By Erin C. Markus, EdTech 521

Do you use safety?

When you swim, do you use pool safety? When you drive a car, do you use road

safety? When you play sports, do you use safety

equipment?

Do you use safety?

If you answered “yes” to the previous questions, then you think before you act and are aware of what using safety is all about.

Safety is a part of our everyday lives and we use safety for many different reasons.

One of these reasons you may be unaware of, and this is what this lesson is all about!

Can you guess what kind of safety we are talking about?

Safety on the Internet?

Have you ever felt uncomfortable when you visited a web site and were not sure if you should stay there?

Has anyone that you don’t know tried to contact you on the internet that you did not want to talk to?

Have you chatted or e-mailed with someone you do not know personally?

Has anyone tried to sell you something on the internet, or get more information about you?

Did you answer “yes” to the previous questions?

If you did, then you are ready for a lesson on internet safety.

In this lesson, we are going to talk about: Safety while Surfing the Net Safety while chatting with others Safety while shopping on the internet Safety while Social Networking on the internet

Safety while Chatting on the Net Do you like to Instant Message or E-mail

with people on the internet? Well, if you do, then you need to be very

aware of the following: Who the person is How old the person is Is this person really a “friend” Is this person asking too many personal

questions about you? Do you feel uncomfortable at any point during

the conversations?

Safety while Chatting on the Net When you are chatting on the net, be

very careful about who you are talking with, because they may not be who they say they are.

If you are unsure or feel uncomfortable about the chat or e-mail, please let an adult, such as your parents, teachers, or administrators know.

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP IF YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE ON THE INTERNET!

Safety while Surfing the Net

We all like to “surf” on the internet. This means that we like to browse many different sites looking for information that we may be curious about. This can be for:

Research projects Shopping Finding Friends Entertainment

Safety while Surfing the Net

When you are surfing on the net, be aware of the sites you are visiting. Many sites exist just for sharing their ads and some can even get information from your computer just because you visited the site.

Visit sites that you are already aware of as being safe sites that are designed for the purpose you are looking for.

Be careful of unfamiliar sites.

Safety while Shopping on the Net Shopping can be very fun on the

internet, because there are so many stores and so many choices. It is also very convenient.

When you are shopping on the net, be sure you are using a trusted website that you know is legitimate.

Be aware of any site that you give your credit card information to, especially if it is unfamiliar or you have not used it before.

Don’t click before you think!!

Safety while Social Networking We all love the Social Networking sites,

where we get to find old friends, talk to new friends, and share information and pictures with others.

Social networking is becoming more and more popular among all age groups, but there are precautions that must be taken when we use these sites.

Safety while Social Networking Here are some tips for safe social networking:

Do not add people to your “friends” list that make you feel uncomfortable, or if you do not know them

If you add someone that wants to be your “friend” that you don’t know, look closely at their information and other friends to see if you know them or to see if their information seems “vague” or questionable.

Bottom line, if you feel uncomfortable with a new “friend” either from your communication with them or just by their information and other friends, delete them and stop all communications.

Tell an adult if the person tries to “dig” for more information or you think they may not be who they say they are.

Why do we use Internet Safety?

There are several reasons why it is important to use internet safety:

To protect your identity To protect yourself from harm To protect your money To protect your morals and values

Internet Safety Resources

The following websites will help you find more information about internet safety:

http://www.safekids.com/ http://www.netsmartz.org/index.aspx http://www.getnetwise.org/

Quiz Time!

What have you learned from this presentation? Follow the link to the quiz to complete this

course

When you are finished with the quiz and have submitted it, you may close the window and you are finished.

If the link is not working, cut and paste the following link into your internet browser:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/gform?key=tUz6HSSyrYuQy7EwbS5kQPQ&hl=en#