We're Talking About Online Safety

This week, the 2nd-5th grades have been talking about Online Safety.  We have been watching the BrainPOP video "Online Safety", sharing experiences we've had on computers, tablets and game consoles, and discussing different ways to stay safe when we go online.

The most important part of online safety for elementary age kids is for them to have an adult they trust available when they are online.  You wouldn't send you child out into the middle of Los Angeles by themselves, because it's just not safe; the same holds true for kids wandering around the internet.

We have also been discussing the idea of the Digital Footprint.  What you post to the internet travels far and wide, and does not go away.  It's never too young to be aware of this!

Digital Footprints

Hopefully you all received the letter we sent home about "cloud storage". 

As we mentioned in the letter, all LAUSD students are assigned an LAUSD (name@mymail.lausd.net) email address.  We will be using these accounts to access some great built-in Google features this year. 

Each  account comes equipped with:

•         Email address (gmail with LAUSD branding)
•         Google Docs (a free web-based software suite that allows users to create and edit documents online)
•         Google Calendar
•         Cloud Storage

As we prepare to provide students with their LAUSD email, Google Docs, and cloud storage information, we will begin talking about internet safety.  This week we will discuss “digital footprints” – specifically, which information is “safe” information to disclose, and which information is private and should not be revealed online.