Tag: Safe browsing

Teen Chat Acroynm Decoder

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July 13, 2010
by Mark

tcd.jpgApplication: Teen Chat Acronym Decoder

Social networking comes with its own language, and there is nothing more frustrating than seeing a list of letter combinations and not knowing what they mean. If you’ve ever used Facebook, Twitter, other social networking sites, used MSN or even sent an sms, then you will be pleased to know that there is a tool out there to help you decipher what it all means. You may be a parent or a teacher wanting to understand further the online language of your teen or student; this site will help.

The Teen Chat Decoder website exists to simplify and decode the language used online. For example, have you seen, or are you aware of the following;

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As parents, when our kids started to use the Internet more and more, we did what any good parent would do – we monitored their online activity.

We reviewed their browser history, or some parental control software product like PC Tattletale. But it was really frustrating when we found that our kids used abbreviations and acronyms in when chatting online or via their cell phones.

Now some acronyms are pretty easy to figure out, like “LOL” (Laugh Out Loud), but many made no sense at all – unless you were 15!

So several years ago we put together what would eventually become the largest “Teen Acronym Only” database on the net. Teen Chat Decoder was designed to help parents understand what their kids were “really” saying online and to help keep them safe.

It’s as easy as following the instructions below;

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Not only is it an easy to use online database there are some other great resources. You can download the desktop version which is provided free. There is also the ability to add to the database should your acronym not be found.

Using this application for education and sharpening your knowledge of the ‘teenspeak’ is indispensable. Who knows, your teenage or student may just thankyou.

Link: Teen Chat Decoder

Popularity: 5% [?]

: Resources, Tools
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You Can’t Take it Back – Video of the Week

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February 5, 2010
by Mark

Popularity: 4% [?]

: Admin, Video
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Top Digital Citizenship Sites for Educators

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November 19, 2009
by Mark

1ad.jpgWith the use of the internet becoming more prevalent in today’s classroom, and the age of it’s users becoming younger and younger, the need to teach responsible ownership of the internet is becoming more necessary. While I don’t believe that we should block every website, I do believe that we need to teach our students how to become responsible users, for the very simple reason that we can’t block every website. Below I’ve listed some of the better sites for learning and teaching about being a responsible and safe Digital Citizen. Some are websites proper that have lots of information, while others are an article or an information piece with case studies or statistics. I hope this proves valuable to both educators and presenters. Please feel free to add more by way of comment.

  1. Unhid – A web app tool that helps you decipher the destination of the shortened URLs. (My review here)
  2. BBC Article – An piece from the BBC (dated 16/11/09) outlining a small study conducted with primary students and cyberbullying.  “Cyberbullying is a growing problem in primary schools, according to the Anti-Bullying Alliance. In a small study carried out by the group in south east England, one in five children questioned said they had been bullied online or by phone.”
  3. eBook – Keeping Students Safe Online - A free ebook that helps educators and school’s with student online safety.
  4. School Library Journal - A Better Safety Net is an article (dated 01/11/09) written to put into balance the fear verses the facts when talking about safety online, and considers the impact of ‘youth’ as stakeholders in their safety.
  5. OnGuardOnline – provides practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you guard against internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information.
  6. NetCetera: Chatting With Kids About Being Online – is a guide for parents and educators to give practical tips to help kids navigate the online world. You can download the PDF file, as well as order printed copies from the site.
  7. Article from ReadWriteThink.org – Helping students create a safe persona on the Internet. Great article with lots of resources for setting up students on the internet.
  8. Website; DigitalCitizenship.net – An entire website with resources and articles to help in this area, including Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship.
  9. Website: SafeInternetAlliance.org - Another website with resources, blog posts and events that target being safe online.
  10. Article: Stemming the Tide of Cyber Bullying – Melbourne’s Age newspaper wrote a short ‘filler’ article reflecting on Victoria’s first cyber bullying summit and the need to educate rather than block.
  11. Article: eSchool News – School’s Step Up Web Safety Instruction. An article exploring the need for school’s to start teaching ‘Cyber Safety’ for eRate funding
  12. Internet License: PBSkids.org provides an interactive ‘test’ to help students gain an ‘Internet License’. (My review here)
  13. Web Safety For Kids – Wisconsin based Web Safety 4 Kids offers presentations and workshops for schools, organizations, and individuals about these serious situations and the best methods for protecting yourself and your children from becoming victims.
  14. Article – No Phishing – An excellent article explaining the ‘practice of unscrupulous people setting up fake versions of legitimate web sites, often popular and excellent sites they know that many people will visit.’

Popularity: 8% [?]

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Unhid – Revealing Where Shortened URLs hide

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November 10, 2009
by Mark

Web Based Application: Unhid

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We’ve all seen those little links in Twitter or emails that shorten websites into a mix of letters and numbers. Unless you really trust those people who have linked them, you have no way of knowing exactly where in cyberspace they will take you. As is current on Twitter at the moment, they are being hidden to hide affiliate links or spam. Unhid, however is a great little utility that helps you understand where the shortened links go. Take for example http://bit.ly/es7vd, which I have copied from my Twitter feed. I then paste that into the prompt box at Unhid and press unhide.

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An information panel shows me where it leads;

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I can then make a decision as to whether the site is suitable to visit.

The other great thing about this is the provision of a bookmarklet, which is dragged into the toolbar of your browser and allows you to check as you browse. A nice little addition to the tool.

Teaching Application: While this may not be the most used tool in the classroom, it might be a good tool for students to have so they can check the legitimacy of sites they are browsing or researching. Those students or classes using Twitter will benefit from the application. Certainly for the browser savvy teacher, having this application at their disposal will find it advantageous.

Application Address: http://www.unhid.co.cc/

Popularity: 7% [?]

: Resources, Tools, Twitter
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Twurdy – Searching the Web for Readable Results

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October 8, 2009
by Mark

Application: Twurdy

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I’m all for the internet and searching. I am however, a little over Google’s hold on the search engine market. But I do understand the reasons that it is. But I think what frustrates me the most is that the kids I teach (Grade 4) think that it will solve all their needs for knowledge. The really frustrating thing is that when they are researching a topic it’s hard for them to decipher the information presented to them after their search results appear. I’ve had everything from inappropriate content to University grade papers. Not easy for 9 year olds. Enter a new search engine application – Twurdy. Their aim is clearly stated;

Twurdy’s goal is to provide web searchers with information that is most appropriate for them. This will mean that 10 year olds doing school assignments don’t have to click through difficult material to find something they can use. It will also mean that phd students do not have to click through websites designed for kids in order to find what they are looking for.

Twurdy is a search engine (yes, results are through Google) but…it assesses the readability of the page; great for younger students. It is in Beta mode at the moment but seems to be working fairly well. There’s no advertisements (however it’s free) and the page is very easy to navigate with colour coded results. My students have an assignment coming up later this term so I will be keen to see whether this helps them.

Has anyone got similar resources or used it practically in the classroom themselves?

Popularity: 3% [?]

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Around The Web – 25th Sept

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September 25, 2009
by Mark

Each week I highlight some different articles of interest to this website.   around the web.png

This week’s nine offerings are;  

1. Five Easy Steps to stay safe (and private) on Facebook (Link)

2. Top 10 Do and Don’ts on Twitter (Link)

3. Color Numbers – Hexadecimal Colour Value Calculator for HTML (Link)

4. 50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom (Link)

5. 20+ Mac Apps to Increase Your Productivity (Link)

6. The Evolution of Apple Ads (Link)

7. How long would it take to read the Internet if you printed it? (Link)

8. Seven Ways To Find Teachers on Twitter (Link)

9. Goal Event Driven Classroom (Link)

Popularity: 3% [?]

: Reflections, Twitter
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How to Create your own Student Friendly Search Engine

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September 14, 2009
by Mark

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I’d like to point you in the direction of an article that describes how you can make your own search engine in Google. This has been something I’ve always wondered about but it’s nice to find that it can be done, and a link on how it can be achieved.

Alix Peshette has written an extensive blog post (with pictures to navigate) describing how you can create a search engine that will only allow students to search certain websites. A certain help for those teachers who have done research with students and found the open waters of the internet just a bit too distracting.

Thanks Alix for the post.

Popularity: 4% [?]

: Resources, Tools, Web2.0
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PBS Web License

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August 31, 2009
by Mark

It’s official – I have my Web License and just to prove it here’s my ID:

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Application: PBS Kids Web License

This little site is a great first experience for the start of the year, or for any point when you are going to be significantly using the Internet. The site is cleverly set up to walk (or drive) students through some of the finer etiquette points of web surfing.

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As you can see by the above screen grab it covers ten points that kids should consider and be aware of when browsing. With the use of social networking tools and Web2.0 applications rising this is an important thing to go through with your students. As you can see by the graphics it’s definitely targeted towards middle primary. All the questions are simple multiple choice, but they would serve as good starting points for some more serious discussion points as a class.

The nice thing is that you get a license to print and laminate as a record for each child. They also get to sign it and keep it as a record of their commitment to safe internet browsing.

Raw Link: http://pbskids.org/license/index.html

Popularity: 1% [?]

: Resources, Tools, Web2.0
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