“Kids and teens have embraced the digital world with great intensity, spending as many as a eight hours a day online by some estimates,” comments Michael Kaiser, Executive Director of the National Cyber Safety Alliance, StaySafeOnline.org. “Yet, America’s schools have not caught up with the realities of the modern economy. Teachers are not getting adequate training in online safety topics, and schools have yet to adopt a comprehensive approach to online safety, security, and ethics as part of a primary education. In the 21st century, these topics are as important as reading, writing, and math.”
Indeed, in the news, we are seeing more and more frightening stories of cyberbullying and cyberstalking with violent outcomes. Kids need to be vigilant about protecting themselves from predators. Students are using the Internet and social media for school purposes as well as connecting with their peers. Yet, in NCSA’s just–released study, only 51% of teachers agree that their school districts do an adequate job of preparing students for online safety, security, and ethics. Only 55% of teachers strongly agree that it should be taught as part of the curriculum.
Frankly, students are probably better versed digitally than most teachers, yet teachers need to provide guidance to keep kids safe online. The research found that 36% of teachers received no training in online safety, security, and ethics in the past year. Overall, 86% received less than six hours of training. Teachers reported that they don’t feel well-prepared to teach these topics. Only 23% feel confident about teaching the risks of cyberbullying, while 24% feel very well-prepared to teach about protecting personal information. About one-third felt well-prepared to teach basic security skills, like password protection.
“Schools have a responsibility to prepare kids to be smart, capable, and thoughtful digital citizens,” said Jacqueline Beauchere of Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computer Group. (Microsoft sponsored the study.) “It’s a matter of local and global importance. Not only must students know how to stay safer online at school and at home, but they also must be equipped to deal with the workplace challenges of the digital age. Teachers will need training and support to ensure that they have the skills and confidence to cover these topics in the classroom.”
While bullying is difficult to combat, cyberbullying is even harder, as the bully has the potent weapon of anonymity in his/her arsenal. Just 26% of teachers taught students how to handle cyberbullying, while only 18% discussed how to handle scary posts, video, or Web content. Only 15% covered hate speech with their students.
One third of the teachers surveyed did teach students about the risks of social networking, and another one-third did cover protecting personal information. However, only 6% of teachers addressed geolocation, even as it gains popularity. Geolocation, used on smartphones, identifies the location of that Web-enabled phone. Activating geolocation is often as simple as clicking “allow” when prompted—something students may not think twice about.
On the other hand, 97% of administrators believe that the K-12 curriculum should prepare students to be “cybercapable,” that is, able to use basic technology in a safer and more secure way. But, according to the study, only 20% of K-12 teachers covered safe file downloading, and only 23% covered strong password use. Even with the Internet becoming a greater force in everyday life, only 7% of teachers taught the increasing role of the Internet in the U.S. economy.
“The survey reveals a critical need for new curricula and teacher training that will encourage safe, secure, and responsible behavior among school students,” said Dena Haritos Tsamitis, Director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Information Networking Institute, as well as the director of education, training, and outreach at CMU’s CyLab. “It’s essential to address this need to prepare a cybersavvy workforce for our nation’s future.”
The NCSA advocates a comprehensive approach to teaching cybersafety as part of the K-12 curriculum nationwide.
“Every school district should have a comprehensive cybersecurity curriculum in place. Schools should be confident that they are graduating students who can use technology safely, securely, and productively, and this training should begin at an early age, from the point when the child first enters school,” said NCSA Director Kaiser. “Just as we would not hand a child a set of car keys with no instruction about how to drive, we should not be sending students out into the world without a solid understanding of how to be safe and secure online. It’s critical to our economic and national security, and it's our shared responsibility as parents, educators, and citizens.”
StaySafeOnline.org offers a wealth of information and resources to help parents and schools teachers learn about cybersafety. Lesson plans and teaching materials are available, including a series on cyberbullying prevention. C-Save for teachers provides lesson plans, exercises, and activities divided by K-2, grades 3-5, and middle school and high school. Second Nature—The Cyber Security Blog will keep you up-to-date on trends and issues and let you dive into the ongoing discussion. There is also a library of videos for adults and students such as “Stop. Think. Connect. Stay Safe Online,” “Cyberbullying is a Real Problem,” and “He Took My Bag: A Lesson in Cyber Safety.”
