Over the past two years in the pandemic, safety has been an integral matter of concern f. While most of us are kept busy only worrying about their physical protection, schools everywhere made sure to also look into students' online protection. To keep students' safety online, school teachers are using various tools and techniques to ensure nothing gets leaked or hacked.
Internet safety is an issue for people of all ages. However, unlike adults’ children do not yet have the mindset to judge which areas of the internet are safe and which are not. To protect students online, teachers use software that protects student's data and keeps them from wandering into uncharted areas of the internet.
There are many ways to implement safe online learning. To inform you about this issue, this article will talk about why student’s online safety is important and how it can be implemented.
Why Student's Online Safety Is Important
Though useful. The internet can also be a dangerous place. Data leaks or hacking allow unwanted people to gain personal information about students. Furthermore, faulty links can give away a student's IP address or put them in danger of contracting an online virus. On top of this, things such as cyberbullying are an issue that can occur even in safe spaces.
Issues such as hacking or cyberbullying can mentally impact a child and make them unhappy. The issue is so grave that recently the government even implemented three laws to protect children’s online privacy; FERPA, COPPA, and CIPA. These laws ensure students' online safety and ensure someone is held responsible if that safety is invaded.
Tools Schools Use To Protect Student's Safety Online
With news of data leaks in Zoom last year, taking online safety measures became increasingly necessary. Teachers have become more familiar with online safety technology and do their best to protect their students from any danger.
Here are a few tools schools use to keep students safe online.
VPNs
Many schools have suggested that parents install VPNs on students' devices. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. A VPN protects your IP address when you browse the internet. If students use VPNs they are less likely to contract viruses or get hacked.
There are many great VPNs parents can use. Products such as NordVPN and SurfShark are particularly popular among VPN users across the world.
Google Workspace Safety
Though Google is a safe platform, there is always a risk of something bad happening. Students might contract viruses or data leaks. Or classmates might bully each other through online learning platforms. Extensions such as Safe Doc by xFantical protect students when they use Google Work Space for Education (WSFE).
Most schools use platforms such as Google Classrooms or Google Meet to conduct classes. Safe Doc is a browser extension that protects students on these platforms.
Parental Control
While teachers can use Safe Doc to protect students, schools suggest parents do the same using parental control apps. Software such as Net Nanny or Norton Family gives parents control over how their child uses the internet.
With these apps, parents can block certain words or websites from their child's devices. Furthermore, they can also protect children from offensive or profane images or emojis. With the collaborative efforts of parents and teachers, students can safely use the internet.
Conclusion
As we enter a digital age, protecting children on the internet becomes increasingly important. We hope this article sheds some light on how to keep students safe online. If you are a teacher worried about your students' safety, be sure to look into Safe Doc and get your ideal internet safety package.
