When it comes to educating students about Internet safety, one of the first steps is to inform the parents. Teachers need to send information and permission slips home to parents to inform them of how and why the Internet will be used during class. The type of technology and their instructional purposes should be explained to the parents (Richardson, 2010). Teachers can also provide parents with tips and discussion points for starting the conversation about digital safety at home. Elearning Industry has great information, including statistics and tips, for teachers to pass along to parents. If the teacher can gain parental support and the parents are willing to discuss safety with their children, then it is more likely that the students will practice safety on the web since the students will be getting the same message at home and at school.
Once the parents have received information, it is our job as educators to continue the discussion about digital safety with students in the classroom. EducationWorld states that teachers should discuss the academic purpose of the Internet in the classroom and boundaries should be set and enforced. Like with other classroom rules, students should be held accountable for their behavior, if they break the rules. However, just teaching and enforcing rules, is not enough to make the students practice safety. Informing students, not threatening, is the best way to encourage safety. There are a number of videos to educate students on safety, for example this video from YouTube by Wellcast.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oak, California: Corwin