Brookside P-9 College Newsletter

Digital Learning

Digital Learning at Brookside

 

So far throughout the term in Digital Technologies, students have participated in a range of experiences focussing on Digital Citizenship and eSafety. Students in P-3 have been utilising a range of materials from the eSafety Commissioner, students in 3-6 participated in a Webinar on Cyber Safety also provided by the eSafety Commissioner. Students in years 7-9 will focus on Cyber Safety during Health lessons. To complement learning in Cyber Safety, you may wish to complete the Cyber Safety Quiz offered by CareerswithSTEM.org. 

 

Students in Years 4 and 6 have been busy practicing their block coding skills using Scratch. Block coding is where blocks are used with single instructions (or codes), when put together (like a puzzle) with a starting block, the code should work as instructed – please see the image for an example of a simple block code, this code tells a sprite (or character) to say ‘Let’s explore’ for 2 seconds when the Green Flag is clicked. It will then move a total of 10 steps 10 times (for a total of 100 steps). We look forward to sharing images of our final projects once completed.

 

I endeavour to use this newsletter and upcoming Compass posts as a method to communicate warnings about apps, sites and software that your children. All information is provided by the eSafety Commissioner, and in this edition we will be focussing on TikTok.

 

What is TikTok? 

TikTok (formerly Music.ly) is a social media app for creating and sharing short videos. You can create and share short lip-sync, comedy and talent videos of 3 to 15 seconds. You can also create short looping videos up to 60 seconds long. TikTok is available via the Apple App Store, as an Android App and on PC through tiktok.com. TikTok is used for: in-app purchasing, live streaming, messaging/online chat, online relationships and photo/video sharing.

Making a video private

With a private account, only users you’ve approved as followers can see your videos – but you can always choose to make a specific video private, too. Private videos are visible only to you, no 

whether you have a public or a private account. You can make this choice when you originally upload the video or by later making an uploaded video private.To upload a private video:

  • On the video posting page for your draft video, tap “Who can view my video”
  • Choose “Private”

Remember that you can always choose to make a previously-uploaded video private by tapping the lock symbol on the video then choosing "Private."

 

Setting comment controls on your videos

Who do you want to be allowed to comment on your videos? You decide! To access and configure your privacy controls, head on over to the Privacy and Safety option under the app settings. Here, you can view and adjust your privacy controls at any time.To control who can comment on your videos:

  • From your profile, open the Privacy and Safety settings
  • Tap “Who Can Comment on My Videos”
  • Choose either “Everyone” (anyone who can view your videos), “Friends” (mutual followers only), or “Off” (no one)

Of course, you can disable comments for a specific video instead of all your videos. Just open the video you want to restrict comments on, tap the menu button, and select "Comments Off."

 

Important Information:

  • Choosing to make your account private allows you to approve or deny followers and restrict your uploaded content to followers only.
  • Even with a private account, note that your profile information – including profile photo, username, and bio – will be visible to all users. Please do not include personal information in your profile; you can be sure your profile is online-ready by editing your profile page. 
  • Enabling Restricted Mode is an option at the account settings level to limit the appearance of content that may not be appropriate for all audiences.
  • Sometimes it’s helpful to have a limit on the amount of time spent online. With Screen Time Management enabled, we’ll help hold you to 2 hours on the app.
  • It’s a good idea to choose a strong password for any online account, protect your password from things like third-party sites, and make sure to use different passwords for different services. If you notice suspicious behavior indicating your TikTok account may have been compromised, you can change your password or contact us for help.
  • You can block a user so they won't be able to view your videos or interact with you through direct messages, comments, follows, or likes.
  1. Go to the profile of the account you want to report.
  2. Tap the Settings icon

 

  1. Tap Block and follow the steps in the app. You can also unblock this user from the same screen.

 

For more information, please visit https://support.tiktok.com/en/privacy-safety/for-parents-default or https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-issues/esafety-guide/tiktok