Digital Technologies

Ollie Online & Thrive Online

Cyber Safety Education

On Tuesday 11 May, all students at St John’s participated in cyber safety workshops, led by Martin McGauran from Inform and Empower. The sessions were held in year levels so that Martin could talk to the students about the most important issues for their age group and development. 

Our Prep - Year 2 students participated in a 45 minute session with Martin called ‘Ollie Online’ and the Years 3-6 students were involved in a 90 minute workshop called ‘Thrive Online’. 

The student sessions were a huge success! A main focus was how students can learn to be alert, brave, smart, kind and strong in an online environment. 

Below are some reflections from St John’s students on their key learnings and take-away from the day. 

“Don’t talk to strangers online and tell them your important stuff like your school, name, where you live or passwords”. Javier, Prep

“I learnt to ask an adult if you are not sure about something that happens when you are using technology. You could ask a parent, older brother or sister, grandma or grandpa or a teacher at school” Sienna, Year 1

“We learnt about not spending too much time on electronics because it hurts your eyes and makes it hard for you to sleep”. Alfie, Year 2

“I enjoyed learning about real scenarios such as what could happen if you share your password. In this example someone shared their password with a friend then that person logged in as them and sent a message pretending to be them”. Madison, Year 4

“We learnt about how people can tell you things about themselves online but unless you have met them in person then you don’t know if they’re telling the truth”.  Gabi, Year 4

“I learnt about ‘Terms of service’, which are the rules or what you agree to when you sign up for an app or social media account. It is important to read them because sometimes you are giving up your rights and they can share your information or make money off you”. 

Dani, Year 5

“We learnt about how to not completely ban technology but ways we can be smart and make good decisions when online”. Zara & Abbey, Year 6

Cyber Safety Parent Webinar

Our school is very fortunate to have access to a new webinar "Raising Kid's in the Digital World 2021", presented by Martin and Carly McGauran and we encourage all parents to take the time to view the 90 minute video when they can. (Refer to the flyer below.) Last year in Term 2, Martin led our school in a parent cyber safety webinar which was insightful and beneficial to all those parents who participated. This is not suitable to view with your children.

Martin is a primary school teacher and education consultant that has worked in the area of cyber safety, with a number of schools. He will provide parents with insight into apps, social media and games to help families learn and understand the risks involved when you interact online and ways to minimise these risks. 

Carley is a psychologist, mum and cyber safety educator who has worked with children, young people and adults for the past 15 years. Her experience will help provide parents with evidence based practical tips and strategies that can be implemented at home to help children stay safe online.

The webinar aims to provide parents with information and tips to develop healthy, collaborative relationships with their children in regards to online safety. 

This webinar is suitable for parents and adults only.