Digital Learning

National eSmart week will be celebrated from the 1st – 7th September, 2019. It is an opportunity for us to celebrate the work we are doing to create an eSmart Australia and is supported by the Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

In conjunction with this, the Brookside community will be engaged in the following:

Year 4 and 5 students will be participating in a Virtual Classroom run by the eSafety Commissioner. The Virtual Classroom is focussing on Online Friends and Strangers and will explore online safety and relationships. The presentation is designed to empower students with the skills to enable them to identify and establish personal online safety boundaries. They will develop skills to identify problematic situations which may impact their online safety as well as consider reporting processes for themselves and others.
Caroline Springs library will host a special session on cyber safety for parents during eSmart Week, presented by Senior Constable Rochelle Seng from Victoria Police aimed at building awareness and community education on issues of cyber safety, bullying, digital footprint, e-identity and wellbeing online and offline.
Daily eSmart challenges and activities posted via Compass to Home Group teachers for students of all ages to participate in.

eSafety Commissioner Update:

Taming the technology: How to use parental controls and other tools to maximise online safety in your home.

Know your devices

All the devices that connect to the internet in your home offer lots of benefits. But you also need to understand the risks associated with these devices and how to protect yourself and your family.

Use parental controls

Parental controls are software tools that allow you to monitor and limit what your child sees and does online.

They can be set up to do things like:

block your child from accessing specific websites, apps or functions (like using a device’s camera, or the ability to buy things)
filter different kinds of content — such as ‘adult’ or sexual content, content that may promote self-harm, eating disorders, violence, drugs, gambling, racism and terrorism
allow you to monitor your child’s use of connected devices, with reports on the sites they visit and the apps they use, how often and for how long
set time limits, blocking access after a set time

If a device or program is shared by multiple members of your family, you should be able change the tool settings to reflect each user’s age and skills.

Parental Controls by Device:

On your Home Wi-Fi Network

Built into Desktop and Laptop Computers

Built into Mobile Devices

Built into Gaming Consoles and Smart TVs

Some Wi-Fi routers come with software that allows you to set up parental controls across your whole family Wi-Fi network. The advantage of this is that the rules you make are applied on all your connected devices — laptops, tablets, smartphones, even game consoles and smart TVs. However, you don't always get the same level of control and monitoring that you get from software installed on each device.

Search online for child-friendly Wi-Fi products using terms like ‘child friendly routers’, ‘child friendly Wi-Fi’, ‘family friendly routers’ and ‘child safe Wi-Fi'. Or check out the products accredited through the Family Friendly Filters scheme.

Some internet service providers (ISPs) provide routers incorporating parental control features as part of their broadband products.

PC/Windows

Microsoft Family provides the ability to manage your children’s online activity on Windows devices through website blocking, checking in online at any time, and viewing activity reports on sites, apps and games visited. You’ll need to set up a family group of at least one parent and one child, each with their own Microsoft account.

Mac OS

The OSX Parental Controls allow you to set profiles for each child to do things like limiting access to websites or apps, restrict functions like Siri or the iTunes store, set time limits for days of the week and for bedtime, and hide profanity in the dictionary and other sources.

Apple tablets and smartphones

Apple operating systems from iOS12 enable you to restrict access to browsers and applications, in-app purchasing, social networking, inappropriate internet content, sharing of data (including photos and location), media streaming and online gaming. Find out how.

Android tablets and smartphones

Although Android has no general built-in parental control features, Android devices can be controlled using Google Family Link. See using third-party software below.

You can also set up parental controls on Google Play to restrict the content your child can download or purchase.

Every major gaming console provides parental control measures to help parents manage their child’s gaming activity.

Smart TVs offer all the exciting opportunities — and the risks — that come with being online. Most provide some form of parental control, even if it is just a PIN code locking certain features. You could also consider disconnecting the TV from the internet if you are not using the ‘smart’ features.

No parental control tool is 100% effective. Helping your child build good online safety habits is just as important.

For More info - https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/skills-advice/taming-technology

Thanks

Renee De Bono

Monday 2 Sep 2019
Refreshments at 5.30PM, presentation from 6-7PM
Caroline Springs Library & Learning Hub, 193 Caroline Springs Boulevard, Caroline Springs
Attendance is free, but please book your place online using this link.