Our children are spending a great deal of time on the Internet. A recent study showed that 80% of students spent at least one hour each week on the Internet and of those 11% spent more than eight hours a week online. 12% of those surveyed said they spend more time with their friends online than they did in person, and 30% reported that using email, chat rooms or instant messaging as the primary way they keep in touch with their friends. Children who go online place themselves at risk of coming into contact with inappropriate materials and dangerous situations. As adults, we aren't always aware of the dangers that exist in the online world and as a result, aren't prepared to provide safety strategies to protect our children.

For Students:

Today's youth has grown up playing video games and using computers to access the online world. For them the computer and the Internet are second-nature. Researchers have learned that children who go online do not view the virtual world the same as the real-world and that they are more apt to engage in 'risky' behavior when they engage in online activities. This is often true of their online pratices on social networks such as MySpace.

Classroom visits and assemblies for students provide large and small group training raising Internet safety awareness and providing strategies for safer online experiences.

With nearly 100% of Montana schools connected to the Internet, teachers are taking their classes online to explore everything from volcanoes to ancient Greece, and to connect students virtually with experts around the globe. Unfortunately, not every individual is forthright nor website appropriate or creditable. Futher, students are accessing social networks where they post personal information and communicate with strangers.

ClickSafe's Internet safety workshops for teachers generally take place after school on an early-out, and provide teachers with an understanding of the dangers that lurk online. Participants learn strategies for preparing students who face inappropriate websites, social networks and online communication.

Children use the Internet more than their parents. Research studies indicate a skill-gap between children and parent users of the Internet. Research also indicates that, in an effort to appear more responsible, parents report establishing rules for children's use more often than do their children. Parents need to learn more about what their children are doing online, and provide guidelines they want their children to follow when they use the Internet.

ClickSafe provides evening workshops for parents that are designed to raise awareness of the dangers while providing strategies for rules and activities that help protect children who go online.

"The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is a federal law enacted by Congress to address concerns about access to offensive content over the Internet on school and library computers. CIPA imposes certain types of requirements on any school or library that receives funding for Internet access or internal connections from the E-rate program – a program that makes certain communications technology more affordable for eligible schools and libraries. In early 2001, the FCC issued rules implementing CIPA. More recently, Congress enacted additional protections for children using the Internet."
(http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html)

ClickSafe will work with your school to assist in the development of policies and curriculum that will help you meet the new CIPA guidelines required for E-Rate.