Children need to be taught that just as people lock the doors to their homes and set up alarms to protect their physical assets, they should know how to protect computers and personal devices from spam, malware, phishing scams, data loss, and other technical issues.

Curricula

Common Sense Media

Grades:

K-12

“Common Sense Education’s free Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum empowers students to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly in our digital world. There are 80 lessons in the full K-12 curriculum, with supporting materials such as student handouts, assessments, educational videos, family tip sheets, and professional development resources.”

Google and iKeepSafe

Grades:

6-8

3-Module Course: including one section on Identifying Tricks & Scams Online. “Students learn to protect themselves against online tricks. This class includes assessments, tips, and an activity to reinforce guidelines on avoiding scams and cyber tricks.”

iKeepSafe

Grades:

K-12

“This comprehensive matrix provides educators with age appropriate learning activities, discussion guides, vocabulary, and more to teach students about the consequences of exposing their own personal information and why it is important to respect the privacy of others.”

Grades: 

K-12

“The digital citizenship curriculum from Common Sense Education combined with interactive activities, assessments, and real-time feedback from Nearpod.”

NetSmartz

Utah NetSmartz

Grades: 

K-12

“NetSmartz is specifically designed not to function as a traditional curriculum, but rather as an adaptable resource that can fit into the demanding curricula in today’s schools. NetSmartz activities can be used in any order and fit almost any time frame, allowing you to customize the integration of the resources to suit your students’ needs.” It includes animated videos and documentary shorts for classroom lessons, internet safety presentations, safety pledges, handouts, and teachable recipes.

Think Before You Link

Grades: 

3-5
Cybersecurity Curriculum and Resource Guide: “This section covers critical topics including how to create strong passwords, and how to identify malware and malicious websites.”

Videos

Mesa Public Schools

“Be Cyber Savvy” – YouTube Videos for Elementary, Secondary, Parents & Educators. Videos include The Password Connection and Don’t Open That File. Site includes links to numerous resources.

NetSmartz

These videos teach different aspects of Internet Security. Some videos for Security are The Password Rap and Don’t Open That File.

OnGuardOnline

Videos addressing Security: Hacked Email, Hijacked Computer, Computer Security, Online Shopping Tips, Public Wi-fi Networks, Malware, Sharing Information, The Protection Connection, The Case of the Cyber Criminal, Wireless Hackers, Spam Scam Slam, Phishing Scams..

Interactive Games

MediaSmarts

Grades:

2-5

“In this game, designed for ages 8-10, the CyberPigs play on their favourite website and encounter marketing ploys, spam and a close encounter with a not- too-friendly wolf. The purpose of the game is to teach kids how to spot online marketing strategies, protect their personal information and avoid online predators.”

Student Projects

YouthSpark, Microsoft

Lots of information and presentations for online reputation as well as programs for students.

Educator Training

iKeepSafe

CE Credit:

Unknown

iKeepSafe’s training course for data privacy in education provides all K12 education stakeholders – including teachers, employees, administrators, and school board members the tools they need to be aware of privacy concerns and keep students safe.

Netsmartz

CE Credit:

YES

A one-hour online educator training covering Digital Literacy & Ethics, Inappropriate Content, Online Sexual Solicitation, Online Privacy, Sexting, Cyberbullying.

Helpful Resources & Tips

Cornell University

Grades:

K-12

Helpful guides for handling sensitive data, phishing, malware, and passwords.

Grades:

K-12

Tip Sheet from NetSmartz defining Digital Security and “5 things you can do to protect yourself and your computer.”

Grades:

K-12

Net Cetera Booklet: Guide for parents and teachers to get the conversation started. Free booklets available for ordering.

Heads Up Booklet: This guide includes a section called “The Protection Connection” which teaches about online security. Tips for keeping your computer secure: addresses malware, protecting self from hackers, scammers, and identity thieves, disposing of mobile devices safely, and P2P file-sharing risks.

CompariTech

Grades:

K-12

The jargon-free guide to computer and internet security. In this article they break out the most important aspects of internet safety into bite-sized chunks and offer some practical advice on each.