Kingdom Hearts III
8th Annual Safer Internet Day focusing on enjoying gaming safely, sees launch of new UK Safer Internet website with wide range of resources for schools in UK.
Safer Internet Day, now in its 8th year, is celebrated in over 65 countries and it is an opportunity to recognise the importance of the Internet in the lives of children and young people, and to help work to ensure that they and those that support children, parents, carers, grandparents, teachers, know how to get the most out of this resource and use it safely and responsibly.
The focus this year, particularly in the UK is on games and gaming, as well as communicating the wider message that online actions can have offline consequences, both now and in the future. Research shows that games are enormously popular with children, with 86% of 9-16s use the internet to play games, and in terms of online activity for young people it comes second only to school work.
The UK’s Safer Internet Centre have developed resource packs for primary and secondary schools with each pack containing
- 4 quick classroom activities and supporting resources
- A full lesson plan
- Teachers’ guidance
- A poster to start discussion
- An assembly, plus script to help with delivery.
These free to download resources are available at: www.childnet.com/safety/sid.aspx
The top messages for the day for the various user groups to take away are that games are fun – indeed the first words that come into children’s heads when talking about games are, ‘friends, free, fun, competitive, multiplayer and chatting to friends1 – but to remember that internet safety messages and advice apply to games as well as other online activities, and there are tools available to help.
The new UK Safer Internet Centre, bought to you by Childnet, SWGfL and IWF and co funded by the European Commission, have developed a new website www.saferinternet.org.uk, hosting a range of information on internet safety, and new teaching resources designed for schools to use for Safer Internet Day. The website is the portal for UK Safer Internet Day information and shows the activities and events are happening across the UK to promote Safer Internet Day, as well as initiatives by other partners including the internet industry.
Activities organised by the new centre for Safer Internet Day include a ‘12 hour interactive radio programme broadcast globally and hosted by Russell Prue. The marathon programme will feature Internet Safety News on the hour every hour, coverage of the The Young Peoples’ Symposium being held by Childnet International in London as well as featuring advice and guidance on The Internet at School, Young Web Users, the Tweens (11s-12s), a Special Teenage Hour, Tea Time Tricks, Mobile Internet and a Prime Time live Phone-in planned especially for Parents. The aim is to provide real, sensible advice from experts throughout the day and to encourage listeners to engage with the show and take part through the phone, texting, tweeting and emails.
The Young Peoples’ symposium hosted by Childnet will bring together 40 teens from across the UK to explore their online habits and needs, and to gather their thoughts on the creation of relevant and effective educational campaign ideas in a Dragon’s Den theme activity, pairing youth teams with industry experts.
For more information about the day, the radio programme and to access the resource packs, go to www.saferinternet.org.uk.
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