Virginia Tries to Ensure Students' Safety in Cyberspace

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050203
831_pf.html
 
Virginia Tries to Ensure Students' Safety in Cyberspace
State-Mandated Classes on Internet Take Shape


By Theresa Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 3, 2008; A01


Alan Portillo didn't think much, if at all, about his online vulnerability.
Then the 15-year-old heard technology teacher Wendy Maitland list three
pieces of information an online predator would need to find him.

Birth date, she said. Alan's age was on his e-mail.

Gender. His full name was also on his e-mail and topped his MySpace
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/MySpace+Inc.?tid=informline
>  page.

ZIP code. A photo on the page showed an area near his neighborhood, with
"Arlington" emblazoned across one building.

"I thought it was nothing. But when I saw the examples, I started thinking,
it's a big deal," the Wakefield High School
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Wakefield+High+School?tid=i
nformline>  freshman said. After the February lesson, he said, he deleted
the photo and his last name from the page.

Virginia public schools will soon launch Internet safety lessons across all
grade levels, responding to a state mandate that is the first of its kind in
the nation. Even though today's students have known no life without the
Internet, only a couple of states have laws that recommend schools teach
online safety.

Maryland and the District both offer Internet safety education, but their
programs are neither mandated nor spread across all grade levels. Sixteen
technology coordinators in D.C. public schools last year received training
in Internet safety education, and the District has plugged the topic in
public service announcements. The Maryland State Board of Education
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Maryland+State+Board+of+Edu
cation?tid=informline>  last year adopted student technology literacy
standards for elementary and middle school lessons.

In Virginia, local school systems have been rewriting policies, running
pilot programs and putting final touches on lesson plans to be offered from
kindergarten through 12th grade starting in September.

"One of the things we realized is there is no one-size-fits-all approach,"
said Tammy McGraw, the Virginia Department of Education
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Virginia+Department+of+Educ
ation?tid=informline> 's director of educational technology. "Ultimately
what we're trying to do is ensure we have safe and responsible Internet
users."

The state's goal is to integrate safety skills into the curriculum, not
simply teach them in one lesson. An English lesson on truth and fiction, for
example, could require a paper on what information online should be trusted.

"It's not something that we think can really be addressed by bringing
children together in an assembly," McGraw said. "We think they have to think
about it all the time."

One recent afternoon, two 15-year-old girls at Wakefield High discussed what
they learned in a pilot Internet safety class: Misunderstood text messages
can lead to hurt feelings; parents, too, can dole out too many details
online about their children; and risks abound in using social networking
sites.

Lily Pinner, a freshman, sets her MySpace page on private and lists her age
as 99. But she said a friend's 4-year-old sister recently ventured onto the
site, writing friendly messages with her name and age and noting that she
lives "in a big house."

"I said, 'You don't want to tell people that.' She said, 'Why?'" Lily said,
adding that it's hard because she doesn't want to scare the girl but wants
to keep her safe. "I said, 'Because some people aren't nice.' "

"They still believe everyone is good and the bad guy always loses," added
freshman Labiba Ahmed.

One in seven children ages 10 to 17 has been sexually solicited while
online, according to the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children.
Thirty-four percent of those youths also acknowledged communicating online
with individuals they did not know, and more and more are posting personal
information and photos on the Internet, according to the organization.

"The reality is, kids have this sense of immortality and can do some
remarkably dangerous things, putting themselves at risk," said Ernie Allen,
National Center for Exploited and Missing Children's chief executive.

He likened Internet safety classes to driver's education.

"Just like a lot of good things, there is a dark side," he said. "Driving an
automobile is a positive thing, but there are risks."

...

 

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