For Grown Ups

Cybersmart: 10 steps for teaching kids using this site

This lesson focuses on the importance of being cybersmart when surfing the Net. In preparation you could look at the cyber rules, and the detailed information provided about Chat. It would be good to think of additional scenarios, and 'what ifs' to spark discussion.

Lesson Steps
1. Make a booking to use the computer room so every child can access a screen.
2. Start the lesson by ensuring every child is seated at a computer screen.
3. Explain that the purpose of the lesson is to see how cybersmart they are. Ask them a few questions and get a few responses on the do's and don'ts of the internet to create interest in the subject.

Questions can include:

  • Who thinks they are a computer guru?
  • What sort of things do you like to do online?
  • Who goes to chat rooms and uses email and ICQ?
  • Tell me why you think it is/isn't cool?
  • Tell me about the friends you have made online?
  • What are the risks about communicating online? (Has anyone had any bad experiences?)
  • What do you think being cybersmart means?
  • Why is it important to be cybersmart?
4. Introduce the activity. Tell them they are going to play a game to prove how smart they are.
5. Get them to switch on computer and them open the internet browser. Once they have opened their browser ask them to type in www.cybersmartkids.com.au.
6. Once they have the site on their screen ask them to click on the cyber rules and the tips for chatting safely and using mobiles.  Allow them 10 minutes to read the information under the headings. You can read collectively or silently.
7. Once they have read about these topics, ask them to click on 'Take the Quiz'. This is a quiz that they can work through using the information from the advice sections in about 15 minutes.
8. Circle around the class helping them with their answers if needed, and at the end of the lesson do a recap on what they have learnt. The children should all collect their 'score' once they finish the quiz.
9. Open discussion about the scenarios in the quiz.

Some questions could be:

  • Who thought the characters did the smart thing?
  • What would you do if..
  • For those who use chat, who has set up a 'nym?
  • Would you be more careful about giving out personal information?
  • Do you have your own cybersmart tips that you want to share?
10. In the time remaining at the end of the lesson, kids can create their own cybersmart posters online by clicking on cybersmart comp.

Follow Up

Gauge whether attitudes have changed since the beginning of the lesson. Ask again the questions:

  • What do you think being cybersmart means?
  • Why is it important to be cybersmart?

A possible concluding exercise would be for the class to come up with its own cybersmart slogan, for example an acronym summing up the cyber rules.