Q. I am interested in exploring what can be done to improve the safety aspects of the Internet within my school.
A. First of all, to ease some of your concerns, it is important to emphasise that all schools in Ireland that access the Internet through the Schools Broadband Network are subject to a filtering system that blocks a wide category of websites that may be considered undesirable. A previous question to Scoilnet - Why are some sites blocked on schools broadband? - touched on the issue of filtering.
Secondly, the NCTE is organising a summer course 'Integrating Internet Safety into Teaching & Learning' which will be run in the 20 regional education centres. The aims of the course are:
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To enable the teacher to integrate Internet Safety education into the classroom
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To support children's safe use of the Internet for learning in all curriculum areas
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To enable children's acquisition of the knowledge and skills required for using the Internet
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To provide the teacher with practical knowledge of Internet Safety issues
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To develop teaching strategies to maximise Internet Safety in the classroom
The course will initially run during the week 2-6 July and will be targeted at both primary and post-primary teachers.
For further updates on Internet Safety keep an eye on Webwise - the dedicated Internet safety site for parents, teachers and students.