So how
can we help children to not only know what to do to keep
themselves safe, but actually internalise and act on that
knowledge?
- Teaching
- Examples
- Role play
The
following describes one tried and tested method of teaching
about safety issues in a way that children internalise and
retain:
EngageLive and EngageDirect
An
excellent and award-winning Internet Safety activity which has
also been praised by the Home Office is run by Engage
Development and consists of live online activities.
During
an activity:
- The children work in
groups at computers online
- They receive messages
every five minutes or so
- A story unfolds in real
time - a child is in difficulty - the problem is a result of
e‑safety issues
- As the story unfolds the
children are caught up in the emotion of the situation
- They internalise the
issues as they try to help
- During the activity the
children exchange messages with experts who are live online
- The experts are trained
professionals – police, teachers, safety experts.
- The experts are all CBO
checked
-
At the end of the activity, the problem has been resolved
and the children have come face to face with several
e-safety issues
Following an Engage activity the children not only know how to
keep themselves safe but have been involved in the consequences
when safety breaks down.
This
is real learning, a far cry from just being told how to behave
online and having the risks explained.
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