Internet Safety Smart Surfing  If you are ever in an online conversation and do not feel comfortable, exit immediately.

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Be very careful with email attachments. It could contain a virus.

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Never give out the following information: 

Full name or names of family members

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Home address or phone number

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Social Security number, credit card numbers, or passwords

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Birthdate or other identifying information

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Create screen names that are different from your real name so people cannot track you down via your screen name.

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Never post intimate material.

Cyberbullying  Ignore cyberbullies and report them if they make threats.  

Never arrange to meet someone you meet online. Save messages you receive because they can be used as evidence if needed.

Online Strangers  To determine if a person is safe consider how and where you met. 

Watch for inconsistencies in their messages or personal information.

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Avoid messages if they are too friendly or they are trying to persuade you or turn you against your friends and family.

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Any meeting should be in a public place with a trusted friend. Never leave a public place with a stranger.

Evaluating Online Information and Internet Safety

Children and the Internet  Keep the computer in a common area where you can monitor its use. 

Internet technology is mobile: monitor cell phones, gaming devices, laptops and tablets

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Teach children proper online behavior and warn them of the dangers.

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Surf the Internet with your children and let them show you what they like to do online.

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Establish limits for both where children may visit and how long they can be online.

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Know who your child is connecting with online and set guidelines for using social networking, messaging, email, gaming and webcams.

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Criteria for Evaluating Web Information Accuracy of Web Information  Do you know who wrote the information?  

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Do you know why they wrote it? Does the author provide e-mail and/or other contact information. What is the purpose of this document? Is what you know about the subject, confirmed or is the information contradictory to what you already know?

Au thorit y of Web Information  Who published the information? 

Does the publisher provide their qualifications?

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What credentials are listed for the authors?

Objectivity of Web Information  What goals and objectives does this page meet? 

Why was this written and for whom?

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How detailed is the information?

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Is the author being objective or biased?

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Look at the facts the author provides. Are they cited and accurate?

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What opinions are expressed by the author?

Currency of Web Information  When was the material posted? The date is usually at the top or bottom of the web page.

Purpose and Intended Au dien ce  What is the purpose of this page and why did the author create it?

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Who is the target audience?

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Some websites have more than one purpose.

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To determine reading audience:

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Look at the reading level of this page.

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Consider the design of the webpage.

Support  Does the author support the information used?

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Are the links active and relevant?

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Does the information on the page seem to be outdated?

Look for links or citations to sources.

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Are they presenting older information as new?

Does the page cite well-known sources or authorities?

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Check the information with another source if you suspect the information is out of date.

News and Social Media 

Try and verify information before re-posting. (Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.)

Coverage of the Web Information  Are the links evaluated? 

Is there a balance of text and images?

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Is the information presented cited correctly?

Don’t rely on Memes as your news source.

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Is there a fee to view some of the information or require special software to view?

Be Kind. Would you want the information posted if it was about you?