We have put together a list of suggested websites, apps and online resources that may be of use to schools and families during this difficult time.
Today’s the day!
Children around the area will be taking part in an online quiz organised by ICT in Schools, South Tyneside. They will be pitting their wits against other schools in South Tyneside to see who knows more about keeping safe online. This year the theme for the day is about reliability, can we trust everything we see in the online world?. Their skills will be tested to see if they can spot fake news stories and photographs.
If you would like to know more about Safer Internet Day, go to their website <a href=”https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2021″>https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2021</a> And for more information about keeping your family safe online, check out these <a href=”https://ictinschools.org/e-safety/e-safety-for-parents-and-carers/”>videos made by the ICT in Schools team.</a>
Here is some advice from leading e safety experts on how to support your family.
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GDE Error: Error retrieving file - if necessary turn off error checking (403:Forbidden)
GDE Error: Error retrieving file - if necessary turn off error checking (403:Forbidden)
Well, it’s not a very friendly app at all. This app is 15+ and is aimed at tweens. But, many younger children are using it. It has virtually no moderation, and allows for anonymous posting. Please make your parents aware as it seems to be used in the region.
Common Sense Media say, Parents need to know that Frog – What’s Up Friend is a free social media app aimed at young teens. There are some protections in place, but much of it relies on user awareness and precaution. Users are required to submit a video that includes their face to be “verified,” but verification isn’t required to view videos, friend other users, or send messages. User-generated content — that is supposed to be moderated — includes the use of words like “sh*t”, “f*ck,” and beastiality, and there seems to be no moderation whatsoever of privately sent videos between “friends.” The terms of service require kids to be at least 13 years old to participate, but there are no restrictions in place to ensure this is enforced. In fact, user reviews report concerns about predatory behavior from older users. Since ages are visible in profiles, it’s easy to target the youngest users. There’s a toggle to make a user only visible to friends, but it’s not readily available during account creation. There’s also no tour or overview so kids may not know how the app works until they have posted content. Kids can also connect to and use features of Snapchat within the app. It’s also possible to purchase in-app currency without asking for parental permission. Read the developer’s privacy policy for details on how your (or your kids’) information is collected, used, and shared and any choices you may have in the matter, and note that privacy policies and terms of service frequently change.
Safer Internet Day is on 9th February 2021 and will be celebrated in the UK with the theme: An internet we trust: exploring reliability in the online world
Safer Internet Day 2021 celebrates the amazing range of information and opportunities online, and its potential to inform, connect and inspire us, whilst also looking at how young people can separate fact from fiction.
The campaign focuses on how we can decide what to trust online, supporting young people to question, challenge and change the online world for the better. It will explore how influence, persuasion and manipulation can impact young people’s decisions, opinions and what they share online.
The day will also look at the emotional impact navigating a misleading online world can have on young people and why it is important to create a supportive, critical and questioning culture online that encourages debate and discussion. We want to give young people the skills to support one another, and the strategies to spot and speak out against harmful and misleading content online.
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2021
Internet Matters have also made a challenging quiz for families, school groups or individuals. Check it out here : Find the Fake Quiz!
You might want to put it on your school website or send home as a remote learning activity!
Strengthening privacy and safety for youth on TikTok
At TikTok, we know that creativity and expression are personal. And so is privacy. That’s why we empower our community with a range of controls to manage their online presence. As young people start their digital journey, we believe it’s important to provide them with age-appropriate privacy settings and controls. Today we’re announcing changes for users under age 18 aimed at driving higher default standards for user privacy and safety.
Enhanced default privacy settings
Starting today, we’re changing the default TikTok privacy setting for all registered accounts under the age of 16 to private. With a private TikTok account, only someone who the user approves as a follower can view their videos. We want our younger users to be able to make informed choices about what and with whom they choose to share, which includes whether they want to open their account to public views. By engaging them early in their privacy journey, we can enable them to make more deliberate decisions about their online privacy.
For the full story and details on the privacy settings click the link below:
https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/strengthening-privacy-and-safety-for-youth-on-tiktok
This is the information about Fleets posted on Twitter
Click here to read on the Twitter website.
Fleets give you the power to use and interact with Twitter in a whole new way, right in the moment. Fleets allow you to share fleeting or transitory thoughts, and after 24 hours, they’ll disappear from view. Share personal in-the-moment thoughts with your followers free of public reactions. Fleet authors can see who views their Fleets, including accounts with protected Tweets, by clicking into their Fleets and tapping on the Seen By text at the bottom.
- They don’t get Retweets, likes, and are not open to public replies.
- A Fleet can include text, videos, GIFs, or photos. People can reply to your Fleet by tapping on Send a Message or the emoji icon at the bottom of your Fleet.
- If you have open DMs, anyone can react to your Fleets. If you have closed DMs, only people you follow can react to your Fleets.
- People with access to Fleets can see your Fleets in two ways:
- If they follow you, your Fleets will appear in the new bar across the top of their Home timeline.
- Anyone who can see your Tweets can view your Fleets from your profile by tapping on your profile photo.
- If you protect your Tweets, your Fleets will also be protected.
- To delete a Fleet select Delete Fleet and it will remove the post.
Note: When you view someone’s Fleet, the Fleet author will be able to see that you viewed it using the Seen By feature, even if your account has protected Tweets.
Additionally, please note that we maintain a copy of all sent Fleets and live broadcasts in Fleets for a limited time after they expire or are deleted to be able to enforce against Fleets that are found to violate our rules. If a Fleet or a live broadcast was found in violation, we may extend the time we maintain a copy of it to allow people an opportunity to appeal the violation if they believe it was a mistake.
These are fabulous handouts for parents, made by the amazing team at SWGFL
https://swgfl.org.uk/resources/
Home activity packs
Our home activity packs contain simple 15 minute activities you can do with your family to support their online safety at home.
Family activities
Each of these family activity sheets have a selection of short conversation starters, practical tips and fun tasks to do as a family.
Family activity sheet – viewing videos online
This activity sheet focuses on watching videos online. With a choice of 3 conversation starters, 3 online safety actions and 2 fun family tasks, you can learn together about watching videos safely online.
Family activity sheet – cyber security
This activity sheet focuses on cyber security, and we have worked with the National Cyber Security Centre to help you be more Cyber Aware.
Family Activity sheet – social media
This activity sheet focuses on social media. With a choice of 2 conversation starters, depending on if your child is on social media, 3 online safety actions and a fun family tasks, you can learn together about safer social media use.
Family Activity sheet – sharing images
This activity sheet focuses on sharing images online. With a choice of 3 conversation starters, 3 online safety actions and a fun family tasks, you can learn together about safer image sharing.
Family Activity sheet – live streaming
This activity sheet focuses on live streaming. With a choice of 3 conversation starters, 3 online safety actions and a fun family tasks, you can learn together about how to be safer when live streaming.
Family Activity sheet – online gaming
This activity sheet focuses on online gaming. With a choice of 3 conversation starters, 3 online safety actions and a fun family tasks, you can learn together about safer online gaming.
Parents and Carers Resources
If you haven’t already, read our Parents and Carers Helpsheets – there is one for primary and one for secondary. These contain key online safety advice and links to our resources, as well as support services.
We have also created short videos to help you with online safety at home on the following topics:
- Watching videos
- Online gaming
- Social media
- Sharing images
- Livestreaming
- Cyber security
Click here for short videos for parents and carers
Home activity packs
These home activity packs a have been created to cover different areas of online safety for each age range, using our Thinkuknow resources.
For Early Years and Primary:
Click here for home activity packs for children aged 4-5
Click here for home activity packs for children aged 5-7
Click here for home activity packs for children aged 8-10
For Secondary:
PEGI Ratings For the most Popular Games this Christmas:
FIFA 21 – PEGI 3
Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War – PEGI 18
Spiderman; Miss Morales – PEGI 12
Fortnite: Battle Royale – PEGI 12
Watch Dogs Legion – PEGI 18
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit- PEGI 3
Call of Duty: Warzone – PEGI 18
Minecraft – PEGI 7
If you are purchasing a game that is not on this list, you can check the PEGI rating here
