Tanya Petty thought taking her children out of school and homeschooling them would protect them from bullies and other dangers.
Her three children take online classes from their living-room computer, and Petty now understands that bullies, predators and other dangers still exist — but in a different form.
“It’s eye-opening,” said Petty, whose children are enrolled in Connections Academy — a virtual public school for kindergartners through ninth-graders.
Petty says her children spend up to six hours a day online, and though the home computer has filters and her children have been taught not to provide personal information, the family’s electronic mailbox still gets troubling correspondences.
One recent e-mail was obvious in its intent, she said.
“It was a dating-type thing,” Petty said. “They were soliciting for a date. It was an obvious solicitation for sex.”
As increasing numbers of students take online classes, lessons in Internet safety are becoming key parts of curriculum.
“Obviously, we have a bunch of kids starting at the age of 5 sitting on the Internet all day; it’s important to have a good Internet safety program,” said Sarah Ault, principal of Connections Academy.
Cyberbullying has become a growing problem among teens on the Internet, Ault said. And the Internet has become the roost for predators seeking young victims.
“It’s creepy,” said Petty’s 10-year-old daughter, Elizabeth.
A bill passed earlier this year in Colorado’s legislature requires that online education programs provide Internet safety programs.
The 350 students enrolled in Colorado Connections Academy are required to pass special units that teach safe and responsible use of the Internet.
Lessons start with kindergartners, who learn not to communicate with strangers. By ninth grade, they are learning how to identify predators and the legalities of copyright infringement, Ault said.
“The main point is to keep our kids safe,” she said.
The school works through a program designed by iSafe, a nonprofit foundation based in California whose mission is to “educate and empower youth to make their Internet experiences safe and responsible.”
Internet safety is particularly important for children in cyberschools who are generally online twice as much as students in traditional schools, said Teri Schroeder, chief executive of iSafe.
“They are in a situation that they are spending a whole lot of waking hours in a virtual environment,” she said. “You look at the fact that they are online longer, and they are more at-risk.”
The curriculum teaches not to post information on websites, don’t respond to messages from unknown senders and keep parents informed about what is being said.
Schroeder said many parents are naive about what is happening online.
“The parent thinks their child is safe because they can see them,” she said. “We always say, ‘It’s midnight somewhere on the Internet, do you know who your child is with?’ I may see my child, but I don’t see the other side of it. I could be working on MySpace and my mom is in the kitchen cooking. If I have too much identifiable information on my page, I have basically posted my face on a billboard that the world can see.”
A disturbing trend has been the proliferation of cyberbullying, Schroeder said.
“Our research says that it is much easier to bully someone online than in person because they don’t have to look at them,” Schroeder said.
From 2003 to 2006, the number of students enrolled in online schools more than tripled in Colorado — from 1,900 to about 6,200, according to a state audit.
For students in online schools, some of their only interaction with peers is via the Internet.
“It’s important for these kids that their communications skills be honed in because that’s what they are doing online, that’s the only way they communicate,” Schroeder said.
Children must know that on the Internet, there is no anonymity and that “you can’t really trust anything,” said Ault of Colorado Connections Academy.
In the safety courses, children get real-life scenarios, showing screen names that give away a child’s name and age or MySpace pages that divulge a child’s school name. It teaches them that predators could use that information to groom the child, Ault said.
On the computer in the Petty’s living room, the screen showed a lesson from one of the Colorado Connections Academy Internet safety course — saying: “Remember, people online may not be who they say they are.”
“I think it’s important for any kid,” Ault said. “We don’t realize what is out there. It wasn’t there when we were younger.”
Lessons have been learned by Petty’s 12-year-old son, David.
“It’s like a whole bunch of people who you don’t know and don’t know what you look like or who you are,” he said. “It’s kind of weird.”
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
Web safety tips for kids
• Talk to your parents to establish family rules for computer/Internet use. Determine together what your family considers to be acceptable and responsible use.
• Ask your parents before downloading from the Internet to avoid anything that could accidentally harm the computer or break copyright laws.
• Tell your parents or a trusted adult if you read or see anything that is inappropriate or communicate with anyone online who makes you feel uncomfortable.
• If someone you know is being bullied online, speak with a teacher, parent or other trusted adult to assist them in getting help.
• Ask your parents first before doing anything online that costs money.
• Do not give out personal information, such as passwords, addresses, phone numbers, school name or school addresses.
• Do not open or respond to an e-mail, instant message or text message from an unknown sender.
• Do not send photos of yourself or send them to anyone you do not know personally.
• Do not agree to meet in person with anyone you have met online without first discussing this with your parents and having your parents’ permission.
Source: Colorado Connections Academy
