Belmont Intermediate school Digital Safety tool for caregivers
Strengthening the digital partnership between home and the school.
Contents
Click the links to be taken directly to the relevant slide
How we ensure Cyber Safety at BIS
Digital Safety
Digital Safety is a shared responsibility between the school and our families. When you enrol your child, you receive a copy of the Digital Citizenship Agreement (click here to view). This document contains important information about digital safety and outlines the responsibilities of the school and home.
Device Rules and Expectations
In class, students receive a Student Digital Licence Agreement (click here to view). This document helps students to understand more specifically, the rules and expectations around responsible use of devices at school.
Our Networks
Our WiFi is supplied and managed by N4L. Students and Teachers have separate networks to ensure the students are heavily restricted in what they can search and access. The Student WiFi network is heavily filtered and protected by our service provider and technician team at Norcomm. Students may not use devices before school or during break times as they must be under the supervision of a teacher at all times.
How Digital Learning is supported within the classroom
Hapara
Using the Google Suite for Education, we are able to monitor how students are using their device through a platform called Hapara. Not only are we able to see the tabs students have open in their browser at any time, we are also able to see their current screen as seen in the images below:
Our Online Platforms
Writer’s Toolbox
No longer do students need to wait for teacher feedback on their writing quality: Writer's Toolbox is your powerful classroom coach. Ground-breaking Artificial Intelligence assesses their writing quality—then encourages your students on a individualised journey to greater writing skill and improved grades.
Mathletics
Empowering teachers to support their students’ mathematics learning. With hundreds of curriculum-aligned lessons and activities, Mathletics is the comprehensive online mathematics learning tool that brings joy to learning. Watch your child’s confidence soar as their results improve in just 30 minutes a week with the world’s leading online maths program.
Community Involvement and Awareness
Attitude Programme
As our children become immersed in an ever-changing technological world, our responsibility is to ensure they have the skills, knowledge, and tools to safely use digital technology and social media. For this reason, BIS has booked a series of presentations and class workshops with Attitude. Attitude is a team of talented communicators who are passionate about the well-being of young people. Since the mid-90s Attitude presenters have been informing, inspiring and entertaining young New Zealanders. Read more
Whole-School Workshops
Young people need new skills and guidance as they navigate their digital world. Content includes text bullying, online safety, communication, building character, and balance.
Connected Whole School Presentation
Coverage: Online friendships, safety and citizenship
Helps young people reflect on how technology influences their lives. The presentation encourages them to become positive cyber citizens and to seek a healthy balance between the online and offline worlds. Text bullying, online addiction and cyber safety are covered.
Tackling Technology Class Workshops
Coverage: Technology, social media and bullying
Young people need new skills and guidance as they navigate their digital world. Content includes text bullying, online safety, communication, building character, and balance.
Common issues and concerns we face with our learners
Cyber Bullying and Harassment outside of school hours
Many of our students have access to social media sites and apps at home. Unfortunately, these are often used to target others under the guise of anonymity. We do not have the authority to search student devices for interactions and altercations that happen outside of our jurisdiction yet, we certainly feel the weight of it as student seek guidance and support. It’s important to have rules around responsible use of social media at home and regular monitoring of their activity.
Secret alternative accounts
Many of our students involved in inappropriate online activities and interactions are conducted on alternative accounts that they keep secret. Students will have an account that has their name which often their parents follow but many will have accounts in addition that they do not tell their parents and friends about. All they need is to create an email address. Many social media platforms have minimal security and do not enforce age restrictions or limit the amount of accounts on an IP address. It’s important that caregivers familiarise themselves with the platforms their children use and how to check for multiple accounts but also talk to their children about the risks involved in having accounts like this, particularly, if they are used to harass, defame or shame others.
How to find out if someone has more than one account:
Dangerous Trends
Many of you will have read in the news, the volume of young people dying as a result of following social media trends is increasing at an alarming rate. Children are ingesting chemical cleaners, inhaling aerosol sprays and putting themselves in physical harm by choking themselves or holding their breath till they pass out. Many teachers have reported their students having conversations about these trends without acknowledging the extreme danger.
Helpful Tools and Resources to use at home
Learn and Discover:
Netsafe have compiled an excellent Online Safety Parent Toolkit (Click here to view). The Online Safety Parent Toolkit is a simple and practical seven step framework to help parents with digital parenting in a rapidly changing world. It explains the online challenges young people are likely to encounter, how to best support them and what you can do to teach your child to have a safer online experience.
Modules to explore
Watch together:
The Social Dilemma on Netflix (R13 - Parental supervision is recommended)
The documentary examines how social media's design nurtures addiction to maximize profit, and its ability to manipulate people's views, emotions, and behavior and spread conspiracy theories and disinformation.
Helpful Tools and Resources to use at home
What you need to know about your children online