February 6th is Safer Internet Day, dedicated to “raising awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns”. Online safety is an increasing issue in school districts, especially because concerns can change rapidly. Equipping your teachers and school community with the right online literacy tools is the best way to ensure the students in your district remain safe online. Below, we’ve outlined a few programs made for schools so you can help create a safer internet!
Get involved with SID directly
Each year, the official Safer Internet Day organization, ConnectSafely, sponsors events at schools and in communitiesall over the world. Their program includes lesson plans, discussion topics, presentations, guides, and a library of educational videos to engage your district’s students in the conversation. Topics covered include Civility, Cyberbullying, Predators and Scams, Media Literacy, and more.
ConnectSafely is offering $1,000 grants to educators to implement these tools into their school communities.
Budgetary issues can make it difficult to try these types of programs, so ConnectSafely offers free guides for both families and educators, along with guides sorted by topic, for you to distribute in your districts.
Family Tech Talk: A Free Internet Safety Event for Schools
PTOToday has joined forces with cybersecurity leader, Trend Micro, to host a free internet safety event for schools and their communities about staying safe online. Presented by an internet safety expert, parents and caregivers will learn about best practices for their kids, age-appropriate apps and settings, preventing online risks, and more.
In-person events are available in the following locations:
- Washington, DC
- Orlando, FL
- Jersey City, NJ
- New York City, NY
- Austin, TX
- Dallas, TX
- Fort Worth, TX
- Houston, TX
Zoom webinar events are available on these days:
- Feb 6, 2024 (Tue) – 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific (Safer Internet Day)
- Feb 13, 2024 (Tue) – 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific
- Mar 5, 2024 (Tue) – 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific
- Mar 13, 2024 (Wed) – 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific
- Apr 3, 2024 (Wed) – 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific
- Apr 9, 2024 (Tue) – 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific
- Apr 24, 2024 (Wed) – 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific
- May 1, 2024 (Wed) – 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific
- May 7, 2024 (Tue) – 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific
- May 15, 2024 (Wed) – 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific
You can register for the event here and start promoting it to your school families today!
Safe Online Surfing (SOS) Program
This free program by the FBI is designed to help students become better digital citizens in a fun and engaging way. Teachers can register their classes for free, and families can participate at home, too!
This program is ideal for grade levels 3-8, and covers age-appropriate topics like cyberbullying, passwords, social media, and more.
Since this can be done at home, this is a great way to engage families in the internet safety conversation if they can’t make it to an at-school seminar.
