As the digital age rolls on, parents have more and more things to worry about when their children go online.

Now, as schools have started making the switch from traditional textbooks to online course materials and mandating typed homework, students have the opportunity — and are even encouraged — to be online more often.

Parents are left wondering how to keep their children safe from sexual predators, identity thieves, and even their own classmates, as social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook have become an outlet for online bullying.

Safety at school

Most schools in the area require their students to sign an acceptable use agreement that lists what students may and may not do online and will list the consequences of breaking that agreement.

Donna Petraits, director of communications for the Brownsburg Community School Corporation, said all Brownsburg students are required to take the acceptable use agreement home to their parents to read over and sign with them.

“Not now, but in the past, some parents have refused to let their children use the computers at school,” Petraits said. “Teachers and even some parents will tell you how strong the filters [on the computers] are, when they try to send an e-mail to the school.”

All staff of Brownsburg schools must sign the agreement as well, and teachers sign another agreement that gives them responsibility for what their students do online while under their supervision, said Bob McColgin. McColgin is the director of technological services for Brownsburg schools.

As well as blocking websites like Myspace, websites with adult content, hate content, and weapons, McColgin said the school employs another system of monitoring what students can view online.

“It’s an identity site, which doesn’t block the kid from seeing what’s on there, but it flags it. I go through the sites that are flagged and give the teacher a list of students who are doing it,” he said. “Like if it’s Race for the Cure time and a teacher is doing a research project about breast cancer, it will flag the word ‘breast’ but it’s more for the student who sits in the back and searches ‘breast’ on Yahoo or Google.”

McColgin said the students who break the agreement will usually have their computer privileges taken away and whatever punishment the school decides they should get. The flagging feature is not used by all schools, he said, though most at least block the inappropriate websites.

He also gave some tips for parents on how to keep their children safe while they work at home.

“Keep the computer located in a family room, not in a bedroom where they can shut the door,” McColgin said. “Parents must feel free to walk over and make their kids show them where they’ve been on the Internet. The world’s changing quickly and parents can’t hide from it. They have to go with the kids and not just turn them loose.”

Other local schools, like Traders Point Christian Academy, have switched from traditional textbooks to online textbooks. The school is using Prentice Hall, which puts all of their textbooks online and includes a legitimate research program with the books. The academy has also given the first class of students at the new high school MacBook laptop computers.

Secondary Principal William Lance said though the technology has increased, the school has installed filters on their systems and provided online safety workshops for parents.

“The laptops, when they are on our server, are behind filters, but parents have to be getting involved and knowing what’s going on with students and their computers,” Lance said. “We’ve provided workshops to parents with our technology teacher, who went through training to help parents learn what they can do to keep their children safe.”

Students were also required to sign an acceptable use agreement for all computers at the academy and the students who received laptops had to sign an additional agreement, Lance said.

“So far, we’ve had pretty good response.,” he said. “We want to empower them with the tools. When it first started, I had to go to the classrooms and tell them they have to make sure to treat it right, and it’s been good so far, but they are high school students, so sometimes they push the limit a little.”

Safety at home

Aside from school monitoring, there are also several websites that are dedicated to online child safety. One website, Safekids.com, gives several tips on how to keep children safe when they’re online, particularly for pre-teens and teenagers dealing with the social aspects of the Internet.

Another way to keep track of what your children are viewing and doing online is through computer monitoring software.

One company, Pandora Corp., has software available to parents called PC Pandora that records all content on their computer and enables parents to see exactly what their children are doing online.

James Leasure, co-founder of Pandora Corp., said this type of software is not an invasion of children’s privacy, but an important tool to help parents keep their children safe, especially for busy parents who don’t have time to monitor their children all the time.

“It’ll give parents the information they need to be able to enforce Internet and computer rules when they aren’t at home,” Leasure said.

Though the software is a helpful tool, Leasure said parents need to stay in control and give their children rules for computer usage.

“Make sure you set up allowed times of use and rules for proper usage,” he said. “If they are supposed to be doing schoolwork, make sure they are doing schoolwork, and explain to them why it’s important to focus on the task at hand.”

For more information on Pandora Corp. and its parent monitoring software, visit the website at www.pcpandora.com.



SIDEBAR:

Be smart — be safe

Here is a list of social web tips

for teens from Safekids.com:

n Think about what you post. Sharing provocative photos or intimate details online, even in private e-mails, can cause you problems later on. Even people you consider friends can use this information against you, especially if they become ex-friends.

n Read between the “lines.” It may be fun to check out new people for friendship or romance, but be aware that while some people are nice, others act nice because they’re trying to get something. Flattering or supportive messages may be more about manipulation than friendship or romance.

n Don’t talk about sex with strangers. Be cautious when communicating with people you don’t know in person, especially if the conversation starts to be about sex or physical details. Don’t lead them on — you don’t want to be the target of a predator’s game. If they persist, call your local police.

n Avoid in-person meetings. The only way someone can physically harm you is if you’re both in the same location, so — to be 100 percent safe — don’t meet them in person. If you really have to get together with someone you “met” online, don’t go alone. Have the meeting in a public place, tell a parent or some other solid backup, and bring some friends along.

n Be smart when using a cell phone. All the same tips apply with phones as with computers. Phones are with you wherever you are, often away from home and your usual support systems. Be careful who you give your number to and how you use GPS and other technologies that can pinpoint your physical location.

charlee.beasor@flyergroup.com