Ever since computers and the Internet became a part of our classrooms, weâve been trying to figure out the best ways to prepare our students for the online world. While at first this was as simple as having them write down their login information, every year itâs grown and become more complex. Internet safety for students is now a topic that all teachers must address, and that can be challenging. Who has time to create lessons for every important aspect of digital citizenship in addition to everything else weâre asked to do?
With this in mind, Google created Be Internet Awesome, Googleâs Digital Safety and Citizenship Curriculum. This resource breaks down Internet safety for students into five big ideas and then provides comprehensive lessons, vocabulary, and even games to reinforce each one. Complete them in one large unit or intersperse them throughout other units during the school year to provide your students with everything they need to be responsible and safe online.
1. Share With Care
Big Idea
Protecting yourself, your information, and your privacy whenever youâre online
Lesson Themes
Starting with the crucial message that you often canât take back something you post online, these lessons help students see just how much of ourselves we post online each day. From there, students are tasked with becoming more aware of how hard it is to delete or erase things they say or post online and how things might be funny or appropriate to them, but might not be to their peers, parents, or other individuals. Finally, a lesson helps students become more mindful of what they put online about themselves and about others.
Activity
In Lesson 3, âThatâs Not What I Meant!â your students will design T-shirts with emojis that represent how theyâre feeling. Theyâll share their T-shirts with their classmates and guess what each studentâs emojis are saying about them. As they discuss any misunderstandings or misinterpretations, theyâll start to understand why itâs so important for all of us to take a minute to consider how what we post might be interpreted by other people.
2. Donât Fall for Fake
Big Idea
While many students know that not every person they encounter online is who they claim they are, the content they encounter might be fake/unreliable too. Itâs important to know how to stay aware of potential dangers online.
Lesson Themes
This collection of lessons starts with the basics. Your students will review how pop-ups, fake ads, and misleading spam can trick people into giving away important personal information. Then it covers the important topic of being careful about who you talk to in video game chats and other situations where a student might talk to ârealâ people. Finally, these lessons take a look at the information students find online and provide concrete tips for how they can determine if that information is reliable or not.
Activity
In Lesson 2, âWhoâs This âTalkingâ to Me?â your class will practice their antiâscam skills by acting outâand discussing possible responses toâsuspicious online messages, posts, friend requests, apps, pictures, and email. Each scenario represents a very real way a student might be approached by someone, friendly or not, online. This activity is perfect for giving kids a way to think and talk through these situations before they occur.
3. Secure Your Secrets
Big Idea
From the importance of coming up with a strong, unique password (and not sharing it with others!) to finally figuring out what all those privacy settings on your device and social media apps mean, this series of lessons is all about teaching kids to keep their information secure.
Lesson Themes
These lessons look at areas your students probably donât spend much time thinking about. How do you create a truly safe password? Why shouldnât you share your password with others? And what can you say/do to keep your password safe when someone asks you to share it? Finally, your class will take a closer look at all those privacy settings. Theyâll learn what they actually mean and which ones are best for them to have on their devices.
Activity
In Lesson 1, âBut That Wasnât Me!â students are asked to discuss all the different reasons why students give out their passwords to friends (and strangers!) every day. Next, theyâll come up with likely consequences for what happens when the person they shared their password with decides to use it for the wrong reasons (for example, liking all your crushâs latest posts). Finally, your class will discuss how those outcomes would affect them immediately, but also how the outcome might affect their digital footprint long-term. Itâs a great lesson for getting kids to take a moment to reflect on why they really shouldnât be sharing their passwords with anyone aside from a teacher or parent.
4. âItâs Cool To Be Kind
Big Idea
Perfect for times when your students need some practice with empathy and kindness, these lessons really get to the heart of why kindness matters.
Lesson Themes
These lessons begin with information that is so important for anyone who spends time online. Students will discover why emotions are harder to discern online than in person and how that can affect communication. Then, theyâll practice showing empathy and showing support to friends who might need it. Finally, theyâll take a look at the way mean-spirited, sarcastic, or harmful comments spread on social media and what they can do to stop it.
Activity
In Lesson 1.2, âPracticing Empathy,â students will look at a series of cartoon images of different online activities. Students will guess how the kid in each image is feeling based on the situation and why. As they discuss their responses with their classmates, itâs likely that there will be disagreements, but thatâs OK. The point of the activity is to show how difficult it can be to accurately read someoneâs emotions online, but that if youâre trying to be kind and empathetic, youâre likely to respond in a way that makes that person feel heard, even if you donât get it just right.
5. âWhen in Doubt, Talk It Out
Big Idea
Itâs a sad reality that many of our students are going to encounter content online that makes them feel uncomfortable. These lessons focus on teaching students what to do when that occurs.
Lesson Themes
One big theme in this unit is helping kids understand theyâre not on their own when they see content online that makes them feel uncomfortable. They donât have to feel embarrassed or alone if theyâve stumbled onto something they wish they hadnât seen. The âbraveâ part of these lessons, however, stresses to students the importance of understanding when this content requires them to get help and/or talk things out with a trusted adult. Situations where they or others might be hurt or in danger are presented in a safe, responsible way. Students are given tools to help them be brave and seek adult guidance.
Activity
âMusical Reportingâ is a great activity that uses music as a wait-time method. Students are given common but challenging online situations theyâll likely experience. For example, encountering comedy that others find funny but you find offensive. Or when your friends think a violent video or game is great but it makes you uncomfortable. Then, you play music to give your students a chance to think things through. As different solutions are presented, the class can discuss what works about that solution and what might not work. At the end, students will have a lot of practice standing up for themselves when faced with uncomfortable situations online, as well as practice for when itâs time to get an adultâs help.