Part I: Making Good Online Decisions

Description:Students will be able to explain how to protect themselves and their information when using the internet.

Objectives and briefing students:

  1. Students will gain an understanding of who they are communicating with and interacting with on the internet.
  2. Students will gain an understanding of the possible ramifications and consequences of sharing information online

Suggested Grade Levels: 5-6

Materials Needed: Computer with projector or Smart Board for accompanying PowerPoint presentation. Pens or pencils and paper for the Quick and Post-Presentation Assessments and suggested activities.

Procedures:

1.Conduct the Quick Assessment.

2.PowerPoint presentation.

3.Perform the Cooperative Learning Activities.

4.Perform the Post-Presentation Assessment.

Suggested Cooperative Learning Activity 1: Strangers and the Internet

Explore with students how interacting with people you don’t know on the internet can be dangerous:

  1. How do you come across people you don’t know on the internet?
  2. Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.
  3. Gaming such as computer games, Play Station Network, X-box Network, phone, etc.
  4. Chat rooms, instant messaging (Google chat, Facebook chat, Yahoo chat), blogs, etc.
  5. What is a stranger?
  6. Someone you don’t know.
  7. Differences between someone you know well v. someone who is just an acquaintance.
  8. “Stranger Danger” as they learned in kindergarten applies to the internet.
  9. Should you talk strangers online? No.
  10. Why?
  11. The person may not be who he/she says she is.
  12. That person could learn personal information about you.
  13. The person could have bad/harmful intentions.
  14. What if you do encounter a stranger online?
  15. Don’t give out personal information. For Example:
  16. Name
  17. Address
  18. Phone number
  19. Photo
  20. Email address
  21. Where you go to school
  22. Where you hang out
  23. Names of parents, siblings or other family members
  24. Passwords to online accounts such as email and Facebook
  25. Why shouldn’t I share that information?
  26. You don’t know who might be looking at the information or who it might be shared with.
  27. You don’t know the intentions of the person you’re sharing the information with.
  28. It is not necessary to share this information with someone you don’t know.
  29. If you wouldn’t share the information with a stranger on the street, don’t share it with a stranger online, i.e. Would you walk up to someone on the street that you don’t know and tell them your name, where you live and how to get in contact with you? No.

Suggested Cooperative Learning Activity 2: Screen Names and Gamer Tags

  1. Put students in groups of 3-4.
  1. Ask them to come up with 3-4 screen names or gamer names for the group with explanations of why they chose those names.
  1. Ask a student from each group to write the screen names they chose on the board and another student to explain the reasons for each name chosen.
  1. Have class discussion about what is a positive and negative about each screen name.
  1. Examples:
  2. BobbyMcGee10 – Chosen because his name is Bobby McGee and he is 10 years old.
  3. Positive – not derogatory
  4. Negative – Has his name and age in it, which is personal information and should not be shared online.
  5. SnookyLuver13 – Chosen because Snooky is her favorite character on Jersey Shore
  6. Positive – does not contain personal information
  7. Negative – Do you want to be associated with Snooky forever or as long as you have that account?
  8. Are you sure everyone will know who Snookyis in 3 years?
  9. People with think you’re like Snooky, do you want them to think that?
  1. How do you come up with a good Screen name or Gamer Tag?
  2. Pick something that does not include personal information
  3. Pick something general
  4. Talk to your parents to see if that name is appropriate
  5. Examples:
  6. Panther192878 – says nothing personal and is not associating you with something negative
  7. CardinalsFan34 or RoyalsFan1438 – says nothing personal and is not associating you with something that will go away any time soon (though if the baseball season is bad, you might want to rethink your name)

Conclusions

  1. Be wary of any person or entity you do not know that you come across online.
  2. Do not share too much personal information with ANY website or any person online.
  3. The Internet is Forever! Think before you share any information.