Internet Safety Checklist for Students and Teacher

Kiwi Commons has provided some tips for both students and teachers. These tips can help teachers equip students with fundamental safe online practices for in-home use. As well, we've included Internet Safety 101 basics for the classroom that every teacher should go over before students start any Internet-based tasks.

You can find our checklist for Parents at http://kiwicommons.com/2009/08/top-10-back-to-school-internet-safety-tips-for-parents/#more-1934

Checklist for Students

- Clean out your social network accounts.

- Delete any messages or postings that you may not want your teachers, peers or parents to see. You may also choose to delete older messages and postings that are no longer relevant.

- Review privacy and security settings for your social network accounts. These websites frequently introduce new security features that users can opt for.

- Look over your contact list. This allows you to delete contacts that you no longer speak with, as well as add new friends that you’ve met over the summer.

- Discuss parental controls with your family. Are these controls strong enough to keep you safe online? Are they too restrictive for your maturity level?

- Consider establishing “code words” to use with family and friends. Online predators sometimes pose as friends or family members to trick victims. Establishing “code words” will help ensure you are speaking to the real person.

- Reset your passwords. Passwords should be changed every 90 days. Be sure to create a complex password at least seven to eight characters long, consisting of uppercase and lowercase letters, and digits and symbols.


Checklist for Teachers

- Review the rules of online conduct. This includes the basic rules of Internet safety, online etiquette and cyberbullying. Don’t assume that students will remember information from previous years.

- Explain classroom rules on the first day. These rules should cover the use of school computers, as well as personal devices like laptops and cell phones.

- Coordinate with parents. Make sure parents understand the school’s approach to Internet safety, which can help them create consistent rules for home as well.

- Ensure that Internet filtering and antivirus software are installed and properly configured on computers.

- Keep content age appropriate. Using the school’s Internet filter or browser parental controls tools, you can block access to unwanted content.

- Create guidelines for avoiding digital plagiarism. Define “digital plagiarism” and “intellectual property”, and go over how to cite sources and paraphrasing.