
• why the person requesting information wants
it, whether they really need it and what they
will be using it for
• whether it is safe to give out personal information.
Subsequent lessons will provide opportunities for
discussing the circumstances under which it is
appropriate to give out personal information and
when caution should be used.
Timing
75 minutes (approx.); younger pupils
may need longer. The lesson could
be split in two, after Activity 1.
• understand that there are possible risks and
consequences in sharing too much information
and that this scheme will help them to develop
their own safety strategies
• be able to identify personal information that is
unique to them
• be able to relate some of the safety rules to the
communication technologies.
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
✔
✔
Useful for
Large group work
Small group/pairs
✔
✔
69
Lesson 3
Organisation
• A whole-class activity relating to personal information
The lesson has five parts:
• An activity looking at how we communicate with
someone when we cannot see them; in small
groups, pupils sort out a set of statements that
describe face-to-face or on-line scenarios
• An introductory whole-class discussion on why
we communicate
• Pupils working in small groups to look at a
selection of printed communications which
should be sorted out according to the criteria of
asking for or giving information
• A plenary session in which pupils consider if any
of the safety rules are particularly relevant to what
they have learned during the lesson.
Relevant to the following
a) take responsibility, (for example, for planning
and looking after the school environment; for
the needs of others, such as by acting as a
peer supporter, as a befriender, or as a
playground mediator for younger pupils; for
looking after animals properly; for identifying
safe, healthy and sustainable means of travel
when planning their journey to school)
about issues affecting their health and wellbeing such as smoking; on the use of scarce
resources; how to spend money, including
pocket money and contributions to charities)
g) consider social and moral dilemmas that they
come across in life (for example, encouraging
respect and understanding between different
races and dealing with harassment)
Resources
Part of the Lesson
Activity 2, Part 1
Personal – a visual aid (pupils should have a copy each or one per group)
Activity 2, Part 2
Who Would You Tell? – a Pupil Activity Sheet (each group should have a set of cards)
Private Information – a Pupil Activity Sheet (each group should have 3 or 4 sets of these)
Activity 3, Part 1
True or False? – a prompt sheet for the teacher
Activity 3, Part 2
Statements – a Pupil Activity Sheet (one set per group, for pupils to cut up and sort
accordingly)
Scenarios – a Pupil Recording Sheet (pupils should use the cut-out statements from
the above resource and sort them into relevant sections on an enlarged Scenarios sheet)
Plenary
70
Tara’s Story – (optional – this can be downloaded from
http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers)
You could begin the activity by asking pupils to look at a selection of written ‘communications’. Ask pupils if
they can sort out these items according to the type of information they contain – which ones give
information, which ask for it, or share it?
(5 minutes)
Working in groups of 4 or 6, pupils should try and
sort out a selection of paper-based communications. The criteria should be:
• asking for information
• giving information
• sharing information.
After a few minutes, ask pupils, as a whole class,
to make a list of the types of communications that
give information – letters, flyers, programmes and
tickets, for example. Now ask them to make a list
of types of communications that ask for information
(this might include items such as application forms
and registration forms).
Lesson 3
Activity 1: Asking, giving or sharing information
Pupils may find that they are unsure which category to
put some items in. Spend a few minutes discussing
these. Some forms of communication can be in more
than one category, of course: a letter might be telling
you that you have won a prize – but you will probably
have to fill in a claim form in order to collect it. Older
pupils will be able to understand that ‘no one gives
anything for nothing’. If someone says that you have
won something they must want something back! They
need to think about how their information might be
used – will they be inundated by advertising for all
sorts of products and services, for example? Ask
pupils to recount personal experiences related to this.
(10 minutes)
Activity 2: Personal Information
Part 1
Introduce this section by playing a guessing game
with pupils. Start by saying something like:
“I am thinking of a boy in class 4. Can you guess
who it is?”
“I am thinking of a member of the football team in
Class 3. Can you guess who it is?”
“… someone who lives at ….”
“… A nine-year-old in Class 5 with blonde hair who
plays the violin ….”
“… Someone with the family name ‘-----’ ….”
Ask pupils to think about the pieces of information
that enabled them to identify the person you were
thinking of. Sometimes only one piece of information
was needed; on other occasions it was necessary
to use more that one; sometimes seemingly
unrelated bits of information can be put together like
71
Lesson 3
a jigsaw to help us to identify someone. We need to
think very carefully about the information we give to
anyone, particularly on line, as we cannot be sure
they are who they say they are.
Discuss what sorts of information are safe. Introduce
the idea of personal information, that is, information
that can identify each person individually. Give each
pupil a Personal card. Fire a few questions at
individual pupils: if it is safe to do so, they can answer
but if it requires personal information, they should hold
up the Personal card (or simply say, “Personal”).
Part 2
Give each group a set of cards cut from the Who
Would You Tell? sheet, plus 3 or 4 sets of cards
cut from the Private Information sheet. It helps if
the two sets of cards are printed on different
coloured paper. Ask the pupils to spread out the
Who Would You Tell? cards on a flat surface. They
should position the Private Information cards next
to the characters to show what information they
would give. Discuss the outcomes briefly.
(15 minutes)
Introduce the idea that people who ask for
information using the new technologies might not
be who they say they are.
(10 minutes)
Activity 3
Part 1 – Mystery people
For this activity it would be useful if you could
‘borrow’ an adult, an older pupil, or a pupil from
another class, to hide behind a screen. This person’s
role is to reply to pupils’ questions, telling some
untruths and/or pretending to be someone else.
Introduce the children to the role-play, where they
have to find out about the person behind the screen.
Encourage them to ask questions in turn. It may be
useful to have some questions prepared (True or
False?). The person behind the screen should answer
some questions truthfully and some untruthfully.
After each of the questions has been asked, ask the
children if they thought the answer they were given
was truthful or not. They could indicate this by a
show of hands. The numbers should be recorded
on the True or False? sheet. After each question,
ask the person behind the screen whether it was
true or false. Check to see who was right.
Now ask the children to guess who is behind the
screen. Ask them why they think that. See if
anyone was correct by bringing the person from
72
behind the screen. Try asking the same questions
again and see if it is easier to tell whether someone
is telling lies in a face-to-face situation.
(10 minutes)
Part 2
Pupils should work in small groups. Give each
group a pair of scissors, and a copy of Statements
and Scenarios. Ask them to spend a few minutes
looking at the different statements before they cut
them into individual strips.
Discuss some of the statements and demonstrate
how to organise the statements into those that are
more appropriate to face-to-face interactions, those
that describe on-line communications or those that
could apply to both methods. If children are
struggling with some statements, they can leave
them to the end. Pupils should discuss each
statement and think about whether it applies to
communicating face to face, on line or both and
place it in the appropriate area on Scenarios.
(10 minutes)
This is a good opportunity to refer to the
SMARTthinking section on the Cybercafé web site
and in Lesson 2. Consider how the messages
relate to what has been covered in this lesson.
(5 minutes)
With younger pupils, this is also a good opportunity
to ask whether, if they were in a chat room, they
would always tell the truth. What might they tell lies
about (adding a year or two to their age is quite
common, and even changing gender)? Can they
think of any dangers this might involve?
cybercafe/teachers). Tell them that you are going to
tell them a story about a girl called Tara to illustrate
the things they have been discussing. Reassure
them that they need not panic and think that they
are going to be in danger because they have given
out some personal information. Tell them that if they
are concerned or worried they should talk to you, a
parent or carer. Remind them that the story
describes a very unusual situation. Tell them that
you would like them to make a note of three or four
bits of information that Tara disclosed as they will
be discussing this in a later lesson.
(10 minutes)
Lesson 3
Plenary
With older pupils, you could read out Tara’s story
(or download it from http://www.gridclub.com/
Learning outcomes
• Pupils will begin to think about whether the
information they are being asked for is necessary
and will be used properly. They will be able to
look for privacy clauses on registration and
application forms.
• They will be aware of the differences between
private and personal information that can identify
them uniquely, and general information. They will
be aware of the difficulties associated with
communicating with people on line.
73
Resource: ‘Personal’
Lesson 3
Personal
All groups
Pupil
Visual Aid
75
76
Your friend’s
Grandad
David Beckham
Man in the
street
Resource: ‘Who would you tell?’
Competition on
a web site
Your teacher
Lady on the bus
Bus driver
Chat room
friend
Dustbin
collector
Doctor
Your favourite
aunt
Shop assistant in
the supermarket
Who would you tell?
All groups
Pupil Activity
Sheet
full name
address
full name
address
first name
telephone number
first name
telephone number
age
post code
age
post code
age
post code
Lesson 3
Resource: ‘Private Information’
address
telephone number
full name
first name
All groups
Pupil Activity
Sheet
77
Teacher’s
Prompt Sheet
True or False?
True
False
What is your name?
Where do you live?
What is your favourite
television programme?
Who lives in your house?
How old are you?
Do you like reading?
Which football team
do you support?
Have you any brothers
or sisters?
What is your
best friend called?
78
Resource: ‘True or False?’
All Groups
Pupil
Activity Sheet
Communicating with people
Cut out these statements and sort them into two piles: those that describe talking face-to-face
with someone and those that describe a conversation on line.
1 You know who you’re talking to
because you can see them
7 It’s easy to tell what people mean
because you can hear the tone
of their voice
2 You can talk to someone in
another country
8 You must think carefully about
giving them personal information,
such as where you live
3 You don’t know who you’re
talking to because you can’t
see them
9 You should tell a grown-up you
trust if someone is bullying you
4 You can pretend to be someone
you’re not
10 You should tell a grown-up you
trust if someone says
something that makes you feel
uncomfortable
5 You can tell what sort of age the
person is
11 Even if you can see someone,
you don’t always know who
you’re talking to
6 You can’t always tell if they are
joking or serious
12 The person you are talking to
may not be telling the truth
Resource: ‘Statements’
Lesson 3
Some statements may belong in both piles – put these in the middle along with any which you
are unsure of.
All groups
79
Face-to-face
80
Resource: ‘Scenarios’
Both
Electronic
All groups
Pupil Recording
Sheet
Plenary
Clues We Give Away: Tara’s story
She rushed to the computer and signed on as “FootieGirl”
– and there he was! Right where he always was, in her
favourite teen chat room, Teen Sports.
FootieGirl: Hi Jamie21. Guess what? We won!
Jamie21: Hi FootieGirl. What was the score?
FootieGirl: 2 goals to 0! I scored the first goal! We even
had our photo taken by the local paper. I’m going to be
famous!!
Jamie21: Cool. Who do you play next week?
to give out anything that could help anyone find her in real
life. Just then her mother called her, and she ran down the
stairs to dinner to share the good news with her family
about the match.
The following week, Tara had a team practice every day.
Somehow things didn’t feel right, though. It was as though
someone was following her. She kept looking over her
shoulder when she walked home, and it was starting to
get dark earlier. She found herself picking up her pace,
and was winded when she arrived home. She unlocked
the door quickly and looked around. Although she didn’t
see anyone, she was very uncomfortable. As she got into
her house on wednesday, she remembered that her Mum
would be working late today. She wished her Mum had
been there, as it would have been good just to say “Hello”.
FootieGirl: Hi Jamie21 . . .
Jamie21: Hi FootieGirl, what’s up?
FootieGirl: Green Lane School. They were the champs last
year. It’ll be a tough game.
FootieGirl: I was nervous today. Must be worrying about
the next game. Thought someone was watching me on
the way home.
Jamie21: Are you still wearing the No.9 shirt?
Jamie21: Spooky! Did you see anyone following you?
FootieGirl: No, I’m No.8 now.
FootieGirl: No, but it felt weird. Like I could feel someone
watching me . . . but no one was there every time I looked.
Jamie21: What happened to the last No. 8?
FootieGirl: She moved to another school. The coach said
that No.8 girls have to be blonde, so he chose me! ;-)
Jamie21: Are your parents home?
FootieGirl: Yes. It’s okay. Probably just pre-match nerves. ;-)
Jamie21: Great! I gotta go. Mum’s calling me for dinner.
See you tomorrow.
Jamie21: You haven’t told anyone on line where you live or
your real name or anything, have you?
FootieGirl: CU L8R
FootieGirl: No, stop lecturing me! You sound like my
parents! ;->
Tara chatted with a few other friends for a while and then
logged off. Jamie21 was her favourite on-line friend. He
was fourteen, like Tara, but he lived in Birmingham. He
played football too and said he thought they should have
mixed football matches so they could play each other.
Although she didn’t even know his real name, and he
didn’t know hers, she knew lots about him. He was much
more fun than most of the other kids in the chat room. He
knew everything about football and they liked the same
pop groups. She wished she lived closer to Birmingham,
so they could go to football matches together.
Jamie21 really cared about her – he was always warning her
not to tell anyone her real name or address. It was nice that
he cared, but Tara already knew not to share any personal
information. Her parents and her teachers had all discussed
this with her and the other kids. She was very careful never
Lesson 3, Plenary
Lesson 3
Tara Peterson grabbed her backpack from the bench,
waved to the other members of the football team and
rushed off home. She was in a hurry, because she wanted
to catch Jamie21 in the chat room before he had to get
off-line for dinner. She turned the key in the lock and
rushed through the door, yelling, “Mum! I’m home!" She
took the stairs two at a time – there were only five minutes
left before Jamie21 would be going off line.
Jamie21: Oh! Oh! Gotta stop that!
FootieGirl: LOL [laughing out loud]
Jamie21: ROFLOL . . . [rolling on the floor laughing out loud]
Tara forgot her fear and chatted until her Mum came home
and dinner was ready.
The next day was the big game. Tara played really well,
and although she didn’t score a goal, the team won, going
on to the finals.
When she got home that night, she logged on and told
Jamie21 about their big win, and complained that they had
practice the next day after school, so she might not be
able to chat to him.
At the next day’s practice, she looked around the school
Resource: ‘Tara’s Story’
81
Plenary
field and saw a man standing there looking right at her.
He looked okay, but she felt uncomfortable because he
was only looking at her, not the other girls. Every time she
glanced in his direction, he was still watching, but once the
practice got going, she needed to concentrate. It was
when she was walking home that she remembered him.
This time, she was sure someone was following her. She kept
looking around, and although she didn’t see anyone, she was
really scared. She took the long way home, because it was
busier and better lit, but wished she were already safe and
sound in her home. Once, when she looked in a shop
window, she saw a reflection of someone she thought might
be the man at school, but when she turned around no one
was there. At one point she even heard footsteps.
As she neared her house, she broke into a run. It sounded
like the footsteps were speeding up, too, and she ran even
faster. She unlocked the door and slammed it shut. Her
mother, alarmed at the noise, walked into the living room
from the kitchen. “Are you okay, Tara?” she asked. “You
look upset.” Tara caught her breath, and said that she was
just in a rush to get home.
When she took the stairs this time, she took them slowly,
thinking while she climbed. She really had to talk to
Jamie21. She was very scared. But when she logged on,
Jamie21 wasn’t in the chat room. She sent him an instant
message, and saw that he wasn’t even on line. Just when
she really needed him!
Then the doorbell rang. She heard her mother answer it
and heard a male voice. A few minutes later, her mother
called her down. She was still trying to figure out how to tell
her parents about her fear without alarming them. When
she climbed down the stairs, her thoughts were elsewhere.
Her mother was sitting in the living room with a man – the
one she had seen on the football field! She started to worry.
Her mother said, “Tara, please sit down. This is Sergeant
Thompson from the police.”
"Hi, FootieGirl," said the man. “I’m Jamie21.”
She couldn’t believe her ears. Jamie21? This policeman?
But Jamie21 was only fourteen, and he lived in
Birmingham!
was simple enough for me to find out where Green Lane
School is. I called them and asked which team they were
playing this week. Then I looked in the local paper and
found your photo with the team, with all the names on it.
Then I looked up all the Petersons in the telephone
directory, and found your address and telephone number. I
called your parents and told them I was concerned.”
Tara was stunned. How could this policeman sitting in front
of her be her friend Jamie21? Besides, the police officer
said he was from her local town. How could that be when
Jamie21 was from Birmingham?
She knew who Jamie21 was because he told her things
about himself. And she didn’t take his word for it, she
checked him out. He told her she could see his photo on
his school web site, where he was in the football team for
Year 9. She’d looked at the web site, and there he was –
he looked really fit, too. That was written proof! But Tara
started paying attention when Sergeant Thompson
explained how he had made it up just to help convince her
of his false identity. He then explained that he had followed
her home, after spotting her on the field, as the blonde girl
wearing the number 8 shirt.
“I did this to help you,” he said. “Even when you think you’re
being careful, you can give away information that an adult
could use to find out who you are, and where you live.”
“But you sounded like a 14-year-old!” said Tara. “And you
said you liked Manchester United and your favourite pop
group was the same as mine.”
“Yes, I did, and it was quite easy to pretend to be the
same age as you. I want you to promise me two things.
First, that you will be very, very careful from now on about
what you disclose to other people in a chat room. The
second thing is that I have to give a talk to another school
next week, about keeping safe on line. Will you come and
help me give the talk?”
Tara agreed, of course. She still uses chat-rooms and has
made lots of friends that way – but every time she’s asked
something personal, she thinks hard before she answers.
She also knows that you can’t always believe what other
people say.
“Let me explain,” he said, and proceeded to tell her that
he worked undercover in chat rooms trying to protect
children from adults on line.
“But how did you find me?” Tara asked. “I never gave you
my real name or any real information.”
“No, you never gave me your name, but you gave me lots
of other information about you. You gave me the name of
the team you were playing football against this week. It
Lesson 3, Plenary
82
Adapted from Tiffany's story http://wiredkids.org.safety/tiffany.html
Resource: ‘Tara’s Story’
Lesson 4
Using e-mail safely
During this lesson children learn about safe and responsible behaviours related to e-mail.
They will meet the Cybercafé character, Sunil, and help him to decide how to respond to
e-mails safely, appropriately and responsibly. All pupils will need to have had opportunities to
use e-mail prior to this lesson, if only briefly. Opportunities should be provided for pupils to
talk about their personal experiences in relation to both spamming and bullying via e-mail.
They should be encouraged to develop their own strategies to protect themselves.
Materials for this lesson can be downloaded from
http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers.
Learning objectives
Pupils will know that there are safe and appropriate behaviours to use when sending and receiving
e-mail. They will know that there is a range of strategies that they can use to deal with:
• viruses
Lesson 4
• spamming
• bullying via e-mail.
The approaches they choose will depend on their previous experiences.
Organisation
After a whole-class introduction, the activity is carried out in three groups (A, B and C), so it may be
helpful if pupils are grouped as they were for Lesson 1. Part 1 of Activity 1 involves pupils working in
pairs and accessing the Cybercafé web site, so you will need sufficient computers to enable this.
A print-out of an e-mail inbox screen (as an OHT, which could be taken from the school system) might
be a useful resource if most pupils have had limited experience of using e-mail.
Timing
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
✔
✔
Useful for
Large group work
Small group/pairs
✔
✔
83
Lesson 4
Relevant to the following:
QCA Scheme of Work for ICT – unit 3E – E-mail
PSHE and Citizenship framework at Key Stage 2
teasing, bullying and aggressive behaviours, and
how to respond to them and ask for help
g) where individuals, families and groups can get
help and support.
f)
the knowledge, skills and understanding through
opportunities to:
to resolve differences by looking at alternatives,
making decisions and explaining choices
Developing a healthy, safer lifestyle
e) to recognise the different risks in different
situations and then decide how to behave
responsibly, including sensible road use, and
judging what kind of physical contact is
acceptable or unacceptable
f) that pressure to behave in an unacceptable or
risky way can come from a variety of sources,
including people they know, and how to ask for
help and use basic techniques for resisting
pressure to do wrong.
Developing good relationships and respecting the
differences between people
a) that their actions affect themselves and others,
to care about other people’s feelings and to try
to see things from their points of view
d) to realise the nature and consequences of racism,
Breadth of opportunities
a) take responsibility (for example, for planning and
looking after the school environment; for the needs
of others, such as by acting as a peer supporter,
as a befriender, or as a playground mediator for
younger pupils; for looking after animals properly;
for identifying safe, healthy and sustainable means
of travel when planning their journey to school)
about issues affecting their health and well-being
such as smoking; on the use of scarce resources;
how to spend money, including pocket money
and contributions to charities)
h) find information and advice (for example,
through helplines; by understanding about
welfare systems in society).
Resources
84
Part of the Lesson
Introduction
Glossary – on Cybercafé site
Activity 1, Part 1
Activity 1, Part 1
FKBKO web site – www.fkbko.net
Activity 2
Jennifer – a Pupil Activity sheet (one per small group)
Ask the pupils to consider:
• What is e-mail?
• Why might they use it?
• Who might they communicate with?
• Do they ever get e-mails from people they do not
know?
• Why do people we do not know contact us?
(Increasingly, e-mail is used for ‘spamming’ –
sending messages to try to sell us products or
persuade us to visit web sites, for example.)
• What is an appropriate message? What is
inappropriate? How would they feel if someone
sent them an offensive message, or one which
was bullying?
In addition, ask the children if they have heard
about computer viruses. Has anyone ever had
problems with a virus? What happened? Do they
know where it came from?
Tell them that viruses can do a lot of damage to
computers and the materials stored on them, and
they are usually sent from strangers who have set
out to do damage. Explain how they are often sent
as attachments, which become active when the
attachment is opened (see the Technology section
for more information).
Ensure that pupils understand what the terminology
means – use the Glossary on the Cybercafé web
site, re-wording it if necessary.
Lesson 4
It may be helpful to begin by recapping on Lesson
3 – Communication and Information, reminding
pupils about the purposes of communication and
the difference between personal and impersonal
information. It’s likely that most pupils will have
access to a computer at home, but they may have
only a limited experience of using e-mail.
Ask pupils to split into three groups and focus on a
particular aspect (viruses, spamming or bullying)
and report back to the class during the plenary.
(15 minutes)
Activity 1: Communication tools and their uses
Part 1
Group A
Tell pupils that they are going to visit the Cybercafé
and work with the character, Sunil, to help him
make the right decisions. Pupils will already have
had chance to have a brief look around the
Cybercafé web site but they are now going to
investigate the e-mail section in more detail.
Demonstrate logging on to the web site and locating
the e-mail section. Tell them about the characters and
that they need help with deciding what to do. You
may need to work with pupils to provide support,
prompting them to think about the safety aspects.
Working in pairs, pupils should look at the e-mail
section on the Cybercafé web site. Griff will tell
them what to do. They should discuss what they
think Sunil should do with each of the e-mails.
Does Sunil know who he is talking to? How much
does he know about this person? They can click on
the ‘help’ button for more information if they don’t
know what to do.
Encourage them to identify e-mails from people
they know. What should they do about e-mails from
addresses they do not recognise? What are the
possible risks? Pupils should talk about the
problems associated with spamming. If they
discover spam, what can they do?
85
Lesson 4
• Delete it without opening it
• Report it to their teacher (at school) or parent (at
home). The Internet Service Provider (ISP) who
operates the e-mail system should be told about
the spammed messages. Do they know who
their ISP is?
Details of all of the technologies are included in the
Technology section of this packs
• The NSPCC offers an interactive on-line service
(which is primarily aimed at teenagers but still a
useful reference point) at http://www.nspcc.org.uk/
html/Home/Needadvice/needadvice.htm. They
also have general advice on bullying.
Pupils should discuss approaches. They may need
to work through the various processes to refresh
their memories.
(20 minutes)
Group B
This group will focus on viruses and how to deal
with suspect attachments. Looking at the
Cybercafé e-mail section, pupils should focus on
the e-mail with the attachment and the decisions
associated with e-mail. To help pupils find out
about computer viruses, they could visit the For
Kids By Kids Online (FKBKO) (www.fkbko.net) web
site before carrying out a search.
Encourage pupils to write safety statements to
remind themselves to virus check their e-mails.
Group C
This group will focus on problems associated with
e-mail bullying and spamming.
Bullying e-mails
Ask them to think about who might send bullying
e-mails – do we need to accept or even read
them? What can we do? The options presented
and discussed should come from the pupils and
will depend on their previous personal experiences.
• They should be encouraged to tell an adult they
trust (a teacher, parent or carer, for example).
• Find out the e-mail address of the sender – the
FKBKO.net web site has information on how to
do this in the ‘Tracing e-mail’ section.
Several of the children’s charities have useful advice
for children on handling on-line bullying:
• NCH (http://www.nch.org.uk/itok/)
• Childline – their web site contains advice but
pupils can also ring the national helpline for advice
(tel. 0800 11 11) or visit www.childline.org.uk
86
Part 2
Bringing the whole class back together, ask the
children to talk about the type of e-mails Sunil
received. Did they find any clues to help them
decide if any of them might have caused a
problem? What clues did they find? Would it help if
they had followed the Stop, Think, Go! guide? Ask
them to think about using e-mail at home; have any
of them had similar situations to Sunil? Do they
think they will know what to do in future?
(10 minutes)
Activity 2
Pupils should work in small groups to consider the
scenarios described on the activity sheet, Jennifer.
Some pupils may need help with reading the
information as well as considering the options.
Remind them they are thinking about keeping safe
all the time. Pupils may make notes and then orally
explain the recommended actions rather than write
them down in great detail.
(10 minutes)
Plenary
• Always use a virus checker – where could they get
one from, how do they know if they have one?
Reflect on the Stop, Think, Go! slogan and whether
it can be applied to the use of e-mail. Also, refer to
the safety rules and talk about whether any of them
are particularly relevant to e-mail.
Lesson 4
Recap on what pupils have learned about keeping
safe with e-mail. Make a note of the main safety
messages. These might include the following:
(10 minutes)
• Don’t open e-mails from anyone they do not
know
• If they receive a bullying e-mail, tell a teacher,
parent or carer
• Always be polite in e-mail messages.
Learning outcomes
Pupils could keep an e-mail diary showing when
they received e-mails, who they were from,
whether there was an attachment, what they
decided to do and why they made that decision.
• Pupils will know how to handle messages
appropriately and safely.
Pupils could create slogans or posters portraying
safety messages (possibly for homework).
• Pupils will be able to explain that there could be
risks with using e-mail but there are actions they
can take to keep themselves and their computers
safe, such as checking for viruses, and not
opening e-mails from anyone they do not know.
87
Pupil
Activity Sheet
Jennifer’s e-mails
Jennifer finds a new e-mail in her inbox. The message says
that she has won a competition she doesn’t remember
entering and gives a link to a web site. She clicks on the
link and it takes her to a site with pictures that make her
feel very uncomfortable. Jennifer thinks it’s her fault so she
deletes the e-mail and doesn’t tell anyone. What would
you have done? Here are some notes to help you:
Strangers
You never know what the intention of a stranger is.
Stop and think before you give your e-mail address to
others, particularly while you are on-line. The more people
who have your e-mail address, the greater the chance you
will receive Spam e-mail.
Spamming
Spam e-mails are adverts and other unwanted messages
that are sent to hundreds or thousands of mail boxes at a
time. Sometimes these messages can be rude or insulting,
sometimes they ask for money. They often come from
people or companies pretending to be friends or offering
great prizes and deals. Never respond to Spam messages
as the Spammers are only likely to send you more.
Computer viruses
Computer viruses are often sent as attachments to
e-mails. A virus is nasty piece of software that can do
great damage to your computer or the programs on it.
It is very important to use anti-virus programs to prevent
viruses getting into your system and to prevent you from
passing them on to anyone else.
Lesson 4
How might the sender have got hold of Jennifer’s e-mail address?
What sort of problems might Jennifer have met by replying to this e-mail?
Lesson 4, Activity 2
Resource: ‘Jennifer’
All Groups
89
Pupil
Activity Sheet
What should she do if she finds herself accidentally on a web site that makes her feel uncomfortable?
Jennifer gets an e-mail with an attachment from someone she doesn’t recognise. What should she do?
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Resource: ‘Jennifer’
All Groups
Lesson 5
Responsible use of the Internet
In this lesson pupils reflect on the different types of information published on the Internet.
They will consider the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet as a source of
information. In addition, they will visit the web browsing section of the Cybercafé web site
(www.gridclub.com/cybercafe) and help Jason to use it responsibly, appropriately and
critically. They will begin to consider whether all the information available on the Internet is
valid and reliable and spend some time evaluating a selection of web sites.
Pupils should be encouraged to think about the way they use the Internet and about
‘behaving responsibly’. They also need to have plenty of opportunities to develop their
searching skills. The ‘Understanding the Technologies’ section of the teachers’ notes contains
a section on the Internet which details the risks and benefits of using the Internet.
All materials for this lesson can be downloaded from
www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers.
Learning objectives
Pupils will:
• be able to find information on the Internet
• be aware that some of the information on the Internet is biased, and has to be verified
Lesson 5
• be able to evaluate and think critically about web sites
• know that anyone can publish on the Web
• know what to do if they come across anything that makes them feel uncomfortable on the Internet
• know that companies can and do advertise on some web pages.
Organisation
Pupils will need access to the Cybercafé web site. Following a brief, whole-class introduction to discuss
different types of publishing and the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet to find
information, pupils will work in pairs on the Cybercafé site. They will then evaluate selected web sites in
groups. You will need to think about and bookmark some suitable web sites in advance – they might be
selected to fit in with current topic work, or at least a topic that pupils are reasonably knowledgeable
about. You will need to check them thoroughly, of course, to ensure that the material they include is not
inappropriate or offensive. They may contain text that is too difficult for the age group or ability of the
pupils or not particularly suited to the topic – but this is what pupils need to consider. The lesson closes
with a short plenary session during which pupils can discuss the web sites they looked at.
Timing
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
✔
✔
Useful for
Large group work
Small group/pairs
✔
✔
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Lesson 5
QCA ICT Scheme of Work – Unit 6D: Using the internet to search large databases and
interpret information
problems and events
e) to reflect on spiritual, moral, social and cultural
issues, using imagination to understand other
people's experiences
h) to recognise the role of voluntary, community
and pressure groups
i)
to appreciate the range of national, regional,
religious and ethnic identities in the United
Kingdom
pressure to do wrong
Developing good relationships and respecting
the differences between people
b) to think about the lives of people living in other
places and times, and people with different
values and customs
92
d) to realise the nature and consequences of
racism, teasing, bullying and aggressive
behaviours, and how to respond to them and
ask for help
f) that differences and similarities between people
arise from a number of factors, including
cultural, ethnic, racial and religious diversity,
gender and disability
Breadth of opportunity
e) meet and talk with people (for example, people
who contribute to society through
environmental pressure groups or international
aid organisations; people who work in the
school and the neighbourhood, such as
religious leaders, community police officers)
f) develop relationships through work and play (for
example, taking part in activities with groups
that have particular needs, such as children
with special needs and the elderly;
communicating with children in other countries
by satellite, e-mail or letters)
h) find information and advice (for example,
through helplines; by understanding about
welfare systems in society)
Resources
Part of the Lesson
CyberCafé web site
www.gridclub.com/cybercafe
Activity 2
Evaluating web sites – a teacher presentation (download from
www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers)
Web sites – a prompt sheet or visual aid for pupils in Group A
Credibility caterpillars – a pupil activity sheet (Groups B and C)
A selection of bookmarked web sites related to current topic work
Introducing the activity
Ask pupils if there are any disadvantages or risks
associated with using the Internet. Ask if any of them
have had personal experiences. Encourage pupils to
describe briefly what happened and how they felt.
What did they do about it? Was there anything else
they could have done? Make a note of any
suggestions that they make, as these suggestions
will be useful for the plenary session. Be aware that
while this may throw up some issues, it is important
that risks are balanced against benefits.
Lesson 5
As a whole class, discuss the different types of
information that is published on the Internet. Ask
pupils how information on the Internet is different
from that in books, newspapers, magazines or
television. Is it necessarily more accurate and up to
date? Why do we use it? What are the
advantages? (For more information, see the
Internet section in the Understanding the
Technologies chapter.)
(10 minutes)
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Lesson 5
Activity 1
Ask pupils to work in pairs and log on to the
Cybercafé web site (www.gridclub.com/cybercafe)
and locate the web browsing section. If necessary,
remind pupils how to get to the site and explain
that they will be helping the character Jason with
his homework. They should make a note of
anything that happens in the web site that might
not be considered to be responsible behaviour.
(10 minutes)
As a class, discuss the problems faced by Jason
when he was trying to find the best site to help him
with his homework. How difficult was it to choose
the most appropriate site? Is it as easy as that in
real life? What are the difficulties?
Ask pupils if they have used the Internet to help
them with their own homework. Encourage pupils
to talk about what they wanted to achieve and how
they did it. They might also talk about search
engines they have used. There are several ‘child
friendly’ search engines that have been set up to
94
screen out inappropriate materials (some of these
are listed in the Internet section of this pack).
There are also approaches that parents can adopt
to protect pupils at home, for example, installing
filtering software on machines and actively
engaging with their child’s Internet use.
Demonstrate doing a search on a topic suggested
by the pupils (or encourage pupils to carry it out).
Look at how many ‘hits’ there were. Carry out one
or two more similar searches. Discuss the need to
evaluate the web sites. If pupils are conducting the
search, encourage them to use different search
engines and compare the results. Make a simple
record of the search engine, the number of hits and
the time it took. Either outline possible effective
search strategies or link them to another area of
curriculum/activity where they can do this e.g.
putting in – or + in search terms etc.
(15 minutes)
Activity 2
Group A
Group B
Introduce the Credibility caterpillars recording
sheets, and explain how the credibility caterpillars
work. To help pupils decide whether the site is
‘credible’ they should consider the following key
questions (within each of these, there are subquestions that also need to be considered; these
are contained in the activity):
The prompt sheet, Web Sites, uses the same theme.
Evaluating web sites is a PowerPoint presentation
and ‘Web sites’ is a paper-based one for pupils.
Who wrote the information?
It asks pupils to consider:
Where is the web site?
Is it attractive and user friendly?
What information are you getting?
Does it contain anything that makes them feel
uncomfortable?
When was the information produced?
Do the headings look relevant for what they want to
find out?
Why was the web site created?
Is the body text easy to read?
Are the links useful?
Does it have everything they need?
Does it stand up to close scrutiny?
The visual image should help them to ask the right
questions.
Who is the intended audience?
How did you find the web page?
Why are you using the web site?
Lesson 5
Discuss with pupils what they think about when
deciding whether a web site is useful or not. Use
the presentation, Evaluating web sites, to offer an
alternative perspective or to provide a visual aide
memoire that might prove useful, particularly for
less confident users.
Using the web sites that have been bookmarked,
pupils should consider them in light of the questions
detailed on the Credibility caterpillars worksheet.
There are no right or wrong answers but this helps
pupils to evaluate what they read on web sites and to
know what key things to look for.
Group C
Ask pupils to evaluate one or two web sites from a
selection that you have bookmarked perhaps using
this approach as a starting point. How will they
record their views? Pupils may decide to print out a
page from the web site and annotate this. Others
may prefer to take a screen shot of the web page
and paste the image into a word processor where
they can annotate it.
Pupils in this group could be asked to look for more
detailed information about the web site. They might
try to identify where it is hosted and whether an
individual has created it, perhaps to publish a
personal message.
Pupils could devise an evaluation/recording sheet.
If possible, this should be in electronic format so
that they can cut and paste their evidence into the
document.
(35 minutes)
95
Lesson 5
Plenary
Give pupils an opportunity to talk about the
process of evaluating web sites. Did they find the
visual aids useful? Did they experience any
problems in their groups? What were the
problems? Did everyone in the group have the
same view? Ask one or two pupils to talk about
one web site and to illustrate their points by
referring to the site itself.
Encourage pupils in each group to share their
findings. Did they find it useful to know where the
web site was hosted? Did they find it useful to
know whether the information was a personal
posting or about the links to and from it?
Talk about how they might use information from
the Internet. Can they copy pictures and text from
web sites? What do they need to think about if
they are using materials written by someone else?
Pupils should be reminded that, although it is
possible to copy materials, someone else has
written them and they should acknowledge the
source and, if using text, repurpose it for their own
specific needs. Remind them of Jason (in the
Cybercafé) thinking about copying large chunks
from the Internet.
It may happen that pupils come across
pornographic/rude/disturbing web sites. All
schools will have some sort of filtering software in
place but they are not completely foolproof, so
pupils need to be taught what they can do if they
come across a web site which offends them.
Reassure pupils that it is not their fault. Encourage
them to talk about what they can do. They might
suggest using the back arrow on the tool bar or
the home page icon, minimising or closing down
the window. They should also know that they
should inform a responsible adult who can:
• help them to report it to the Internet Watch
Foundation (www.iwf.org.uk); the address of the
offending site should be visible in the History list –
the Internet Watch Foundation will decide whether
the content is illegal or not. If so, they will report it
to the Internet Service Provider and the police.
• ask the school’s ISP (or whichever ISP provides
the connection at home) to filter out or ban the
web site. At home it may be more difficult to get
the offending material removed but pupils
should be encouraged to talk to their parents,
who should in turn talk to their ISP.
• provide some counselling, if necessary.
(15 minutes)
Follow-up
Learning outcomes
Pupils should choose a web site which they think
is ‘good’. They might like to produce a set of bullet
points saying why they think it is good and include
a print-out. Pupils with more ICT experience might
produce an electronic version, incorporating a
screen shot and annotated labels.
• Pupils have evaluated a selection of web sites
against a set of criteria.
• They can explain and justify why they think
some sites are better than others.
• They are beginning to think about the sorts of
things they need to consider when selecting
web sites.
• They are developing an awareness of
‘responsible’ use of the Internet and what they
should do if they come across inappropriate
content on web sites.
96
Is the author
named?
Lesson 5, activity 2
Who wrote the
information?
Who?
Is the author
or organisation
well known?
Are you able
to contact the
author or
organisation?
Lesson 5
Resource: ‘Credibility caterpillars’
Who is the
intended
audience?
Is anyone
reading the
Is the site
information
written for
likely to be
children or
adults?
Is it written upset by it?
from only one
point of view?
This activity involves visiting some web sites. For each web site that you visit, answer the questions in the
caterpillars. When you have completed all the questions in each caterpillar, colour the caterpillar’s head red,
orange or green, depending on whether you think you should Stop, Think or Go!
Credibility caterpillars
Group B
Pupil
Worksheet
97
98
Why are
you using
make its
money through the internet?
advertising
banners and
links?
Is it there
just to share
information
freely?
Does the site
Is the site
there to make
money?
Why was
the web site
created?
Why?
Is it quicker
than looking
at a book?
Is this the
best source
for the
information
you need?
Is the
information
telling you
something you
don’t already
know?
Is the
information
necessarily
more up to
date?
Group B
Pupil
Worksheet
Can you
believe
everything
that you read
or see?
What
information
are you
getting?
What?
Where?
Does the
information
seem
reliable?
Are there
important
details that
seem to be
missing?
Where is the
web site?
Do other
web sites or
sources back
up the
information?
Are there
links to other
trusted web
sites?
In which
country was
the web site
created?
Lesson 5
Do the
pictures or
charts on the
site seem
trustworthy?
Is it a company,
an organisation
or someone’s
What does home page?
the site’s
address tell
you?
Group B
Pupil
Worksheet
99
100
Do the links
on the
page work?
Did you find
it through a
search engine?
Is there a
date given?
Were you
given the
address by
a trusted
Did you come
source?
across it by
accident?
Does the
information
seem up to
date?
How did you
find the web
page?
How?
When was
the
information
produced?
When?
Group B
Pupil
Worksheet
Teacher
Prompt Sheet
Evaluating web sites
Is it attractive and
user-friendly?
Do the headings look
relevant
Is the body
text easy to
read?
Does it have
everything you need?
Lesson 5
Can you see
anything that
makes you
uncomfortable?
Are the
links
useful?
Is the info
one-sided?
Does it stand
up to close
scrutiny?
Resource: ‘Evaluating web sites’
Group A
101
Evaluating web sites
Is it attractive and user-friendly?
No
Yes
Does it have sound?
No
Yes
Do the headings look relevant?
No
Yes
Is the
body
text easy
to read?
No
Yes
Are the links useful?
No
Yes
Does it have
everything you
(k)need?
No
Yes
Is the info
one-sided?
No
Yes
Can you see
anything that
makes you feel
uncomfortable
?
No
Yes
Does it stand
up to close
scrutiny?
No
Yes
Try a different web site?
Good luck with your
research!
Lesson 6
Chatting with care
This lesson considers safety issues related to on-line chat and instant messaging. These
technologies are well used by young people, as they are quick and fun and offer them lots of
opportunities to communicate with different people. However, they can present difficulties
when pupils are required to give personal information, such as when registering for one of
these services or when asked for it by another person using a chat room.
Pupils will have the opportunity to play a game to enhance their understanding of when, to
what level and in what context it is appropriate to give out personal information, especially
within an instant messaging and chat environment. They will consider what information they
are required to give out when registering for a service and what information they should not
give out when they are chatting on line. Pupils also visit the Cybercafé to help Chantelle to
make decisions in the chat room. As a follow-up activity, pupils can also look at a selection of
moderated chat rooms designed for children.
Learning objectives
Pupils should:
• understand what constitutes personal information and enhance their understanding of when and
where it is appropriate to give it out
• know how to respond when asked for personal details
• know that some chat rooms are moderated so they are safer
• know that anyone can participate in a chat room
• know that people in chat rooms do not always tell the truth
Timing
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
✔
✔
Lesson 6
• know that if they make their personal information available through an instant messaging service it
can be seen and used by others.
Useful for
Large group work
Small group/pairs
✔
✔
✔
103
Lesson 6
Developing confidence and responsibility and making
the most of their abilities
Pupils should be taught:
a)
to talk and write about their opinions, and explain their
views on issues that affect themselves and society.
c)
to face new challenges positively by collecting
information, looking for help, making responsible
choices, and taking action.
b) to think about the lives of people living in other
places and times, and people with different values
and customs
teasing, bullying and aggressive behaviours, and how to
respond to them and ask for help
e) to recognise and challenge stereotypes
f)
that differences and similarities between people arise
from a number of factors, including cultural, ethnic,
racial and religious diversity, gender and disability.
problems and events
k) to explore how the media present information
e) to recognise the different risks in different situations
and then decide how to behave responsibly,
including sensible road use, and judging what kind of
physical contact is acceptable or unacceptable.
f)
that pressure to behave in an unacceptable or risky
way can come from a variety of sources, including
people they know, and how to ask for help and use
basic techniques for resisting pressure to do wrong.
Developing good relationships and respecting the
differences between people
Breadth of opportunity
During the key stage, pupils should be taught the
knowledge, skills and understanding through
opportunities to:
a) develop relationships through work and play (for example,
taking part in activities with groups that have particular
needs, such as children with special needs and the
elderly; communicating with children in other countries by
satellite, e-mail or letters)
g) consider social and moral dilemmas that they come
across in life (for example, encouraging respect and
understanding between different races and dealing
with harassment)
h) find information and advice (for example, through
help lines; by understanding about welfare systems
in society)
i)
prepare for change (for example, transferring to
secondary school).
a) that their actions affect themselves and others, to
care about other people’s feelings and to try to see
things from their points of view.
Resources
Part of the Lesson
Before the lesson
Print-outs of registration forms from chat rooms or instant messaging services;
you could copy these onto OHTs or make photocopies for pupils
Activity 1
Activity 3
Activity 4
104
Access to one or two chat rooms (see the list at the end of this lesson plan)
Two gongs, cymbals, tambourines, chime bars or bells that can be sounded; a stop-watch
Before the lesson
Visit one of the chat rooms listed at the end of
this lesson and print off a registration form. You
also need to visit an instant messaging service
and print off one of their registration forms.
Please note that not all instant messaging
services are appropriate for users under the age
of 13 and some companies specify this.
If pupils have read it, you could re-visit Tara’s story
and remind pupils of its salient points. It is important
that pupils realise the dangers whilst retaining a
degree of perspective on all of this. Ask pupils if
they can recall the snippets of information that Tara
accidentally gave away and which, like pieces of a
jigsaw puzzle, were put together to identify her.
(Remind them that this is a worst case scenario, but
it is worth being aware of what might happen.)
Recap on the game played in Lesson 3 where
pupils had to identify other pupils from little bits of
information. Ask them to think about the
information that helped to identify each individual
uniquely. For example: name – first name, family
name or both; address – full address or house
number and postcode; school, class, teacher,
teams; home phone number; mobile phone
number; town; gender; age; e-mail address. Ask
pupils if they can think of ways to categorise this
information such as ‘General information’ and
‘Personal information’.
Lesson 6
Remind the class about the discussions in Lesson
3 – Communication and Information, in which they
discussed the purposes of communication and
how information might be used. The most
important message is about personal information
and how easy it can be to give away little bits of
information that someone can piece together to
identify you. Remind them of the ‘Mystery People’
role-play and how difficult it was to know whether
someone was telling the truth.
(10 minutes)
105
Lesson 6
Activity 1
Tell pupils that they are going to look at a
moderated chat room for children. Explain that this
is necessary because of the safety aspects
adopted by schools to protect pupils. Explain to
the pupils that most chat rooms require you to take
on a nickname or persona. You can use the
Cybercafé example if you prefer.
You will need to make sure that display facilities are
adequate for all pupils to see clearly. Talk about the
rules that should apply to using a chat room. These
are common courtesies such as being polite, not
swearing or using bad language, and not ‘flaming’
(trying to incite arguments or winding people up).
Ask pupils who have used a chat room or instant
messenger to talk about their experiences and to
explain to the group how it works, the types of
things discussed, and the types of questions that
might be asked. Discuss the issue of contact; if
someone asks to meet you, what should you do?
Consider some of the roles/vocabulary associated
with chat room activities; for example, lurking,
flaming. There is a useful list of issues on
Childnet’s Chatdanger web site
(http://www.chatdanger.com)
(10 minutes)
(10 minutes)
Activity 2 – Personal information
106
You have already introduced the lesson and asked
pupils to think about how seemingly
inconsequential pieces of personal information can
help to identify someone individually. They need to
develop their understanding of where, when and to
what level they give out personal information.
Group A
Show pupils the registration forms for chat rooms or
instant messaging services, either as OHTs or copies
that they can share. Go through the information that
is required – what information do they have to give
out, and what is optional? Do they need to give out
their e-mail address when registering for instant
messaging/chat services? Do they need to give out
their home address? Make pupils aware that when
they register for services like instant messaging their
information may be viewed and used by others.
Encourage pupils to think about what information they
had to give out. Get them to draw up a list of what
information they gave out and ask them to consider
whether they needed to and the reasons for doing so.
Would they give out the same information to someone
else in a chat room?
Encourage pupils to think about what information they
had to give out and to make up a list of what
information they gave out.
Groups B and C
Reinforce with pupils that they should question any bits
of information that they are asked to provide.
(20 minutes)
Activity 3 – Personal Info? No way!
You will need:
• two gongs, cymbals, tambourines, chime bars or
bells that can be sounded whenever the person
being questioned gives out true personal
information
• an interrogator
• a contestant
• two adjudicators
• some prepared questions (a mixture of general
and personal questions)
• a timekeeper and a stopwatch
• a scorer and score sheet.
The idea of the game is for the interrogator to fire
questions at the contestant, to try and obtain
personal information from them. The contestant
must try not to reveal personal information unless
he or she can justify it. At either side of the
contestant there should be an adjudicator with an
instrument of some sort with which they can make
a noise when they think personal information has
been released. The timekeeper should start the
stopwatch as the first question is asked and should
stop it when the sound is made. The scorer will
write down the name of the contestant and the
time they lasted. It is unlikely that each contestant
will last more than one or two minutes.
Invite pupils to take part as contestants and
change the interrogator, too. The same sets of
questions can be used more than once. Try and
write down the questions and answers that caused
the adjudicators to stop the game. (You may need
to resume the game if the decision was incorrect.)
Some example questions are listed below.
How old are you?
What is your name?
Where do you go to school?
What’s your favourite type of music?
What’s your favourite colour?
What’s your teacher’s name?
Where do you live?
After a few minutes, discuss what pupils
considered to be personal information and how
easy or difficult it is to let something slip. Some
pupils in the audience may think that some
opportunities to stop the game were missed.
Encourage them to discuss their ideas.
Lesson 6
This is a game designed to make pupils aware of
when they are being asked for personal information
and to think whether they can safely provide it. You
may need to contextualise it for them, by saying
that they are chatting to someone on line, or
registering for a service etc.
(20 minutes)
107
Lesson 6
Activity 4 – Cybercafé Chat room
Remind pupils how to log on to the Cybercafé
web site.
Group A
Pupils visit the Cybercafé and help Chantelle make the
right decisions as she uses a chat room.
Groups B
These pupils should make a note of all the questions
that requested Chantelle to divulge personal
information. (You could do this by printing out the
conversation and highlighting the relevant sections.)
Group C
Pupils should be encouraged to report on personal
experiences and how they dealt with difficult situations.
Can pupils write up their experiences of chat or instant
messaging as scenarios like those in the Cybercafé?
They should record what happened and identify three
possible courses of action. They might make
recommendations based on their own successful
choices or alternatives to what they did.
(10 minutes)
Plenary
Recap on the similarities between chat and instant
messaging. Recap on the risks of both and
produce a list using a flipchart, an OHP or an
interactive whiteboard.
Refer to the SMARTthinking messages. Identify
those that are particularly relevant to chat and
instant messaging.
Discuss when you might need to give personal
information – in registering for an e-mail account or
a chat room, for example. Do people need to
know your real name, where you live, your e-mail
address or telephone number for this purpose?
(Unless it involves billing, they should not need this
information, and if it does involve billing, pupils
Follow-up activity
Pupils could visit some of the moderated chat
rooms for children, listed on the next page.
108
should not be signing up without parental
permission!) Some organisations such as GridClub
ask for school-based information to authenticate
the registration, in order to guarantee pupils’
safety. Remind pupils that they should ask an adult
to help them to decide what information they
should divulge in such a situation.
Pupils should report back on their findings from the
Cybercafé visit. Note down the types of questions
that they feel they should not answer or need to
think about first.
(10 minutes)
Learning outcomes
• Pupils will recognise that certain information is
personal and they will understand the potential
risks associated with divulging such information
to people they do not know, especially people
they have met on line because they cannot be
sure the contact is telling the truth.
• They will be aware that there are times that some
personal information is needed and that they
should ask an adult for guidance if they are unsure.
• Pupils will be aware of some of the potential
risks associated with chat rooms and instant
messaging and they will have a range of
strategies, such as an on-line persona, that they
can use to keep themselves safe.
Some moderated chat rooms
• Headbone Zone Chat Rooms: monitored
chat for kids, with several rooms to choose
from. http://www.headbone.com/hbzchat/
• NPR Science Friday: listen to past shows,
find resources for all sorts of science topics,
and learn about the scientists on the NPR
radio programme.
http://www.sciencefriday.com/
• Kidlink: kids from around the world connect
with conversations about a variety of topics.
http://www.kidlink.org
• Kids Learning Network (KLN) Live: a ‘kiddriven’ talk show featuring a guest or topic.
Also includes a boys’ and a girls’ guide to
life, homework help, and some games.
http://klnlive.com/kln/
• NASA Quest Calendar of Events: scientists
or astronauts you can chat with on line. You
can also participate in projects and
challenges designed for kids.
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/calendar/
• Scholastic Author Calendar: a range of
authors available for on-line chat.
http://www2.scholastic.com/teachers/authors
andbooks/authorstudies/calendarhome.jhtml
• Women of NASA: this showcases outstanding
women who are enjoying successful careers
in maths, science and technology.
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/intro.html
Lesson 6
• A Girl’s World Online Clubhouse: check out
daily, weekly and monthly features written
and edited entirely by girls and teens from all
over the world or sign up to chat.
http://www.agirlsworld.com/
• CBBC Newsround – Chat: see which
celebrity is answering questions on the
Hotseat or add comments or messages.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/chat/
• ChatDanger: learn how to have fun while
staying safe with Internet chat rooms.
http://www.chatdanger.com/
• Gridclub – a fun interactive web site for
7–11-year-olds. All pupils have to be verified
through their schools and it is fully
moderated. http://www.gridclub.com
• KidChatters: chat with other kids aged 9 to
12 in a moderated chat room – for a small
monthly fee. http://www.kidchatters.com/
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Lesson 7
Using text and picture messaging
In this lesson pupils consider the possible risks associated with using mobile phones
including services like text messaging (Short Messaging Service) and multimedia messaging
services (MMS) which are a feature of MMS or picture phones. They will begin to develop
strategies to protect themselves.
Pupils are likely to use SMS/text messaging quite frequently, so the positive aspects – it being
quick, easy, and cheap, for example – need to be reinforced. MMS is relatively new but usage
is increasing and although the dangers might seem quite obvious (and rare) it is important
pupils understand how to use the technology effectively and safely. This lesson also involves
visiting the SMS/text messaging section of the Cybercafé site, where pupils will help the
character, Chloe, to make the right decisions.
You will find it helpful to read the sections on SMS and MMS in the teachers’ notes. The
materials for this lesson can be downloaded from www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers.
Learning objectives
Pupils will know that there are safe and appropriate behaviours to use when receiving and sending text and
multimedia messages. They will know that there is a range of strategies that they can use to deal with:
• spamming
• bullying and/or offensive messages
• requests for meetings, photographs, etc.
Pupils will also learn about the level of personal detail it is safe to include in their own messages, and
how to look after their phones.
The approaches that they select and choose will depend on their previous experiences. Tell pupils that
the focus of this lesson is about using the messaging services on mobile phones, rather than on the
use of mobile phones per se, as you are assuming that they know the risks with talking to people on
the telephone and not giving out personal information, etc.
Lesson 7
Organisation
During this lesson pupils will need access to the Cybercafé web site (www.gridclub.com/cybercafe).
The lesson begins with a whole-class discussion and sharing of personal experiences. They will need
to reflect on their own uses of messaging, perhaps within the context of asking, giving or exchanging
information. With whom do they communicate? Do they only communicate with people they know,
such as friends and/or family? From whom do they receive messages?
For Activity 1, they split into three groups (as in earlier lessons) and access the Cybercafé.
Timing
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
✔
✔
Useful for
Large group work
Small group/pairs
✔
✔
✔
111
Lesson 7
Knowledge, skills and understanding
pressure to do wrong
responsible choices, and taking action
g) school rules about health and safety, basic
emergency aid procedures and where to get help.
k) to explore how the media present information
to care about other people's feelings and to try
to see things from their points of view
teasing, bullying and aggressive behaviours, and
how to respond to them and ask for help
e) to recognise and challenge stereotypes
g) where individuals, families and groups can get
help and support.
Resources
112
Part of the Lesson
Activity 1
Activity 2
Text messages – a pupil activity sheet; cut out the messages and give each pupil in
the groups a card
Safety Stars – a Pupil Recording Sheet
Discuss with pupils the statistics on mobile phone
theft (this is detailed on the SMS section of the
Cybercafé site).
Recap on how pupils use e-mail and compare the
technologies. Make a note of the main advantages
and disadvantages of each one. Advantages of
e-mail could include the ability to send attached
files and to write longer messages. Disadvantages
may include the fact that many computers with
Internet connections are fixed so they cannot be
used anywhere else. However, WAP PDAs enable
you to use both e-mail and SMS wherever there is
an Internet connection. A PDA is a small hand-held
computer which accesses the Internet using
wireless technology (WAP). The advantages of SMS
and MMS are that it is quick, cheap, easy to use
and can be used almost anywhere. The
disadvantages might include the limitation on
message length (160 characters), the fact that
people do use them anywhere and, because they
are small, they can easily be lost.
Recap on some of the risks associated with e-mail
(spamming, bullying and viruses, for example). Ask
pupils if they have experienced similar things on
their mobile phones. Have they ever had a message
telling them that they have won a competition and
need to ring a specific number? Similarly, have they
ever received a bullying or offensive message? If any
pupils have received such messages, ask them how
it made them feel. Has anyone been asked to meet
someone or send personal information? Ask them
what they did in these situations and if that was not
the best approach, how they might respond now.
Make a list of possible responses: erasing the
message, replying, trying to find details of the
person who sent it, telling a responsible adult who
might inform the police or the service provider so
that calls from that number can be barred, or your
number can be changed.
(15 minutes)
Lesson 7
Ask pupils how they use their mobile phones,
whether they use them to talk, to send text
messages or play games. Do they ever use a
computer to generate a text message? What are
the disadvantages of sending messages this way?
(For example, although it is easier to type a
message on a keyboard than on a phone keypad, it
is not as portable unless you are using a WAP
(Wireless Application Protocol) PDA (Personal
Digital Assistant). Many mobile phones can be used
to send e-mails and will even allow you to speak
your e-mail messages rather than type them.) Ask
pupils what sort of service/account they have –
whether it is Pay as You Go or a monthly rental.
Ask if they have insured their phones and whether
anyone has ever lost one. What happens if
someone finds your phone? Can they use it? How
can you protect yourself?
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Lesson 7
Activity 1 – the Cybercafé
Split the class into three groups (A, B and C) as in
earlier lessons – they will all need to access the
Cybercafé and visit the SMS section.
All the groups should:
• help the character Chloe to make the right
decisions
• decide whether the examples given are
appropriate uses of text messaging or whether
they are examples of spamming or bullying
• look at the responses made by Chloe: did she
give out any personal information that was
unnecessary?
Group A
Pupils in this group may need some help in reading the
messages and text on the web site. If there is time,
encourage pupils to create additional scenarios.
Groups B and C (extension)
Ask pupils in Groups B and C to create additional
scenarios to the ones detailed on the Cybercafé site
and to identify three alternative courses of action. As
a prompt you might use one or two examples from
the Scenario sheet.
(15 minutes)
Activity 2 – Responding to messages
Divide pupils into groups of four, and give each
pupil a card (cut out from the Text messages
activity sheet) ensuring that no two pupils in the
same group have the same card. Ask them to
discuss the messages and decide what they would
do if they were to receive such a message on their
mobile phone. Draw a continuum on the board:
Delete
Reply
Ask the pupils where they would place their cards.
Would they delete the message, or reply? With
several of the messages, they will need to come to
a decision as to how well they know the sender.
They might also like to consider the difference
between receiving the same messages from
strangers and from their friends.
114
It is through discussion that some of these grey
areas can be teased out. As children are deciding
in their groups, wander round and intervene with
appropriate questions, for example – ‘What might
happen if you do decide to reply?’, ‘How well do
you know the sender?’ etc.
After about 15 minutes, ask all the pupils with card
1 to tell you where they would place it on the
continuum. Did they all agree? If not, why not?
Proceed through all the message cards.
Reinforce the Stop! Think! Go? safe behaviour
message. Rather than deleting the message, when
might it be advisable to show it to an adult?
(25 minutes)
Plenary
Remind pupils that the activities and messages
were deliberately created to help them to make
appropriate decisions about what to do in those
situations. Tell pupils that they should not send
bullying or offensive messages and that sending
these kinds of message can be a serious offence.
Link this to the school’s anti-bullying policy and tell
them that bullying through phone messages or
e-mail is the same as bullying in the playground.
Ask them to reflect on how they felt or would feel if
they received a bullying or offensive message.
Remind them that if they receive bullying
messages, they are not at fault and they do not
have to accept such calls. Remind them also that
they should tell a responsible adult who can
contact the service provider to get calls barred
from specified numbers or perhaps tell the police.
suggest ways of keeping their phones safe. They
may suggest keeping it inside a particular pocket
in a bag which they always have with them, not
leaving it lying around or in the pocket of a coat
that is left unattended, not taking it to places
where they will not need them. Some pupils might
suggest having ‘unlock codes’ that need to be
entered when the phone is turned on – without the
code the phone cannot be used.
Discuss with pupils the number of mobile phones
that are stolen every month. Ask pupils if they can
(10 minutes)
Learning outcomes
Ask pupils to use these ideas to design Safety
Stars to add to a safety display. Ideally, pupils
should create their own shapes and posters using
ICT. To reinforce that texting can be fun, ask the
children to fill in blank message cards to send to
each other. Encourage them to use some of the
text messaging forms they encountered in the
Cybercafé.
• Pupils will be able to identify types of potentially
risky messages and will be able to take
appropriate action.
Ask pupils to suggest safety messages to
remember when using mobile phones to send
messages. These might include: if you do not
recognise the number – don’t open it because it
might be a spam or bullying message; don’t
arrange to meet anyone you do not know; be
careful how much detail you include in a message
in case someone else finds your phone.
Lesson 7
• They will be aware of how vulnerable mobile
phones are and should be able to look after their
own more carefully.
115
Pupil Activity Sheet
Text Messages
Message Card 1
Message Card 2
Message:
You’ve won a competition!
Reply now to see what prize you’ve got.
Message:
I’m going to get you after school.
From:
From:
Jaky
Unknown
Message Card 4
Message:
Do U want 2 come to my house L8R?
Message:
TX 4COOL CARD WILL CALL SOON
From:
From:
Satinder
Sam
Message Card 5
Message Card 6
Message:
We hate you
Message:
Free ring tones. Just reply to download.
From:
From:
Helen
Unknown
Lesson 7
Message Card 3
Resource: ‘Text Messages’
All groups
117
Pupil Activity Sheet
Text Messages
Message Card 7
Message Card 8
Message:
Can we meet up sometime?
Message:
Want to see a movie?
From:
From:
Paul
Philip
Message Card 9
Message:
For daily horoscopes and quizzes just
reply with the message ’yes’
Message:
Send me a picture of you
From:
From:
Unknown
Tim
118
Message Card 10
Resource: ‘Text Messages’
All groups
Lesson 7, Plenary
Lesson 7
Resource: ‘Safety Stars’
Safety stars
All groups
Pupil Recording
Sheet
119
Lesson 8
Behaving responsibly
This lesson is designed to draw together pupils’ understanding and interpretations of safety
messages developed through this scheme. Pupils consider what constitutes ‘irresponsible’
behaviour on the Internet and in communicating with technology and think about how to deal
with this sort of behaviour. They also act out a selection of scenarios depicting irresponsible
behaviour and decide on appropriate outcomes.
Learning objectives
Pupils will:
• be able to identify irresponsible and unsafe behaviour when using the Internet and other
technologies
• be able to suggest appropriate strategies to deal with this type of behaviour
• be aware of the effect that irresponsible behaviour has on others.
Organisation
Lesson 8
In this lesson pupils work in groups to act out a range of scenarios depicting inappropriate behaviour
using various technologies. They will need time to plan and practise their performance. After pupils
have acted out their play, they will work in small groups to suggest practical ways of dealing with
irresponsible behaviour in a range of settings.
Timing
Approximately 50 minutes, plus
5 minutes per play
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
✔
✔
Useful for
Large group work
Small group/pairs
✔
✔
✔
121
Lesson 8
responsible choices, and taking action.
problems and events
b) why and how rules and laws are made and
enforced, why different rules are needed in
different situations and how to take part in
making and changing rules
responsibly
f) that pressure to behave in an unacceptably or
pressure to do wrong.
to care about other people’s feelings and to try
and see things from their point of view.
Health and safety
2. When working with tools, equipment and
materials, in practical activities and in different
environments, including those that are
unfamiliar, pupils should be taught:
a) about hazards, risks and risk control
b) to recognise hazards, assess consequent risks
and take steps to control the risks to
themselves and others
c) to use information to assess the immediate and
cumulative risks
e) to explain the steps they take to control risks.
Links to National Literacy Strategy
5. Term 1 Text level work: Writing composition
24: to write recounts based on subject, topic or
personal experiences (for a variety of readers)
Y6: Term 1 Text level work: Writing composition
15: to develop a journalistic style…
Links to English Programme of Study
En1 Speaking and listening:
6
Language variation: Pupils should be taught
about how language varies:
a) according to context and purpose (for
example, choice of vocabulary in more formal
situations)
8 Speaking: The range should include:
a) presenting to different audiences.
Resources
122
Part of the Lesson
Activity 1 –
Classroom dramas
Scenarios – Pupil Task Sheet (one per group)
Before the lesson
During this lesson pupils will be acting out a
selection of scenarios. You will want to choose
ones which are most appropriate for your pupils.
The number of characters in each scenario may
be a determining factor, but they could be
modified. More than one group could tackle
each scenario, to see whether they opt for
different outcomes.
The scenario titles are as follows:
• “I hate my school” – 12 characters
• Voting Booth – 8 characters
• Bullying Phone Messages – 5 characters
• The Borrowed Phone – 4 characters.
Before the lesson, decide which scenarios to use
and who will be in each group.
It’s helpful to start by discussing with pupils some
characteristics of inappropriate conduct using
technology and how to deal with this behaviour.
What sorts of things go on and how can they be
dealt with? Ask if any of the pupils have experienced
problems. How did they feel? What did they do?
Was it the best solution? Make a note of these
situations as they can be used in Activity 2.
Tell pupils that you have some examples of
irresponsible behaviour and that you would like
them, in groups, to consider what should be done.
Explain that they are going to pretend to be acting
out their scenario. Tell them that they will have
about 25 minutes to prepare their play and each
group will have about 5 minutes in which to
perform it.
Remind pupils that they should be thinking about
responsible and irresponsible use of the technology.
Pupils should be given the relevant Scenario task
sheet for their scenario as this suggests a list of
characters and prompts to start them off.
(10 minutes)
Allow pupils time to get themselves organised with
parts and to ensure that they understand the story
line. Give them time to practise their play. Remind
them that they have a fixed amount of time to
prepare – probably 25 minutes – and warn them
when they have only 10 minutes left.
performed. The acting will probably take at least five
minutes per group.
Pupils should act out their drama but discussion
should be postponed until all the plays have been
(25 minutes + 5 minutes per play)
Lesson 8
Activity 1 – Scenarios
After the performances, draw the class together to
discuss whether they felt that the behaviour was
irresponsible and whether the headteacher’s
decision was fair in each case.
123
Lesson 8
Activity 2
Make a list of examples of irresponsible behaviour.
Write each one on a separate sheet or OHT. Divide
the pupils into small groups and distribute the sheets/
OHTs. Ask each group to add some practical advice
that will help them to stay safe in these situations.
Group A
Less able pupils and those with special needs may
need help in recording their ideas. Pupils with
limited experience of using the technology and who
may not have personally experienced irresponsible
behaviour may need some prompts to remind them
of suggestions that have been made in earlier
lessons. Pupils in this group might make a list of
things they should and should not do. These could
be presented as slogans, using strips of A3 paper.
The slogans can then be sorted out to match each
technology; it is likely that many of these will apply
to more than one technology. Slogans might
include ‘Always be polite’, ‘Don’t try to annoy
people’ or ‘Don’t reply to people you don’t know’.
Group B
Pupils should be encouraged to reflect on previous
lessons and identify one or two examples of
irresponsible behaviour that they have discussed or
encountered. They should prepare ‘Positive
Posters’, that is, posters that promote positive
approaches or messages. For example, always be
polite, treat others as you would like to be treated.
These posters should not include ‘don’t’ messages.
Group C
Pupils could draft a guidance sheet for parents so
that they can help their own children to know how
to communicate responsibly.
(10 minutes)
Plenary
Learning outcomes
Pupils should share their advice about what to do
in difficult situations. Sheets of paper, slogans,
positive posters and guidance sheets could be
displayed to reinforce their message.
• Pupils will have discussed what they consider to
be irresponsible behaviour.
• Pupils will have talked about a range of
strategies to deal with difficult situations.
(5 minutes)
124
Pupil
Task Sheet
“I Hate My School”
A group of pupils create a web site called “I Hate My School”. On it, they list pupils and
teachers they don't like, and add rude and insulting comments about them. When other
pupils visit the web site, they print out the comments and post them around the school.
The pupils and teachers see the hurtful remarks.
Your task
Think about…
Your task is to act out a scenario of what happens
after the pupils who created the web site have been
discovered, and they have to go and see the
headteacher.
• What sort of nasty remarks might have been made
about pupils? How would these pupils feel?
You will need the following characters:
• Why did some pupils print out the comments?
What did they intend to do with them?
3 pupils who had nasty remarks made about them
2 teachers who had nasty remarks made about them
2 pupils who printed out the hurtful comments
2 pupils who posted the comments around the
school
2 pupils who created the web site
The headteacher
• What sort of nasty remarks might have been made
about teachers? How would these teachers feel?
• Why did some pupils stick the comments around
the school?
• When the pupils created the web site, what did
they think it would contain?
• What could have been done to make sure no one
was hurt?
• What do you think the headteacher should do?
Lesson 8
You have 25 minutes to talk about your scenario and
write down some ideas for the script. You will then
have about 5 minutes to act it out.
All Groups
125
Pupil
Task Sheet
The Voting Booth
Two pupils set up a voting booth where children from their school can vote on the best
looking boy and girl in each class. Instead of getting what they expect, many of the pupils
who take part add rude, insulting and even threatening comments about their classmates.
Before the pupils have a chance to remove their booth, a teacher discovers it. Because
they set up the booth, these two pupils are held responsible, even though they didn't post
anything offensive themselves.
Your task
Think about…
once the teachers have found out about everyone
involved, and the pupils have to go and see the
headteacher.
• The pupils who set up the booth. How do they
feel?
You will need the following characters:
• The pupils who had nasty comments made about
them. How do they feel?
2 pupils who set up the voting booth
2 pupils who write nasty comments about other pupils
2 pupils who have nasty comments made about them
1 teacher who discovered the voting booth
The headteacher
• The pupils who made nasty comments. Why did
they do it?
• The teacher who discovered the voting booth. Who
does he/she think is to blame – the pupils who set
it up, or the pupils who made nasty comments?
• How could things have turned out differently?
• What will the headteacher do about it?
126
All Groups
Pupil
Task Sheet
Bullying phone messages
A boy has received several threatening text messages on his mobile phone. He doesn’t
know who is sending the messages but they are upsetting him. He wonders if he should
send a reply asking the person to stop.
Your task
Think about…
next. You will need the following characters:
• The pupil who sent the messages. Why did they do
it? Why are they so sure they won’t be found out?
The boy who receives the bullying messages
2 pupils who have been sending bullying messages
A telecommunications expert
The headteacher
• The pupils who received the messages. How does
he feel? Who can help him?
• What will happen if he replies to the messages?
• How can he find out who is sending the
messages? The telecommunications expert might
go and look at the advice on Be Safe Online
(http://www.besafeonline.org/English/bullying_
online.htm) or Bullying online
(http://www.bullying.co.uk/children/
mobile_phone.htm).
• Assume that after investigations, they find the bully
is another pupil in the same class. What do you
think the headteacher should do?
Lesson 8
All Groups
127
Pupil
Task Sheet
The Borrowed Phone
A teacher gets a rude text message from someone at school. The telephone number is
that of your mobile phone. You lent your phone to a friend yesterday because they said
they had to contact home. You think that it must have been this friend who sent the
message. What do you do?
Your task
Think about…
when the owner of the phone realises what has
happened and decides to report it to the headteacher.
You will need the following characters:.
• The pupil who owns the phone. How does he/she
feel about getting into trouble?
The pupil who owns the phone
The pupil who borrowed it
The teacher who received the rude text message
The headteacher
• The pupil who borrowed the phone. How does
he/she feel about the trouble they have caused?
• The teacher who received the message. How will
he or she feel? Should they have given their phone
number to pupils?
• What will the headteacher do about it? Should the
pupils’ parents be told?
128
All Groups
Extension/refresher
Activities
This section contains creative activities which could be used
either to reinforce the messages of the earlier lessons or act as
a refresher to remind pupils at a later date of the material they
have covered.
There are three activities:
• Creating a board game to reinforce the Stop! Think! Go?
message
• Designing an information leaflet for parents, informing them
about an aspect of Internet safety
• Writing a short play, highlighting the actions, impact and
consequences of irresponsible behaviour when someone is
using communication technology.
These activities are designed for pupils in Years 5 and 6;
activities 2 and 3 include opportunities to use ICT.
Extension/refresher Activities
Activity 1 – Creating a board game
The objective of this activity is to give pupils an opportunity to think of creative ways of
reinforcing the Stop! Think! Go? message when using on-line technologies. They will need
about 3 hours to plan, design, refine and try out their games. This activity could be linked
with work in design and technology.
Resources
• Materials to plan the board game
• Materials to make the board game, including
pens, card, pictures (of different types of
communication technologies)
• Materials to play the game with e.g. dice, counters
Introduce the activity to the whole class but then
organise the children into small groups who will work
together to create the board game. Encourage pupils
to think about what they have learned about using
the Internet and communication technologies safely.
Could they make a game that would help other
people remember the advice to keep them safe?
Ask the children to brainstorm different types of board
games that they know about. Ask for brief descriptions
of how they are played. Put the information on a chart
for display to remind the children how they could
design the game, incorporating features from a
number of different games.
130
How will their game work? It may be a traditional
game with positive and negative cards – for
example, ‘You make a new friend – move forward
two spaces’ or ‘You give out your e-mail address to
a stranger – move back three’. It could be like
snakes and ladders – make the correct choice and
move up the ladder, make the wrong choice and
zoom down the snake, or it may be something
completely different. Make the game and write the
rule booklet.
Once the games have been made, allow the
children to play each other’s games, discussing
how they work, how effective they are in reinforcing
the SMARTthinking messages, and how they could
be modified to improve them.
Activity 2 – Designing a leaflet
This activity gives pupils an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of the risks involved
in using communication technologies and awareness of associated safe, responsible
behaviours. It is likely to take pupils about two hours. There are a number of potential links
with work in English, design and technology, ICT and PSHE and Citizenship.
Resources
• SMARTthinking messages
• Materials to make the leaflet, e.g. paper, pencils,
pens, pictures
• Access to a computer if they are using ICT
• A selection of samples from other safety
campaigns or leaflets.
It may be a good idea to split the activity into two
parts: during the first part pupils could work in pairs
to design and make the leaflet and in the second part
they could refine their work. They will need to start by
thinking about the various forms of technology and
the risks they pose. Providing samples of other safety
campaigns and suitable illustrations or clip-art will be
helpful. You will also need to decide on the scale of
the leaflet – if they use an A4 page landscape, they
could make it a four-page leaflet, whether they’re
using ICT or pasting text onto it.
Working in pairs, they should then choose the
particular technology – e-mail, texting, chat rooms,
browsing the Internet – that they will focus on.
They will need to remember that their audience is
adults, but telling them how they can help children
to keep safe.
Once they have completed the leaflets, allow time for
pupils to discuss them all. Are the messages clear
enough? Is there too little detail, too much? Will
adults, parents and carers understand what is being
said? If the leaflets were for children rather than
adults, what would they change?
131
Extension/refresher Activities
Activity 3 – Writing a play
This activity involves pupils in writing a short play, highlighting the actions, impact and
consequences of irresponsible behaviour when someone is using communication technology.
There are potential links with work in ICT, English and drama.
You will need to allow approximately 2–3 hours for writing, reviewing and performing the play.
Pupils will need to work in groups to write the play. Group sizes will depend on how familiar
the pupils are with this type of work. They need to be large enough to enable a wide range of
ideas, but not so large that some individuals feel inhibited.
Resources
They should also think about the action in the play:
• Samples of rules, messages, leaflets etc. from
earlier lessons
• SMARTthinking messages
• Stop! Think! and Go? cards to insert into the
play – encouraging children to adopt the
appropriate strategies to inform their decisions.
•
•
•
•
Explain to the children that they are going to write a
play script to highlight an aspect of using
communication technology. Ask them to talk about
the different aspects they have investigated via the
Cybercafé, including text messaging, e-mail, chat
rooms and searching for information on the
Internet. They will develop the play by including
some aspect of irresponsible or inappropriate
behaviour – sending bullying text messages,
perhaps, or giving personal information in a chat
room. They will need to create the characters for
their play and consider the consequences of the
actions. They will also need to think about how they
will present using the technology – are there ways
they could show a computer or telephone screen
(an interactive whiteboard, perhaps), or can they
pretend to be typing and reading from a screen?
Some pupils may find this activity difficult to work
on in an abstract way. It may be more relevant to
ask them to suggest a scenario and then allow
them to ‘act out’ the scene with other pupils. You
could record the play for them, stopping them as
you scribe. Ask them to ‘replay’ the scenes so that
they follow what is happening and can suggest
sensible actions to take.
Once they have decided on the storyline, they need
to think about how people really behave: would
people try to hide what they’d done or would they
admit it straight away?
132
Who finds out about the action?
How do they find out?
Who feels hurt or at risk?
If there is a culprit (in the case of bullying, for
example), what happens to them? What should
the victim have done?
After the writing, ask the children to perform their
plays, discussing how powerful the messages are.
Do they help children to Stop! Think! and Go?
when using communication technology? Are they
more likely to think about safe behaviours now they
have seen the plays?
Visual Aid
Lesson 2
SMARTthinking
S
M
A
R
T
Lesson 2 Plenary
= Secret
STOP and THINK
= Meeting
contacting you on line or through a messaging
STOP and THINK
WHAT might happen?
= Attachments
WHO sent it?
STOP and THINK
the computer?
= Reliable
STOP and THINK
WHETHER I can rely on someone I
can’t see telling me the truth
= Tell
STOP and THINK
WHO can I tell?
Resource: ‘SMARTthinking’
All groups
Pupil Worksheet
Lesson 2
STOP
STOP
THINK
THINK
GO
Lesson 2 Plenary
GO
Resource: ‘Stop! Think! Go?’
All groups
Using the
Cybercafé web site
The Cybercafé is a virtual café where kids go to interact with technology. This section is
intended to familiarise you with some of its features, and to help you to explore the café
before using it in the classroom.
By scrolling on the arrows and passing the mouse over the characters the pupils can
find out about different types of technology and help some of the customers behave
safely on-line. They are given help by the café owner, Griff.
The scroll bars are to the left and right of the screen.
The café is a 360 degree view so pupils will have to scroll
around to find the characters they need. The character
at the desk is Griff, the help guy. He provides instruction
throughout the web site. There are five interactive areas
of the web site – chat, e-mail, web browsing, SMS/text
messaging and the quiz. Sound is included throughout
the site, and on the home page pupils are able to select
music from a jukebox. The site also contains a glossary.
The web site follows the theme of
STOP! THINK! GO?
It steers pupils towards making the right choices; if the
choice they have made is unsuitable, they are asked to
make another choice and to STOP and THINK.
The web site can be used as a whole class activity or
something that pupils can do individually either at
home or at school.
E-mail
Sunil is in the Cybercafé to check his e-mail. He has
four messages. The pupils need to read them and
then help him to decide what to do with them from a
selection of choices. The choices take the form of
buttons similar to those found in popular e-mail
programs – reply, delete and download. The pupils
are asked to press each button in turn to see the
consequences of their actions, then from the
information given, make a decision on Sunil’s best
course of action. If they make the wrong choice they
are asked to think again. Finally the children need to
work through a series of hypothetical questions to
test their understanding of what they have learnt
during this section.
Pupils are welcomed by Griff. They are invited to read
the messages, look at the options and make a choice.
E-mail
Pupils should click on the names and work their
way through the e-mails systematically.
After pupils have read the e-mail they need to click
on the reply or delete buttons.
If they choose the correct answer they are advised
to ‘Go’ ahead.
E-mail
If they make the wrong choice they are advised to
think again!
After reviewing the options pupils are asked to make
a choice.
E-mail
Once they have completed the whole of the
e-mail section, they are asked a series of
questions to check their learning.
Pupils should click on ‘reveal’ to get the
correct answer.
On all of the features there is a link to
SMARTthinking.
There is also a ‘help’ section. Depending on the
section this is either called Help with e-mail,
Help with chat, Help with web browsing or Help
with SMS/text messaging.
Words that are highlighted appear in the
Glossary section.
Chat
Chantelle is a ten-year-old girl who is about to enter a
chat room for the first time. The pupils first need to
find a suitable chat room for her then, after reading the
ongoing chat, to help her make safe responses
through a series of multiple-choice questions. Once
they have completed the task the pupils need again to
work through a short series of hypothetical questions
in order to reinforce their learning.
Pupils are welcomed to the chat room by Griff.
‘Popstar’ will automatically appear in the search box.
Pupils need to select a chat room from the left-hand
side. ‘Pop Mad’ is the correct choice in this instance.
They will not be allowed access to the others as they
are inappropriate.
Chat
The chat will begin and ‘Popstar’ will join in. Popstar
will be asked a series of questions throughout the
chat. Pupils will need to make various choices.
The chat proceeds. The ‘pause’ button in the bottom
right-hand corner pauses the chat if required.
At the end of the feature, pupils will be asked a
series of questions. They should click on one of the
options to reveal the answer.
Web Browsing
Jason is lounging around in the café when he should
be getting on with his homework. The pupils need to
help him research his assignment on ‘Life on Mars’.
After Jason finds a list of sites through the use of a
search engine, the children need to access and read
them one by one, deciding whether or not they will be
of use. Along the way Jason will be tempted by links
and adverts on the web sites he visits. The pupils
need to help him make safe decisions. To underpin
their learning, the pupils are again asked to complete
a short series of hypothetical questions.
Griff gives the pupils instructions on what to do.
The assignment they have to complete appears on
screen.
Pupils are advised to use a child-friendly
search engine
Web Browsing
‘Life on Mars’ automatically appears as the
search term.
The search results appear. Pupils need to click on
each of them in turn. They may want to print them
off instead of reading them on screen.
Pupils need to read the contents of the web page
by scrolling down on the right-hand side. They will
then be asked to make a choice about whether it
will be useful.
Once they have completed all five of the web pages,
they need to answer the questions by clicking on
one of the two options.
Quiz
After pupils have completed all of the interactive
sections on the web site they will need to complete
the on-line quiz, to test their learning. Pupils are
asked a series of multiple-choice questions and asked
to select either A, B or C. The correct answers from
the quiz can also be printed off from the web site.
Griff gives initial instruction on screen.
The first question appears. Pupils need to choose A,
B or C from the buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Quiz
If they make an incorrect choice they are asked to
‘think again’ and go back.
If they make a correct choice they can ‘Go’ and
proceed to the next question. There are some
additional extension/refresher activities in the pack
that you may want to use to reinforce the key
messages. There is also SMARTthinking which
features on the web site and which could be used
as the basis for class discussion and perhaps
developed further.
SMS/text messages
Chloe has received 5 messages on her mobile
phone and the pupils need to read them and help
decide what to do with each one from a selection
of choices.
Before they do this they have to help Chloe choose
a new phone cover and a new ring tone by dragging
and dropping their choice on to the phone.
Pupils need to click on to Chloe’s
phone to start the exercise.
SMS/text messages
Five messages are listed plus one stored message.
They can select the message they want to read by
using the arrow keys to highlight it and clicking on
the blue button.
Abbreviations and emoticons, as commonly used on
mobile phones, are used in the messages. See
Jamie’s (listed as JMe) for examples of these and
what they mean.
Pupils need to use the arrow keys and click the blue
button to select their choices from the list of options
that appears. The ‘C’ button takes them back to the
message inbox.
SMS/text messages
If pupils choose the wrong option they are advised
to stop and think!
If pupils choose the correct answer they are advised
to go ahead!
Pupils work through the
messages systematically using
the arrow keys.
SMS/text messages
Griff’s message consists of his top tips for mobile
safety and security.
Jamie’s message gives a selection of emoticons
and abbreviations.
Pupils can see what each abbreviation means by
moving the curser over each one.
Pupils can see what each emoticon means by moving
the curser over each one.
Using the Cybercafé web site
(name of pupil)
has successfully completed the Internet Proficiency Scheme.
I am a SMARTthinker and know how to use the Internet and other
technologies safely. I know that I must always use the Internet and
other technologies safely and if I am unsure or worried I will talk to my
teacher, parent or carer.
Signed (pupil)
Signed (Headteacher)
Name of school
Date
S = Secret
M = Meeting
A = Attachments
R = Reliable
T = Tell
(name of pupil)
has successfully completed the Internet Proficiency Scheme.
I am a SMARTthinker and know how to use the Internet and other
technologies safely. I know that I must always use the Internet and
other technologies safely and if I am unsure or worried I will talk to my
teacher, parent or carer.
Signed (pupil)
Signed (Headteacher)
Name of school
Date
S = Secret
M = Meeting
A = Attachments
R = Reliable
T = Tell
This school participates in
the DfES/Becta Internet
Proficiency Scheme.
The Internet Proficiency Scheme aims to develop
safe and discriminating behaviours for Key Stage 2
pupils who use the Internet and other technologies.
These behaviours should be regularly reviewed and
updated and are supported by our school’s
‘Acceptable Use Policy’.
Signed
S
M
A
R
T
=
=
=
=
=
Headteacher
Secret
Meeting
Attachments
Reliable
Tell
http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe
http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers
http://safety.ngfl.gov.uk/schools/Internetproficiency
This school participates in
the DfES/Becta Internet
Proficiency Scheme.
The Internet Proficiency Scheme aims to develop
safe and discriminating behaviours for 9–11-yearolds who use the Internet and other technologies.
These behaviours should be regularly reviewed and
updated and are supported by our school’s
‘Acceptable Use Policy’.
Signed
S
M
A
R
T
=
=
=
=
=
Headteacher
Secret
Meeting
Attachments
Reliable
Tell
http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe
http://www.gridclub.com/cybercafe/teachers
http://safety.ngfl.gov.uk/schools/Internetproficiency
SMARTthinking
S
M
A
R
T
= Secret
STOP and THINK
= Meeting
This is about someone you have never met
before contacting you on line or through a
messaging service to invite you to a meeting.
STOP and THINK
anyone you have only met on ine?
WHAT might happen?
= Attachments
This is about e-mail and attachments and what
you need to think about before opening them.
STOP and THINK
WHO sent it?
WHAT can I do to protect myself
and the computer?
= Reliable
Anyone can put anything on the internet and anyone
can use the communication technologies (such as,
chat, SMS, e-mail, IM) to contact others.
STOP and THINK
WHETHER I can rely on information on web
sites to be true
WHAT
can I do to check?
= Tell
No matter how careful we are, sometimes we
might come across things that upset us.
STOP and THINK
WHO can I tell?
SMARTthinking
S
M
A
R
T
= Secret
STOP and THINK
= Meeting
This is about someone you have never met
before contacting you on line or through a
messaging service to invite you to a meeting.
STOP and THINK
WHAT might happen?
= Attachments
This is about e-mail and attachments and what
you need to think about before opening them.
STOP and THINK
WHO sent it?
WHAT can I do to protect myself
and the computer?
= Reliable
Anyone can put anything on the internet and anyone
can use the communication technologies (such as,
chat, SMS, e-mail, IM) to contact others.
STOP and THINK
WHETHER I can rely on information on web
sites to be true
WHAT
can I do to check?
= Tell
No matter how careful we are, sometimes we
might come across things that upset us.
STOP and THINK
WHO can I tell?
Be a SMARTthinker!
S = Secret
Be a SMARTthinker!
S = Secret
M= Meeting
WHY should you never arrange to meet anyone you have only
met on line?
WHAT might happen?
A = Attachments
WHO sent it?
WHAT can I do to protect myself?
R = Reliable
WHETHER I can rely on information on web sites to be true
WHETHER I can rely on someone I can’t see telling me the truth
T = Tell
M= Meeting
met on line?
WHAT might happen?
A = Attachments
WHO sent it?
R = Reliable
T = Tell
WHAT can I do when web sites and messages make me feel
uncomfortable?
WHO can I tell?
uncomfortable?
WHO can I tell?
Be a SMARTthinker!
S = Secret
M= Meeting
met on line?
WHAT might happen?
A = Attachments
WHO sent it?
R = Reliable
T = Tell
uncomfortable?
WHO can I tell?
Be a SMARTthinker!
S = Secret
M= Meeting
met on line?
WHAT might happen?
A = Attachments
WHO sent it?
R = Reliable
T = Tell
uncomfortable?
WHO can I tell?
Passport
Passport
Name
Name
Signature
Signature
School
School
Date
Date
I am a SMARTthinker.
I have successfully completed the
Internet Proficiency Scheme and I
always use the Internet and other
technologies safely.
Passport
Passport
Name
Name
Signature
Signature
School
School
Date
Date

The Internet Proficiency Scheme

Transcription

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