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LearnEnglish Kids is a free British Council site for children who are learning English as a second language. It has vast range of games, songs, stories and things to print off and do. It also has an alphabetically organised topic section making resources easy to find. The site is regularily updated with new resources (and tips for using them) which are appealing to children. It also has sections for parents and teachers.
www.britishcouncil.org/Kids

Recently, the CEOP Centre published its annual Strategic Overview which contains all the key themes that you as parents need to be aware of in relation to internet safety. In particular, the report covers environments where our  intelligence suggests are frequented by offenders, as well as explaining their particular behaviour patterns – some of which could be useful early signs to watch out for.

It is vital that we all understand the way in which technology is evolving, so that we can understand the threat posed by those who would seek to harm our children. By understanding these environments, we can all ensure that we have the knowledge to empower our children in staying safe online.

Convergence

Convergence of technology and behaviour is one of the most significant trends that has been seen in the last year. The traditional types of online environments - social networking, online gaming and instant messaging - are now merging to become components of larger social sites. An example of this is the integration of instant messenger applications, such as Windows Live and AIM, within social networking sites – in other words sites that once were designed for young people to post pictures and keep in touch with their friends online are now also offering instant online “chat” facilities.

As a result, the terms “online” and “offline” are hardly ever used these days by young people – the reason is simple – they are now one and the same.

These evolving environments can present new risks for children, offering the potential for offenders to take advantage of the information available to them. The expansion of social sites and the way they are being used by children and young people can make the ‘grooming’ process easier, as offenders are able to build a range of contacts and express shared interests and opinions with children, who are increasingly used to having the online world as their audience.
Read the rest of this entry »

Got a pile of art work that needs assessing? Sort it into groups of about 6 and spread out on the table. Make a set of individual name cards for your whole class - big enough to show up in a digital photograph.  You might want to use different coloured cards for your groups so names can be found quickly. Cards will last longer if you laminate them . Put  a name card next to each piece of work and take a clear photo.  You will only need about 5 photos for your whole class and you have a record of their work in minutes. You can also use it to record model making and you can use the cards again and again. You may want to share the photos with the class or with parents.

Got a display or classroom layout that really works well?  Photograph it and put  away in your planning folder for next time.

This is my second email from ‘Think You Know for Parents’:

Dear Parent

Thank you for registering for up-to-date advice that over time will help you and your child or children stay safe from sexual predators on the internet. Each month we will cover a specific topic of interest, explain some of the terminology being used and advise you on how to work with your child to understand what they are doing online and what safety precautions they should be taking.

March’s email covers communicating, or chatting online.

Chatting online is a fantastic experience for children and young people. It provides an innovative way to share homework tips, learn new social skills and communicate with friends and relatives across the world and this is done through a number of applications. Chat rooms, instant messenging (IM), blogs and forums are some of the most common facilities for online chatting. And chatting using a broadband internet service can actually save you money on the phone bill!

Children and young people are now able to talk with friends and meet new ones in a way never seen before. As a parent or carer you will be familiar with your child using the computer as soon as they arrive home from school to chat with their friends - but what can they possibly have to talk about after spending all day at school together?!

Well, in a recent survey by the CEOP Centre, over 25% of 11-16 year olds said that chatting using IM, blogs or chat rooms was their favourite thing to do online so it’s a really popular pastime for young people.

The language used in online chat is very similar to that used in mobile phone text messages- it’s abbreviated and is almost a language in itself. This can be a great way of chatting but can also be confusing for those of us who don’t understand it or use it.

Here we explain what these chat applications are and how they can be used…….

Instant Messenging (IM)

• Instant Messenger or IM is the most popular way for young people to communicate and keep in touch. You can only communicate with people who are in your ‘buddy list’ and who are invited to join the conversation- and this can be anything from one to 600!
• IM allows a more intimate type of communication as users can chat without anyone else seeing what is being said. Some people like to start off meeting and chatting to people in a chat room and then move into an IM chat.
• IM chat allows instant communications between users- when you type something it appears on the screen immediately. This is a fantastic way to keep in touch with family and friends who live elsewhere.
• Another addition to immediate conversations using IM is that you can use webcams to have live video chats- this can be done between two people so you can see who it is you are talking too.
• Windows Live Messenger (known as MSN) and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) are the most commonly used IM applications.

Chat rooms

• Chat rooms provide the function to chat with people in the same way as would be done in the real world. They are known as ‘public’ areas so users in a particular room are able to see conversations taking place and can join in if they so wish.
• Chat rooms provide the facility for people to talk about subjects they have in common or are interested in. This can range from favourite bands to TV shows to politics. Some online gaming sites also have the function to chat so you can discuss the game you are playing and share tips on how to get to the next level for example.
• They are usually text based so you type what you want to say and it appears on the screen. Chat rooms are quite fast moving as you see all the conversations that are going on at once.
• Within a chat room, users can meet with friends known in the real world but can also make new friends who have similar interests and this is an exciting opportunity for young people.

2D/3D chat

• 2D chat rooms provide users with a visual chat room rather than a text based chat room. They are avatar-based which means users have characters to represent themselves. An example of these chat environments are Habbo Hotel and Club Penguin.
• 3D chat rooms are more sophisticated in that users have a more realistic virtual environment to use. Here users can create their own space and their character is more life-like. Second Life is a good example of a 3D chat environment.
• These environments are very life-like and allow users to interact with others in a way that is similar to the real world. It’s a fantastic way to meet new people and is growing in popularity all the time.

A foreign language…..

Chat lingo can be confusing and completely alien to those of use who do not use it, but to children and young people it’s become a native language for them. Below are some of the most common phrases and words used and an explanation of what they mean.

Avatar – a virtual, animated character that represents a player in an online game
ASL- age / sex / location (i.e. how old are, what gender are you and where do you live?)
Blog – shortened version of ‘web- log’ but essentially means an online diary
@TETOD- at the end of the day
CYT- see you tomorrow
EM? - excuse me
HHOJ- ha ha only joking
G2G- got to go
POS- parent over shoulder
BTW- by the way
LOL- laugh out loud

But what are the risks of online chatting?

The biggest risk to children and young people chatting online lies in giving out too much personal information about themselves to people. It is tempting to say and do things in an online environment that they wouldn’t do in the real world but this is risky behaviour to engage in. Personal information includes home or school address, a mobile telephone number, email addresses, photos of themselves and any hobbies or interests.

And how can we protect our children using these environments……..

• It’s important to encourage your child not to talk to people online who they do not know in the real world.  Some people who use these environments will lie about who they are and what their intentions are.
• Online chat facilities are ultimately public spaces and this means that anyone can enter into a chat room.  Some chat rooms are moderated – either by an electronic filter that will pick up on banned or rude words or they are moderated by people who are paid by the chat room provider to screen chat topics for inappropriate conversations.  You can find out if a chat room is moderated as the provider will normally include this on their safety information pages.
• Unfortunately paedophiles will use these online spaces to initiate a conversation with a child or young person.  They may then look to draw them into a private instant messaging chat (by swapping instant messenger identities) as it’s more intimate and can only be seen by those people involved.  They can then use IM to develop their ‘relationship’ with that child and groom them for sexual abuse.
• In the IM environment, people can chat using text only via instant relay chat or they can chat face to face by using a web camera (webcam).
• Webcams should only be used with people who your child knows in the real world.  Webcam footage can be recorded.  Once webcam images are on the internet they can be used elsewhere, copied or changed. This is also relevant for photos that are shared.

For more information on how to keep your children safe whilst using online chat environments visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents

Find out more…..
You can now register to receive our bi-monthly e-bulletin which provides information to subscribers on all areas of the work of CEOP. Visit www.ceop.gov.uk  to find out more.

Help us in the fight to locate missing child sex offenders- register to receive updates when more details are released or new offenders are posted on the site. Visit www.ceop.gov.uk/wanted

What is CEOP again……?
CEOP is the police agency specifically set up to tackle the sexual abuse of children in the UK. Find out more about our work at www.ceop.gov.uk  and register for updates on all areas of our activity.

And finally- did you find this email useful?
If so, please forward it onto friends and family and they can register to receive these emails too.
If you are not registered to receive these emails, register here www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/register.aspx

Kind Regards

The Purely for Parents team

This is my first email from ‘Think You Know for Parents’ following signing up for updates from them:

Thank you for registering for up-to-date advice that over time will help you and your child or children stay safe from sexual predators on the internet. Each month we will cover a specific topic of interest, explain some of the terminology being used and advise you on how to work with your child to understand what they are doing online and what safety precautions they should be taking.

February’s email covers Online Gaming – or you and your children may know it better as Miniclip, Runescape and World of Warcraft – as these are just some of the most popular sites. Playing games online is a fantastic pastime for children and young people and its popularity continues to grow at a rate that is growing with technological advances.

Children are now able to play games with others or individually while the internet also opens up the possibility of playing with ‘friends’ from right across the world.

The opportunities are becoming endless.

Online games can range from the simple two player interaction such as chess games, to the complex, multi player games – such as Lord of the Rings Online – which are based on a fantasy world.

In some games, players can trade items with other players, they can chat about how to get from one level to the next and they can even buy items within the games using fake ‘game specific’ currency. Sometimes, to get to the next level in a game or to complete a particular task, players can ask for, or trade, ‘cheats’. In some cases, paedophiles who are gaming online will use this aspect within games to draw children and young people into a ‘grooming’ scenario – trading a ‘cheat’ to perhaps engage a child in a sexual act for example.

A few simple steps will help your child stay a lot safer in these environments.

So what can you do to encourage your children to use online gaming sites safely…….
It’s a good idea to keep the computer in a family room. This is so you as a parent can monitor the games your child is playing online, to ensure they are age appropriate, and also so your child won’t engage in activities that could put them at risk. You might also be able to reduce the temptation of your child to spend hours on these sites at any one time.

It’s best that if your child wants to use gaming sites, they think of a nickname to use rather than their real name. Adults with a sexual interest in children will pose as children themselves and use gaming sites to engage with a child. Children and young people should be aware that some people they meet online and play games with may not be who they say they are, so they need to be careful not to give out any information about themselves.
As a parent, it’s vital that you talk to your child and make sure they know how they should behave when they are gaming. They should be encouraged to not accept cheats or talk to people they don’t know in the real world. And if anyone asks them to do anything that makes them feel uncomfortable, they should tell a trusted adult or report their suspicions at the www.thinkuknow.co.uk website.

A whole new world
Online language can be quite baffling to the uninitiated! Below you can see some of the acronyms and terminology used in gaming
Aggro: Slang for attack, usually by a hostile creature, and used as both a noun and a verb. If you wander into a hostile creature’s “Aggro radius,” chances are it will attack you. If you’re with a group, usually the stoutest warrior character goes in and takes the first aggro to distract the monster.
Buff: A temporary increase in the powers or abilities of your character.
Character: The person you control in the game. In many games, you can have more than one, so there might be more characters appearing in the game over time than there are players logging on and off.
Con: Short for consider. Most games will tell you how strong an opponent is compared to how strong you are—and whether you have a chance of winning a battle with them. All smart players check this information before a fight.
Ding: To gain a level in experience. Players who advance in levels often say “ding” in chat, either to inform their team mates or just to gloat.
GTG: Acronym for Good to Go. Means you’re ready for whatever’s next.
Loot: In-game items. You can loot items from fallen players in some games, or take the loot from foes after a victory. You can keep the loot if it’s something your character can use, or sell the loot for currency to buy something you can use. Used as both a noun and a verb.

Find out more…..
You can now register to receive our bi-monthly e-bulletin which provides information to subscribers on all areas of the work of CEOP. Visit www.ceop.gov.uk to find out more.

Help us in the fight to locate missing child sex offenders- register to receive updates when more details are released or new offenders are posted on the site. Visit www.ceop.gov.uk/wanted

What is CEOP again……
CEOP is the police agency specifically set up to tackle the sexual abuse of children in the UK. Find out more about our work at www.ceop.gov.uk and register for updates on all areas of our activity.

And finally- did you find this email useful……
If so, please forward it onto friends and family and they can register to receive these emails too. If you are not registered to receive these emails, register here http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/register.aspx