3 October 2011

Yesterday I delivered an after school esafety session for the staff at Southridge First School in North Tyneside. Their thoughtful and perceptive contributions showed that they understand the importance of this area of safeguarding and are ready to work together to develop policies to support all elements of teaching and learning in a safe and supportive environment.

Much of what I talk about during these sessions centres on how sharing of personal information and opinions is ‘normal’, and we shouldn’t be surprised if our learners and colleagues, on occasions, behave in ways that we would consider inappropriate. I have long maintained that the only way we will see a decline in inappropriate and bullying behaviour in the (social) media is by modelling positive behaviour for our very young children to learn and...

September 14th 2011

"The presentation was very comprehensive and delivered in a way that everyone could interact with and understand. The balance between the talking and hands on was great and staff went home last night and actually explored further.Thank you very much for you time and effort - it was great!"

Staff from Archibald First School attended the Northern Grid Conference in June and were impressed by the work other schools were doing with...

This Childnet report was published in 2008 and provides information about social networking and how to use social networking sites creatively and safely. It includes sections on:

• What are social networking services?
• Evaluating social networking services
• Benefits and opportunities
• Barriers and risks
• Ideas and examples

Mel Philipson, manager of Northern Grid, was a member of the project advisory team.

"Thanks very much for the two sessions you delivered today. They were really good and the feedback suggests enjoyable and informative. I hope to be in contact in the future for a follow up session for staff in due course"

-Tim Dufill, Assistant Head

Early in Summer 2011 Assistant Head, Tim Duffill, contacted Simon to explore ways in which Northern Grid could provide support to the school, particularly in the area of sharing messages about esafety and online behaviour.
The school is currently reviewing its esafety and safeguarding policies and it was agreed that Simon would deliver two sessions for the whole staff on the first training day of the autumn term. The workshop focused on the challenges facing adults who use social...

Facebook has made further changes to the privacy settings and here is a clear and easy to understand summary of the new privacy options and features.

Making It Easier to Share With Who You Want on Facebook Blog

Context

Social media and online communication opportunities are important and can have a positive impact on all elements of the teaching and learning process, the school and learning community. We see teachers and other professionals creating networks to share ideas and resources, children and young people crowd source ideas and information. They seek and receive feedback on their work while parents engage more fully with teachers, their children and the school. Furthermore, even if we feel too old or too busy to engage with social media ourselves then we, as teachers, must still be able to model appropriate, safe and positive use of social technology for our learners and the wider learning community.

An important element in the policy development process is seeking the feedback and engagement of teachers, parents, carers and students. It is also important to understand that policies are more likely to be adhered to if everyone has the opportunity to...

Do you use Facebook in your classroom? Do you feel that Facebook has no use within a teaching environment?

This clear and calm article at The Edublogger goes into detail about how you can safely use Facebook in class in order to increase collaboration and support with your students.

What are your thoughts on Facebook in education? Leave a comment below!

One of our eSafety experts, Simon Finch, was interviewed whilst at Plymouth e-Learning Conference 2011 about several subjects within the areas of eSafety and eSecurity.

View the 4 videos below or go to our YouTube Channel. If you need guidance and resources in dealing with these areas visit the eSafety area of our website.

Leave some comments below or on the YouTube Channel with your feedback! Thanks!

eSecurity in Schools - New Teacher Behaviours