1. I went to stopcyberbullying.org and read around the site. It was really interesting, because it explained just what it was, how to prevent it, and how to deal with it once it starts.
2. I loved the Dateline video on the generation growing up with the internet. It's strange to think that I am in a different generation than my 16 year old sister. She is definitely a part of that digital generation, and I want to help keep her safe while she is online, in addition to helping her not be consumed by it.
3. My most important take-away was just the simple things that can help keep a child safe on the internet: making sure they never give away personal information, keep the computer in a high-traffic area, limit computer time, etc. Some of the things they discussed on the Dateline video really scared me. The online bullying that occurs, the secret relationships and activities that the kids participate in, the way that people let the computer consume their life; these show me the importance for putting up those firewalls, and checking up on what the children are up to. This also shows the importance of family relationships. If a child is taught the correct principles, and has an open and easy relationship with the parents, he will be less likely to do things he knows is wrong.
4. For my "doing" experience, I called my sister who has a one year old son. I asked her what she knows about general internet safety. She told me that internet safety is becoming more and more important as more things become digital. She knows there are filtering services that parents can take advantage of, and to keep computers in high-traffic areas of the household. She also talked about how there are many sites that require people to have a loggin with an age requirement, and that it is very easy for kids to lie.
After she told me the things that she knew, I shared with her some of the more important and interesting things I learned from the readings and videos. I talked about Elder Bednar's talk "Things as they Really Are," and how some people let their physical bodies take a back seat to the digital world. They have two identities: their real world self, and their online self. But the scriptures tell us not to be two-faced, and the internet is no exception. She agreed with all these things, and we talked about our little sister who I mentioned above. My older sister is also very technically involved, but I believe she does productive things, rather than merely chatting with friends and surfing the net like our little sister does.
I was surprised that she did not rattle off bunches of things about internet safety, because she knows so much about it. Our father is in charge of the computers at the high school where he teaches, so he knows all about putting security on the computers. He instilled in us the know-how to navigate the internet safely, and I think my sister wasn't able to rattle those things off because they have become second nature to her.
I think that once her son gets to be a little older, that she will take into account those words of advice, and the knowledge that she has, and create a safe online environment for him to explore.
I have completed the course evaluation, the feedback survey, and checked my scores on Moodle.
