Kids’ safety on the web

Parents in the community were invited to attend a free Internet awareness seminar, “What You Need to Know to Keep Your Child Safe,” on Monday at the Laguna Beach High School library, where they had the opportunity to express concerns and ask questions regarding their children’s Internet use.

The district’s director of technology, Victor Guthrie, and Mark Wagner, president of Educational Technology and Life Corporation, led the 90-minute presentation, where they addressed universal issues including the proper use of technology in the home and at school, resolving challenges the Internet presents and taking steps to make Internet “surfing” safer.

“The World Wide Web has become a two-way Web, where anyone can publish, share and change information as easily as viewing or downloading it,” Guthrie said. “This change offers powerful new opportunities for learning, but like many new technologies, it can also be abused. There are serious concerns that educators, parents and students must recognize.”

The workshop introduced the technologies, benefits, concerns and proactive strategies for keeping students safe.

Information literacy, inappropriate and student sharing, “sexting,” threats and cyber-bullying, fraud and identity theft, and stalkers and predators were among the topics.

“By working together, the schools, police departments and communities can help keep students safe online while still allowing — and encouraging — responsible and ethical use of these powerful online tools,” he said.

In collaboration with the Laguna Beach Police Department, Guthrie and Wagner developed the first version of the presentation in 2006.

“The parents’ questions are becoming more sophisticated and pragmatic each year; their concerns are no longer just about predators snatching their kids,” Wagner joked.

Many parents, he said, questioned things like ethical use of the Internet, time management, appropriate times for social networking and limits, and whether or not they should have password access and monitor their kids’ online activity.

“Circumstances differ with age, culture, individual families and parents’ level of comfort with technology, so we do our best to give parents the information they need to do research and make decisions that are best for their child,” he said.

Wagner also said he was pleased to see principals from the district attend and share incidents and helpful perspectives with parents.

“I hope, and I’m sure, the attendees will go out and share the information they learned with other parents.”

Those who were not able to attend Monday’s seminar can access the presentation at internetawareness.wikispaces.com.

For more information, call (949) 497-7750 ext. 201.

Guthrie and Wagner said they plan to hold another seminar in the near future.