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Dear Parents, The beginning of this marking period Technology Class was spent solely on Internet Safety and Computer Security. This curriculum is in its third year for our students. A large part of the lessons come from www.cybersmartcurriculum.org which is published and freely distributed on the web by The CyberSmart Education Company which was first co-published with the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill company. These lessons teach students techniques to keep their identities and their computers safe when using both the school and their home computers. Students are taught what information needs to be kept private, what to do if they feel that they have been threatened and if they are made to feel uncomfortable when using the internet. Internet ethics, the social impact of the World Wide Web and email were discussed at great length. Also, information about the nature of viruses, Instant Messenger weaknesses and other dangers that can threaten their computers and their personal information have been covered in detail. Many of the teachers have also reinforced this info during their class periods as well. During the course of these lessons, the topic of online Instant Messaging and online blogs, and our St. Ann students’ use of these applications came up several times. We became highly concerned when our discussions brought our attention to the fact that some St. Ann students have My Space and Xanga accounts and have placed personal information about themselves and other students on these blogs. Some have posted pictures; others have listed addresses, phone numbers, places and friends names on these sites as well. Some students also have personal information listed in their Instant Messenger profiles. In the light of recent tragic events related to these types of internet applications, the teachers, Mr. McKenna and I feel it necessary to warn our parents of the dangers facing our students. Included in this letter are resources for your investigation. First, is an article written by Parry Aftab, an Internet privacy and security lawyer, who is also and advocate for online safety, and founder of www.wiredsafety.org. Please read this article and follow the published advice. Second, The Diocese of Trenton is running a workshop for parents and educators in protecting children online. Information about this workshop has been included in this weeks PIE. Third, on the back of this letter we have also listed other informative web links for further investigation and advice. We encourage you to ask your students about their lessons in internet safety, check their online histories, and last but not least, please send an email or call Mrs. Smith with any questions or concerns you may have. She will be happy to be a part of your quest to keep your child safe online. You can also find a hyperlinked copy of this letter and other info at www.st-ann-school.org/smith/Safe_Zone2.htm. Sincerely, Kim Smith
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LINKS TO MORE INFO |
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In the News!10 NBC-Prosecutors: Men Used MySpace To Molest Girls "A man from Pennsylvania and another from New Jersey used the popular networking Web site MySpace.com to set up sexual encounters with underage Connecticut girls, federal prosecutors said Wednesday." Also 10 NBC Has an extensive amountof information about MySpace, and other Blogs and how to search for your child's postings. NBC-DateLine will Air
“To Catch a Predator III”
on Friday 2/4/06 at 9:00pm. I highly recommended that you view this program
with your children. It is the third edition to an ongoing disturbing
investigation into cyber predators and their behaviors. * I will also be
taping the show for our new library. MSNBC: Some very informative warnings
and excerpts from last weeks Dateline report on MySpace. "The
MySpace Generation" Misc. News -Read a mothers Warning from the Cincinnati radio news WCPO
"Missing Teen's Mom Sends Warning To Parents" |
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In the KnowBelow you will find links to MySpace and Xanga
FAQs pages. In the ZoneMSN StaySafe Online for Parents- http://msn.staysafeonline.com/parents/default.html Safe Surf-http://www.safesurf.com & Safe Surf Newsletter- http://www.safesurf.com/newsletter Other related safety info can be found on my web site http://www.st-ann-school.org/smith/avoid_viruses.html www.st-ann-school.org/smith/safezone.htm
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